11/12/2025 Aurélia Nanna Gassa Gonga

Abstract

This talk presents key findings from my PhD, which challenges long-standing assumptions about International Sign (IS) as used by interpreters. Earlier claims about IS – such as extended processing time or a limited and unstable lexicon – were often based on unrelated or incomparable datasets. My research takes a different approach. Using a strict, controlled comparison between IS interpreters and Dutch Sign Language (NGT) interpreters working from the exact same source texts, it provides the first systematic evidence that makes the linguistic features of IS clearly visible.

Across multiple deaf and hearing IS interpreters, the results show that IS shares several characteristics with established sign languages: consistent use of lexical signs, structured use of signing space, and creative but patterned deployment of iconicity. These findings nuance earlier descriptions of IS and, in some cases, contradict previous assumptions about its structure and stability.

Taken together, the analyses indicate that IS, as produced by professional interpreters in conference settings, displays language-like properties and should be viewed as a complex, emerging linguistic system shaped by multilingual Deaf spaces and interpreting practices.

 

Biography

Aurélia is a multilingual sign language interpreter and researcher with over a decade of experience in French Sign Language, International Sign, and spoken French and English. She works at the intersection of accessibility, intercultural communication, and Deaf–hearing collaboration, interpreting at high-level conferences and academic events across Europe. Having recently completed her Ph.D. at Radboud University on International Sign interpreting, Aurélia also delivers workshops and training on applying an international lens within national sign language interpreting practice. She is the founder of The 20-20, the Sign Language interpreting newsletter, translating research into practice for interpreters worldwide.