Hello, I'm going to college for sign language interpretation, I haven't decided what college I'm going to yet but is it normally required that I already know sign language? Thanks in advance ! :)

That would be school by school issue. When you know what school you are interested in, call them and ask them their requirements.

Like Chuck said, that would depend on the school.

I will say that most people wanting to become interpreters, don't start learning the language in college, they start in grade school, or at the very least, high school.

College will make you fluent, but unless you have at least a basic understanding of that language, I can't see you learning enough in college to be a translator who had to be fluent, absolutely fluent, in that language.

But check around. If you have a gift for languages, then you should be okay. But most people can only learn a new language fluently if it's introduced to them from a young age, at least kindergarten onwards.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Alty

Like Chuck said, that would depend on the school.

I will say that most people wanting to become interpreters, don't start learning the language in college, they start in grade school, or at the very least, high school.

College will make you fluent, but unless you have at least a basic understanding of that language, I can't see you learning enough in college to be a translator who had to be fluent, absolutely fluent, in that language.

But check around. If you have a gift for languages, then you should be okay. But most people can only learn a new language fluently if it's introduced to them from a young age, at least kindergarten onwards.

Good luck.

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OP is inquiring about 'signing' which you don't learn in basic school, grade, college or otherwise. OP wants to learn how to talk to people who cant hear and can only 'sign' as in hand signing.

Any univeersity has courses in learning signing for the deaf or hearing impaired. No, you don't even have to have a basic understanding of 'signing' beforehand. For instance, Carleton Univserity in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, one of the largest, has a course in learning 'signing'.

I think it is great that you want to learn this benefit.

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Originally Posted by tickle

OP is inquiring about 'signing' which you don't learn in basic school, grade, college or otherwise. OP wants to learn how to talk to people who cant hear and can only 'sign' as in hand signing.

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Yes, I know. I know what ASL is Tickle.

ASL takes years and years to learn, like any language, and there are courses you can take before college to learn ASL. I would say that ASL is even harder than most languages to learn, and yes, it is a language, even though it's not spoken.

I'd start by taking a few beginning classes at the junior college level. If you still want to continue on to a university, you can find out what additional courses you need for admittance at that time.