These are examples of what we call “friendterpreting.” We use this term to describe the times when a hearing or deaf signer steps into a spontaneous, informal, or conversational interaction to play some sort of language-facilitating role with another hearing or deaf friend, usually a signer as well.
~ Rachel Kolb and Timothy Y. Loh from, How Deaf and Hearing Friends Co-Navigate the World
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I remember when seeing someone using ASL was unusual—At first, TV programs that were important, or which really wanted to reach deaf people—that the signer was all I could really see. Now, ASL is so common that it’s just people talking; arguably, it’s even more polite than regular talking which is always audible, versus ASL which is easily out-of-sight. I’ve even considered advocating my wife and I start learning ASL now… partly because eventually one of us will be deaf enough that we’ll need it. But—and I would never have thought of this 40 years ago—it’s also extremely useful for communicating in situations where one cannot be heard.
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