Italy was the last country in Europe to recognize the sign language (Lis) as an official language. The turning point came in May 2021 with an article of support decree, but it had been anticipated in part by the initiatives of some academic communities. The Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the universities of Catania, Milano-Bicocca, Palermo and Trento had set up an inter-university center (CIRCLeS) to promote training and research on LIS and deafness.
Until 2022, with the recognition by decree also of the professions of interpreter in Italian Sign Language and Italian tactile sign languageHowever, it was not possible to establish any specific degree course because the law did not provide for it.
From that moment on, even universities were able to make progress. And specialized training courses have been created.
Degree courses available in Italy
I currently am two university degree courses in interpreting in sign languageone active at Wisdom of Rome and the other born from collaboration between Milano Bicocca and Statale. Starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, La Sapienza is the first Italian university to have implemented the dictates of the legislative decree concerning the training of interpreters. The result is a professionalizing experimental degree course that creates sign language and tactile sign language interpreters.
«It is an experimental degree course, at the end of the first three years the validity of the choices made will be evaluated and something can be changed if necessary», he says Maria Strongholdlinguist by training and teacher of language didactics in the Department of Letters and Modern Cultures of the first Roman university.
A fundamental part of the program consists of practice: 1,500 hours of training divided between the second and third years. The course has limited access and has fifty places available.
«We formed a rather small pilot class, because with this first group it was necessary to work as accurately as possible and focus on quality rather than quantity. The Selected students all possess a level of proficiency in the language equal to at least a B1. The teaching staff is made up of professionals who have been working in the field of interpreting for many years», explains Roccaforte.
The figure of the professional Lis interpreter, however, was not born with the 2022 decree. From the eighties to today, interpreters have been trained in the context of private courses. All these realities, scattered throughout the territory, have gained great experience over time: for the success of a degree course such as the one activated by La Sapienza, dialogue and collaboration with institutions, associations and schools is essential.
Starting from the academic year 2023/2024 also the universities of Milano Bicocca and Milano Statale will have an inter-university three-year degree course in interpreting and translation in Italian Sign Language and Italian Tactile Sign Language. «Our degree» says the referring professor, Carlo Cecchetto, «try to actively involve deaf people both as students and as teachers».
The two Milanese universities have joined forces because it is a complex project also from an economic point of view. «It is a small degree, a maximum of forty students will be able to access it. It is a large organizational investment in the face of a reduced number of pupils», says Cecchetto. «It is the task of the universities to propose niche courses but relevant when there is a population that historically has had little access to higher education”.
Also to participate in the inter-university course in Milan it will be necessary to have knowledge of the Lis intermedia: «You become a sign language interpreter in three years, while for other languages it usually takes five. This is a problem because learning Lis from level zero in such a short time is impossible. For this reason, the requirement of the intermediate level of Lis has been introduced».
A choice that distinguishes the Milanese course concerns the possibility of a differentiated path. If you have an excellent knowledge of Lis, that is typically when the student is deaf, in the first and second year you will deepen your academic Italian. If, on the other hand, you have an intermediate knowledge, you will do a strengthening of the Lis. It is a largely common path, but with differentiated moments.
«This choice is aimed at trying to include and value the linguistic history of people who will enroll in the degree course», specifies Professor Cecchetto.
The decree establishes that, for the first three years, each university can define a degree class as a basis. At the end of the three years, a new definitive degree class will be established, decided by the Ministry. The Sapienza and Statale-Bicocca courses belong to different classes, this implies that different exams are included in the course.
«In Milan we decided to include English, but not a second oral language, while in Rome there is. We thought it was better to introduce more relevant teachings», says Cecchetto. «It is very positive that there are differences between universities. I hope that the two experiences will eventually lead to designing a new, better graduating class », he continues.
Professional outlets
On the employment front, the prediction is that “in the next few years there will be an increase, which is already partly underway, in professional needs”. The job opportunities are vast«the figure of the Lis interpreter can be used in many contexts: from education, to health, from justice to cultural heritage, to telecommunications», argues Roccaforte.
He is a figure who has acquired particular visibility with the advent of the pandemic, but in reality the recognition of Lis had already been requested for years «and it is not only the field of interpreting that needs to be valued, I am thinking of the communication assistants, LiS teaching in schools, sign language teacher training“, continues.
The profile of the translator in Lis per is also important produce videos in sign language whether they are translations of educational and cultural material into Italian or other languages. Also, they are in great demand interpreters from one sign language to another. Relations with local bodies for internships are important for both organizations, including the National Deaf Institute, the Lega del Filo d’Oro, the Istituto dei Deaf of Turin, the Pio Istituto dei Deaf of Milan.
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