The Situation of Deaf Interpreters of Ukrainian Sign Language and Czech Sign Language in the Czech Republic

The present thesis focuses on the situation of Deaf Interpreters of Ukrainian Sign Language and Czech Sign Language in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the thesis presents the context of the 2022 migration wave in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlights the importance of equal access to communication during humanitarian crises, and defines the issue of community interpreting. It further deals with the situation of Deaf refugees, their communication barriers, and presents examples of good practice from abroad for overcoming them. It specifies competence, relay interpreting, and places the theory within a legislative framework. The empirical part of the thesis introduces the results of a questionnaire survey of interpreting organizations in the Czech Republic that provide interpreting services to Deaf clients from Ukraine. For comparision with these results, semi-structured interviews with Deaf Ukrainian Sign Language interpreters were also recorded. Based on the findings of the research itself, practical recommendations were developed for future practice, when there may again be an unexpected increase in demand for interpreting between two sing languages. Keywords Deaf interpreters, Czech Sign Language interpreting, Ukrainian Sign Language interpreting, provision of...