MANY PEOPLE have contributed to this work. While it is impossible to adequately acknowledge each one, I am truly grateful to all of them. Special thanks are in order for Dr. Heidi Hamilton, whose confidence and guidance have been invaluable. Her very human application of linguistics to real-world problems has been inspirational. Dr. Ceil Lucas has also been a great source of inspiration, providing a model of scholarship that brings linguistics to the analysis of Deaf and hearing community interaction. I am grateful for her support and her contribution to this research.
Thanks are also due to Dr. Roger Shuy and Dr. Deborah Schiffrin for providing critical support as well as insight into the research process and product. Although I am ultimately responsible for the final product, these individuals have impacted the development of this work. I am truly indebted to them.
I am also indebted to all of those who took time out of their busy schedules to read and/or to discuss pertinent issues concerning this work or the related pilot study. Thanks to Byron Bridges, Nancylynn Ward Bridges, Dr. Valerie Dively, Earl Fleetwood, Beverly Hollrah, Dr. Robert E. Johnson, Dr. Scott Liddell, Keller Magenau, Dr. Susan Mather, Galey Modan, Dr. Carol Patrie, Dr. Elif Rosenfeld, Dr. Cynthia Roy, Dr. Deborah Tannen, Dr. Clayton Valli, and Dr. Elizabeth Winston. I would also like to acknowledge the students in my interactive interpreting courses at Gallaudet University who willingly shared their insights, intuitions, and questions about interpreting.
To all those who willingly participated in the data collection for this study, and to all those native language users and interpreters who shared their perspectives during the analysis of the data, I also am indebted.
Additionally, I would like to thank Ivey Pittle Wallace and Jenelle Walthour of Gallaudet University Press for their patience and hard work in bringing the manuscript to press.
Finally, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to my family and friends, who showed patience when I disappeared for months on end. I also express my gratitude to Jill and Eric, who read countless drafts and shared their unique perspectives on them, and to Earl, who never tires of theoretical discussions about interpreting issues.