Reactive and emergency-based:

Translation and interpreting policy between Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and Portuguese in the university domain

Abstract

The guarantee of linguistic rights through translation and interpreting has become an imperative for higher education institutions enrolling Deaf students whose first language is Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) since the early 21st century. This article draws on a case study to discuss translation and interpreting policies between Libras and Portuguese in the university domain. To this end, based on Spolsky’s theoretical model of language policy and on scholars in Translation Studies who adress translation policies, the study analyzes interviews with participants who are directly and indirectly involved in translation and interpreting activities at a federal public higher education institution. Over nearly three decades of providing translation and interpreting of this language pair at the university, the findings indicate the emergence of a policy that, in the context of precarization of public services, operates under a reactive logic aimed at meeting emergency translation and interpreting demands. This logic poses a challenge for the field by weakening mechanism for ensuring the linguistic rights of deaf individuals in higher education and by contributing to the precarization of translators’ and interpreters’ working conditions.