IDENTITY CONSTITUTIONS OF SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATORS/INTERPRETERS IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN MACEIÓ: A DISCURSIVE STUDY ON RESPONSIVE AFFECTIVITY
Implicit Applied Linguistics; Discourse; Identity constitution; Affective
responsiveness; Translation/Interpretation.
The educational scenario for deaf people has represented an important area of activity
for Translators/Interpreters of Libras and Portuguese (TILSP). At the same time, this
scenario is constituted by them and constitutes them through the dialogic relationships
established between the "self and the other" (Bakhtin, 2011). In this way, this paper
seeks to reflect on the constitution of identities (Hall, 2004; Moita Lopes, 2002; Luz and
Souto Maior, 2018) of TILSPs who work in the early years of elementary school in a
public school in Maceió. The discussions are anchored in the qualitative approach of
Applied Linguistics (Moita Lopes, 2006) and Implied LA (Souto Maior, 2022), based
on the Bakhtinian enunciative-discursive conception of language (Bakhtin, 2003, 2006,
2011; Volochinov, 2017) in dialog with studies in the area of deaf education and translation and interpretation of Libras (Lacerda, 2009; Tuxi, 2009; Nascimento, 2013, 2018). The study's approach is qualitative (Lüdke; André, 1987) and the methodology adopted to construct the data was ethnographic research (Oliveira, 2013; André, 2013), consolidated from the application of semi-open questionnaires, narrative interviews and observations of the practice of TILSPs in the context analyzed, recorded in the researcher's reflective diaries. The analysis procedure followed the methodology of data triangulation and interpretivist analysis (Moita Lopes [1994], 2019; Souto Maior, 2022) of networks of meanings in relation to TILSPs; positions on the practice developed in the educational space. The study thus sheds light on the important role played by TILSPs, especially in primary education. Through the discussion on affective responsiveness, the existence of complex identity constitutions was observed, which imply multiple functions attributed to professionals due to the current educational reality, requiring them to move into the field of pedagogical action, aiming to make the teaching and learning process of deaf students effective.