TerpTopics: Introduction to ASL and Sign Language Interpreting

Welcome to TerpTopics.com and to this introduction to the world and work of sign language interpreting. We are delighted by your visit and hope you will enjoy and benefit from the available information, experiences, advice, opinions, and resources.

TerpTopics™ is so named because interpreters are sometimes referred to as 'terps, especially by one another and by frequent users of interpreting services.

This site was established July 2008. TerpTopics.com is the focus of earnest, enthusiastic, and fervent content development. While our focus may be increasingly broad and deep, our time is sadly not.

We have defined the site and are at work on infrastructure, and content development. Where there is not yet flesh, you will see our bones. We admit to a long road to completion ahead. Some days, completion feels unfathomable in terms of its distance beyond the horizon; yet, we remain happily obsessed with it.

TerpTopics.com is a work in progress, and will be for quite some to come. We apologize for the site's inadequacies while welcoming constructive and thoughtful feedback from visitors.

We believe all Internet site developers and editors have working assumptions about their respective audiences because having them is practical. Ours are detailed here in the interest of disclosure.

TerpTopics.com is intended for use by potential and new American Sign Language interpreters or signers. This being the case, certain assumptions prevail throughout this site. It is assumed that you (the reader) are hearing and generally able to perform the tasks required of a professional sign language interpreter. Your native language is English or you are a fluent user of English. You have more than a passing interest in ASL and in interpreting, and would like to know as much about them as possible.

Further, you understand that TerpTopics.com does not offer itself as a stand-alone authority or resource, and encourages you to look everywhere, ask everyone, and read and learn everything about ASL and professional sign language interpreting, from as many resources as you can find.

We have tried to make site navigation as simple as possible. If you are an experienced 'Netizen, you will have no trouble at all. If you are relatively new to the whole finding-information-by-computer thing, here are a few tips:

1. To go to a topic page, use the navigation links that are in the left-hand margin of the page.

2. View additional or detailed information by clicking one of the sub-topics found in the navigation table on some general topic pages; or

3. Go to the SITE DIRECTORY for a full listing of site pages.

4. Some pages have a hyper-linked alphabetic or topic index. From the list, click a letter or topic to move quickly and directly to the selected destination.

5. Many pages (especially the LINKS page!) have hyper-links that will take you away from this site. To return to TerpTopics.com, use your browser's BACK feature or simply type www.TerpTopics.com into your browser's URL address field and then hit your ENTER key to return this WELCOME page.

As has been previously noted, this site is under development, which means that some content has been added, some has only been planned, and some has been started but is not yet completed. We acknowledge that readers might experience frustration at finding partially completed pages. We apologize and assure you that we are diligently working on adding content.

Visitors are not asked to register and no information about individual visitors is collected through the use of cookies or other means. No email addresses are being collected, compiled, used, sold, or given away.

TerpTopics.com is not intended for use in place of consulting an audiologist, physician, or other healthcare provider, nor should it be used as such. We are not healthcare professionals. If you are seeking professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment, you will not find it here. If you are seeking professional audiological advice, diagnosis, or treatment, you will not find it here. The same goes for psychological advice, psychiatric advice ... you get the idea.

TerpTopics.com content contributors are hearing professional interpreters, unless otherwise identified. Though we try to avoid them, honest mistakes may occur. If you think you may have found an error (even if you're not sure), please tell us.

The provision of links or other contact information to sources outside of TerpTopics.com is for informational purposes only, and cannot be construed as a recommendation, or in support of the content, approaches, theories, philosophies, intent, perspective, or anything you may find once you leave TerpTopics.com. That said, if you come upon linked content that you experience as objectionable (immoral, illegal, prejudiced, abusive, lewd, etc.), please tell us.

This page was edited: 07/03/2009
This page has been visited Hit Counter times since: July 17, 2008.
TerpTopics is a trademark and service mark of TerpTopics, LLC. © 2008; 2009. All rights reserved.
TerpTopics™ is an independent entity; as such does not claim or attempt to claim, represent, or imply by any means whatsoever that it is associated with any other entity that may or may not offer services, goods, or information of interest to interpreter, Deaf, or student communities. The opinions expressed here those of TerpTopics unless otherwise stated. Please keep in mind that, while every effort is made to present correct, appropriate, and reasonable information that is based on our experience, anecdotal experiences of others, or developed during the general course of study and professional development, we do not represent TerpTopics as having cornered the market on wisdom (heck, no!) or experience; one reason why links to several other good and reliable resources are made available throughout this site, and we hope that earnest seekers of knowledge will take advantage of them.