Configuring interactional space in interpreter-mediated deaf-hearing interaction in mobile task transitions

Abstract

This paper investigates the offerings the concept of interactional space, when it is applied to study the co-present sighted participants’ access to participation in sign language interpreter-mediated deaf-hearing interaction. A multimodal interaction analysis was conducted on empirical data to illustrate how the participants manage access to participation in mobile transitions, i.e. as they move to around to carry out tasks. Two interactional space patterns with differential access to participation are described. The data show that access appears assumed, but fleeting and co-constructed from moment to moment as the participants reconfigure the interactional space. The concept of interactional space is found a valuable tool to systematically and holistically analyse how the participants manage and coordinate participation and access to semiotic resources in interpreter-mediated deaf-hearing interaction.