CITS and ASU Faculty of Foreign Languages Take Part in SL Conference

Moscow State Linguistic University hosted  the 2nd International Scientific Conference Space of Sign Languages Across Cultures: Interpretation, Communication, Research on December 16 and 17, 2021. The conference participants discussed the role of sign languages in intercultural communication, the professional training of sign language interpreters, and specific features of SL interpreters’ work in the new reality, and also analyzed the current trends in SL research in Russia and abroad.

The event was virtually attended by CITS Director Uliana Saveleva and lecturer of the ASU Department of Asian Languages Dmitry Grygryshev. The mixed format of the conference made it possible to engage SL experts from various countries in the dialogue. Kevin Quirk, President of the International Federation of Translators (FIT), delivered a speech on the support provided by FIT to the deaf community. Olga Egorova, Director of the Project Office of International Cooperation, Moscow State Linguistic University, and Professor at the ASU English Philology Department, also presented an interesting report Sign Languages in Global and Regional International Organizations: System Approaches and Cases.

The representatives of our university spoke within conference sections, particularly Section 1 Challenges Encountered by Researchers and Teachers of Sign Languages. The ASU lecturers shared the experience gained by the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation in ensuring linguistic inclusion at ASU. The programme of the event was very interesting and intense, and our trainers paid close attention to the translation for deafblind people, carried out during the event through the tactile signing, which is also an interesting and extremely important aspect of linguistic inclusion.