Formal name: Jemina Napier

Position: Senior Lecturer, Coordinator, Translation & Interpreting Programs

Personal Title: Dr

Qualifications: PhD (Macq), MEd (UTS), MA (Durham), BA Hons (London Guildlhall), NAATI Accredited Interpreter

Telephone: +61 2 9850 8756

Fax: +61 2 9850 9199

Email: jemina.napier@ling.mq.edu.au

Location: C5A 424

Web Pages: Selected Publications

Profile

Jemina Napier is a native British Sign Language (BSL) user, with extensive experience of interpreting. As a BSL/ English interpreting practitioner she specialised in mental health, conference, media and educational interpreting. She coordinated and taught on the Sign Language Interpreters Training Course at the City Literary Institute in London for two years, before moving to Sydney in 1998. Jemina now practices as an interpreter between English and BSL, Auslan or International Sign, specialising in conferences and linguistics. In 2001 she completed her PhD thesis, which analysed the linguistic coping strategies of sign language interpreters in terms of omissions made and why. She joined the staff at Macquarie University in 2002.

Jemina is currently the President of the Australian Sign Language Interpreters' Association (member of the Executive Board since 2002; Vice-President 2005-2007); and former member of the Executive Board of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (regional representative for Australasia/ Oceania 2005-2007); and is a member of the Auslan Examination Panel (co-chair 2004-2007) and the Qualifications & Assessment Advisory Committee of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.

Teaching

Jemina coordinates the suite of Translation & Interpreting programs in the department, with specific responsibility for the Auslan/English Interpreting program. She convenes the majority of the Auslan program units and also teaches in the Translation & Interpreting and Conference Interpreting programs. In 2006, Jemina received Division of Linguistics & Psychology and Macquarie University citations for 'outstanding contributions to student learning', and a 2007 Carrick Institute for Higher Education citation award 'For pioneering and developing an innovative research-led program and complementary resources to enhance the learning experience of sign language interpreting students.'

Research

Jemina is a member of the Centre for Translation & Interpreting Research, and the Applied Linguistics & Language in Education and Sign Language Linguistics Research Groups; and has an association with the Centre for Language Sciences. She held a Macquarie University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from January 2004 - December 2006. She is involved in various research projects on interpreting, including access to court proceedings via sign language interpreting, a survey of T&I practitioners, and perceptions and comprehension of sign language interpreting. Jemina also actively researches interpreting pedagogy through action research. Jemina is the Review Editor for the 'Sign Language Translator & Interpreter' journal published by St Jerome Press.

Main Research Interest

• Signed language interpreting and translation
• Discourse and interpreting
• Translation & interpreting pedagogy
• Distance education pedagogy
  

Wider Research Interests

• Discourse analysis
• Bilingualism
• Language contact
• Cross-cultural communication
• Applied Sign Linguistics