Meet the woman bridging communication gaps with sign language

Photograph: Yang Xiaozhe

My name is Tang Wenyan but everyone calls me Tangtang. I am a full-time Chinese and English sign language interpreter. I was born and raised in Shanghai but I never realised it was different to other cities until I started travelling across China for work. I consider myself very lucky to be born and live in a city that embraces diversity.

You’re most likely to see me wearing a black jumpsuit at an event because darker colours contrast better against my complexion, so people who rely on sign language are able to see my hands clearly. When people only need to hear my voice, you may also see me sit or kneel on – the point is to ‘disappear’ and give the stage to the speakers.

When I first started, I was the only full-time sign language interpreter in Shanghai, which I’m not anymore. At the beginning, I wasn’t so sure about my career as there weren’t many job vacancies for my skills. The only way was to carve a career path for myself. That’s how I began Communication Access, a sign language service company that provides translation and barrier-free consulting services for deaf and hearing-impaired individuals and organisations.

Looking back, it was a bold decision because I could be unemployed at any time. But I was young and I remember I told myself that if I didn’t choose to go with this path, I would regret it when I was old – thinking that I missed an opportunity to play a role in improving social equality.

The learning process is long and difficult, particularly for people of normal hearing who begin to study sign language much later in life compared to some deaf children who pick it up by communicating with their parents at home. Sign language relies on the visuals, so you have to abandon a mode of thinking that you take for granted in spoken language – let alone the grammar. 

Working as a sign language interpreter is even more difficult than acquiring the language itself. It’s a complicated language system that people of different ages or in different areas use differently. Similar to any other translation jobs, sign language interpreters have to figure out how to translate new vocabulary all the time. In terms of the practical stuff, some clients require synchronised lip movements, while others don’t... and there are also people who adamantly think our service should be free.

Deaf people sometimes still attract unwanted or unfriendly stares when they communicate in sign language on the street, and impatience from people of normal hearing can really hurt their feelings. The best thing to do is to see deaf individuals for who they are and embrace the differences like this city does. But it would be a lot nicer if everyone could learn a bit of sign language.

I still think that I’m so lucky to have found a career that has some value to society. It may sound tacky, but sometimes I think maybe this job chose me, not the other way around. 

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