SmashMouth

To those outside the deaf community, the sign language interpreter for Nelson Mandela's memorial may have looked like he was working hard, translating the spoken words into gestures for four hours.
But he has been dubbed "a fake," and his actions outraged deaf people, according to an association for the deaf community in South Africa.
The service to commemorate the revered statesman, who died last week at the age of 95, was broadcast to millions of viewers around the world.
While dignitaries addressed the crowd Tuesday at Johannesburg's FNB stadium, the unidentified suited man with a security pass produced a series of hand signals that experts say meant nothing.
The Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) said the "interpreter" was not a recognized professional, nor was he known by the deaf community in the country.


"The so-called 'interpreter' who interpreted at the official memorial service for late former president Nelson Mandela at FNB stadium has been dubbed the 'fake interpreter' and the deaf community is in outrage," Bruno Druchen, national director of DeafSA, said in a statement.
"He is not known by the Deaf Community in South Africa nor by the South African Sign Language interpreters working in the field."
The man did not use facial expressions, which in South African sign language are an important part of communication, and the hand signals he used were meaningless, Druchen said.
"The signs (self-invented signs) the interpreter used are not used in South African Sign Language and it is a total mockery of the language," he said.

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foreverfan

Why not... our President is a fake.

WhoDat!656

I already bought mine!

SmashMouth

Mandela memorial interpreter says he was hallucinating angels

The man accused of faking sign interpretation while standing alongside such world leaders as U.S. President Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service said Thursday he hallucinated that angels were entering the stadium, has schizophrenia and has been violent in the past.

Thamsanqa Jantjie said in a 45-minute interview with The Associated Press that his hallucinations began while he was interpreting and that he tried not to panic because there were “armed policemen around me.” He added that he was once hospitalized in a mental health facility for more than one year.

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foreverfan

Why not? Obama hallucinated a birth certificate.

Crusader

That is just plain wierd.

TheOak

Silly Westerners....

This is what is known as a "419" in Nigeria. It's a farce, scam....

The gent in question is related to someone that got him the job which I bet paid well and had many perks.

Is he a sign language expert? No
Does he suffer from hallucinations? No

Did he eat well, get paid well, sleep in an expensive hotel and bring his wife shopping while on the trip? Yep


AWA ~ Africa Wins Again

No truth comes out of Africa and the lies are layered like a doberge cane.

Mardigras9

So how in the world does that even happen? I mean from a security standpoint, how does a fake, non recognized person, get up that close.