Every year, I sit in for my company’s annual shareholder meeting. They typically have 2 or 3 individuals translating in sign language for the hearing-impaired members of the audience. I notice that they make frequent and seemingly awkward facial expressions, in addition to the expected hand gestures. These include eye rolling, smirking, lip moving. Oftentimes, it seems that they partially mouth a word. I remember learning some sign language in grade school, but very little and don’t recall anyone mentioning the use of facial expression. Do facial expressions come into play, perhaps even only to enhance the translation?
Yes, absolutely. When I was briefly taking a sign language class, that was the one area in which I did the worst. As I recall, expressions are often used to augment or add nuances to the meanings conveyed by the hand motions. And of course deaf people (and Deaf people) have the same range of non-verbal communication as hearing people to begin with.
Essential, from what little I know. We had a Deaf professor visit my class during a course in Translation and one of the things she demonstrated was the difference between the “beige”* translations of TV interpreters and how the same sentence would be spoken normally: the sentence she used was “am I speaking too fast?” and the normal version was more like “I fast?”, with the ? completely conveyed by her face and shoulders.
- her word. She said they were too word-for-word, un-dialectal and often their facial expressions are too mild and the amplitude of gestures not enough. I can’t remember his name, but wasn’t there an American TV presenter who was famous because he said anything in a complete monotone? Picture that guy reporting a natural disaster and you have what TV interpreters do in order to “avoid distracting hearing folk”, according to this lady.
Yes, I remember being in ASL classes (I took two years of ASL as my foreign language requirement in high school) and being a bit uncomfortable/awkward watching the teacher signing to us. The facial expressions can take some getting used to, but they are very important to the language.
One assignment required us to interpret a song. I remember being told I did well on interpreting it, but the meaning/emotion behind the song was lost, because I wasn’t emotional enough in my facial expressions.
I am in ASL classes right now. I’m still pretty much a beginner but I like to read a lot on the technical, linguistic side of things.
My teacher talks about the concept of “facial volume” and facial expression as well as the intensity of facial expression can change the meaning of a sign, or intensify it. The only significant difference between “should” “must” and “need” is your facial expression and how strongly you make the sign’s main gesture. Similarly, “nice” “pure” and “clean” are the same gensture with differing gestural speed/intensities and facial expressions.
I am given to understand that in some sign languages the blank, expressionless face is considered somewhat correct for formal occasions (as in Nava’s example but I have heard the same thing about televised British Sign Interpreters). In contrast, in ASL a blank, expressionless face is NEVER correct ASL grammar. Not for any interpreter, in any situation.
In ASL, can signing with a blank face be used to make a point, as is sometimes done in speech? Maybe a connotation of “who cares?” or “seriously?” or “yawn” or something.
Sorry yes. I mean, using no facial expression for the entirety of the interpretation. I did not mean that you can never use “blank” or “bored” as a suitable facial expression in the right context.
If you had used the appropriate smiley in your post, we all would have understood that.
ETA: 
FUNNY++ YOU. [Smirk]
Sorry, these were BSL.
Not only that, but facial expressions are important in spoken language, one reason telephone calls can be so unsatisfactory. There is a fascinating book called From Hand to Mouth by Michael Corballis whose thesis is that sign language preceded spoken language (hence the title) and he makes a lot about the importance of facial expressions, both in sign and speech.