Denmark – FTT
Foreningen Af Tegnsprogstolke
Statistics
Size of the country (km²): 43 094
Population: 5 700 000
Number of d/Deaf Sign Language users: 4 000 – 5 000
Number of officially registered sign language interpreters: 250 – 300
Number of interpreter members of the association: 250
Interpreter training programme
We are lucky to have a 3.5 year program for interpreter training. Originally it started back in 1988 so they just celebrated the first 25 years. It is located at UCC, University College in Copenhagen and in Århus. It will be registered as a BA next year. The first year is mostly used to learn Sign Language and the rest is interpreter training in theory and practice. Also deaf culture, voice-production, and most importantly Ethics are subjects taught. It includes 3 times of work experience and the student is always accompanied by a trained interpreter.
Unfortunately there are massive financial cut downs. The number of hours with a teacher present has been cut down, and it has been suggested to close down the education in Århus. It took a lot of hard work to avoid that.