The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf (HKSD) has designated Sept. 18 as Hong Kong Sign Language Day since 2016. Every year around this day, Lo, Sign Language Officer of the HKSD, and her colleagues are busy preparing sign language promotion activities.
HONG KONG, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- "Hello! My name is Wanzy. I'm a cat lover," sign language interpreter Wanzy Lo said, placing three fingers horizontally on her face when introducing herself.
This hand gesture represented cat whiskers and the "W" in Wanzy, forming Lo's sign name.
The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf (HKSD) has designated Sept. 18 as Hong Kong Sign Language Day since 2016. Every year around this day, Lo, Sign Language Officer of the HKSD, and her colleagues are busy preparing sign language promotion activities.
On Sunday, a launching ceremony for this year's Hong Kong Sign Language Day was held in a large shopping mall. One of the highlights was teaching the public to create their own sign names.
Sign language interpreters of the HKSD not only convey the meaning accurately, but also capture the essence of the message to increase the "readability".
This April, Lo and one of her colleagues were invited to serve as sign language interpreters at the Hong Kong Film Awards. This was Lo's first time doing sign language interpretation on such an entertainment-oriented live broadcast program. She strived for excellence despite pressure.
"Film is an art, when interpreting, it's not just about rigidly conveying information to the audience, but also to express the emotion," Lo said. When handling song performances and touching speeches, she would strengthen her facial expressions to make the deaf audience more engaged.
Some 10 years ago, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and the HKSAR's Legislative Council began to try and introduce instant sign language interpretation for some important meetings, and the HKSD played a pioneering role in it.
Sign language interpretation is challenging, especially in live programs, which require quick response and rapid delivery of meaning. Interpreters need to pay attention to different information in their daily lives.
Lo emphasized that whether doing text translation or sign language interpretation, one is expected to have a broader knowledge base than others to do the job well.
Currently there are nine full-time sign language interpreters in the HKSD and their schedules are always packed.
Demand for sign language interpretation services in Hong Kong is quite high. In 2023 between 2024, the HKSD alone provided over 82,000 sign language interpretation services.
According to the "List of Sign Language Interpreters in Hong Kong" set up by local welfare organizations, at present, there are more than 50 sign language interpreters in Hong Kong who meet basic requirements.
Timmy Chan, head of Sign Language Center of the HKSD, said although people with hearing impairments can communicate through writing or mobile phone messaging apps, face-to-face sign language remains the ideal method for them.
"Sign language interpreters are an important bridge between hearing impaired people and the outside world," Chan said, hoping that more people will join the ranks of sign language interpretation, so that more people with hearing impairments can benefit.■