Anna-Lena Nilsson
About
I am professor of Signed language and interpreting at the Department of Language and Literature. I have a PhD in Signed Language Linguistics from the Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University, and am a trained Swedish Sign Language/Swedish/English interpreter.
In our BA-program in Norwegian Sign Language, I mainly teach courses on language, communication, professional ethics, and interpreting theory.
Membership of editorial boards
Member of the editorial board of Deaf Worlds, 2003–2005.
Member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Interpreter Education from 2009–.
International work
I am a member of the Registration Panel of The Register of Irish Sign Language Interpreters (www.risli.ie), and a member of the ISO Expert Group of WASLI (The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters) which provides expert advice to Technical Committe 37 Language and Terminology of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO).
During the academic years 2020/2021 – 2022/2023 , I was the external examiner for the European Master in Sign Language Interpreting program: https://www.eumasli.eu/#:~:text=EUMASLI%20%E2%80%93%20European%20Master%20in%20Sign,interpreters%20from%20across%20the%20world
As of the academic year 2022/2023, I am the external examiner for the MSC program Advancing Practice in Signed/Spoken Language Interpreting: https://www.qmu.ac.uk/study-here/postgraduate-study/2023/msc-advancing-practice-in-signed-spoken-language-interpreting/
Research
Research interests:
- Sign Language Linguistics, with a special interest in sign language discourse produced during simultaneous interpretation.
- Corpus-based approaches to signed language research.
- Discourse structure and cohesion in signed language.
- Signed language interpreting, and how interpreters and the deaf community can cooperate and encourage mutual trust.
- M2L2-learning of signed languages
• Since 2014 I have been working in Trondheim, and my main research here has been on how sign language interpreters move their whole body in space – described as the embodiment of conceptual metaphors – and on the M2L2-acquisition of Norwegian Sign Language by our interpreting students. I am also interested in the relationship between interpreters and the deaf community, and in how research results can reach more people.
Selected research projects
• In 2022, I was a consultant for a report on the information available to parents of deaf and hard of hearing children regarding language acquisition and sign language: Kartlegging av støtteapparatets veiledning av foreldre om døve barns språkutvikling og tilgang til tegnspråk: https://osloeconomics.no/publication/kartlegging-av-stotteapparatets-veiledning-av-foreldre-om-dove-barns-sprakutvikling-og-tilgang-til-tegnsprak/
• I have recently conducted a study in cooperation with Dr Rachel McKee, from Auckland, New Zealand, running parallel projects in Norway and New Zealand. The project was called "Interpreters as Agents of Language Policy". : https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/tis.21041.mck
• Our department is involved in a network for signed language corpora in the Nordic countries: https://www.ntnu.no/web/isl/nordisk-tegnsprakkorpus
• During 2012–2014 I ran the research project Use of Signing Space in Simultaneous Sign Langauge Interpreting., which was financed by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet).
• During 2010-2012 I was one of the researchers involved in the EU-financed project MEDISIGNS - Medical Sign Language & Interpreter Training: http://www.medisignsproject.eu/MEDISIGNS/About_MEDISIGNS.html
Partners included experts from Ireland, Cyprus, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
Publications
2024
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2024)
Hvem skal forske på tegnspråktolking?.
Tolkeposten
Popular scientific article
2023
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Teckenspråkstolkutbildning på Stockholms universitet – varför det?.
Dövas Tidning
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Teckenspråkstolkutbildning på Stockholms universitet – varför det?.
Tolktrycket
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Exploring Real Space blends as indicators of discourse complexity in Swedish Sign Language
.
De Gruyter Mouton
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2022
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
EFSLI-konferensen 2022: Var fanns svenskarna?.
Tolktrycket
Feature article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
Kerstsin Björk. 1949-2022.
Tolktrycket
Feature article
-
Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole;
Anible, Benjamin Donald;
Hodge, Gabrielle;
Jantunen, Tommi;
Leeson, Lorraine;
Mesch, Johanna.
(2022)
A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across five signed languages.
Linguistic Typology
Academic article
-
McKee, Rachel;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
Interpreters as agents of language planning.
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Academic article
2021
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2021)
‘We hope to encourage more dialogue’.
NEWSLI
Popular scientific article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2021)
Svar til Helge Edland.
Døves Tidsskrift
Reader opinion piece
2020
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Bø, Vibeke;
Vonen, Arnfinn Muruvik;
Hjulstad, Johan;
Ringsø, Torill;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
Når fagfolks manglende kunnskap om språk hindrer hørselshemmede barns utviklingsmuligheter – et tilsvar til Skaug (2020).
Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi
Article in business/trade/industry journal
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2020)
Vad är en bra tolk och är en tolk alltid det som behövs?.
Dövas Tidning
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2020)
Vad är en bra tolk och är en tolk alltid det som behövs?.
Tolktrycket
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
From Gestuno Interpreting to International Sign Interpreting: Improved Accessibility?.
Journal of Interpretation
Academic article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
Hva er en god tolk og er en tolk alltid den beste løsningen?.
Døves Tidsskrift
Popular scientific article
2019
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2019)
Att vara "en bra tolk" – förr, nu och i framtiden.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2019)
Working with Active Interpreters: A Commentary about Interpreting Terminology and Concepts.
International Journal of Interpreter Education
Feature article
2018
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Att tolka från ett tecknat till ett talat språk.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Raanes, Eli;
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Tolker og tolking - en introduksjon.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Foreward.
The Federation Press
Foreword
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Expressing time through space: Embodying conceptual metaphors in an L1 vs. an L2 signed language.
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Academic article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Raanes, Eli.
(2018)
Tolking - språkarbeid og profesjonsutøvelse.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic anthology/Conference proceedings
2017
-
Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2017)
Describing spatial layouts as an M2 signed language learner.
Sign Language and Linguistics
Academic article
2016
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2016)
Embodying metaphors: Signed language interpreters at work.
Cognitive Linguistics
Academic article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2016)
Interpreting from signed language into spoken language: The skills and knowledge needed to succeed.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Journal publications
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2024)
Hvem skal forske på tegnspråktolking?.
Tolkeposten
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Teckenspråkstolkutbildning på Stockholms universitet – varför det?.
Dövas Tidning
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Teckenspråkstolkutbildning på Stockholms universitet – varför det?.
Tolktrycket
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
EFSLI-konferensen 2022: Var fanns svenskarna?.
Tolktrycket
Feature article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
Kerstsin Björk. 1949-2022.
Tolktrycket
Feature article
-
Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole;
Anible, Benjamin Donald;
Hodge, Gabrielle;
Jantunen, Tommi;
Leeson, Lorraine;
Mesch, Johanna.
(2022)
A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across five signed languages.
Linguistic Typology
Academic article
-
McKee, Rachel;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2022)
Interpreters as agents of language planning.
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Academic article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2021)
‘We hope to encourage more dialogue’.
NEWSLI
Popular scientific article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2021)
Svar til Helge Edland.
Døves Tidsskrift
Reader opinion piece
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Bø, Vibeke;
Vonen, Arnfinn Muruvik;
Hjulstad, Johan;
Ringsø, Torill;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
Når fagfolks manglende kunnskap om språk hindrer hørselshemmede barns utviklingsmuligheter – et tilsvar til Skaug (2020).
Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi
Article in business/trade/industry journal
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2020)
Vad är en bra tolk och är en tolk alltid det som behövs?.
Dövas Tidning
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Haualand, Hilde.
(2020)
Vad är en bra tolk och är en tolk alltid det som behövs?.
Tolktrycket
Popular scientific article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
From Gestuno Interpreting to International Sign Interpreting: Improved Accessibility?.
Journal of Interpretation
Academic article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2020)
Hva er en god tolk og er en tolk alltid den beste løsningen?.
Døves Tidsskrift
Popular scientific article
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2019)
Working with Active Interpreters: A Commentary about Interpreting Terminology and Concepts.
International Journal of Interpreter Education
Feature article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Expressing time through space: Embodying conceptual metaphors in an L1 vs. an L2 signed language.
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Academic article
-
Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2017)
Describing spatial layouts as an M2 signed language learner.
Sign Language and Linguistics
Academic article
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2016)
Embodying metaphors: Signed language interpreters at work.
Cognitive Linguistics
Academic article
Books
-
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena;
Raanes, Eli.
(2018)
Tolking - språkarbeid og profesjonsutøvelse.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic anthology/Conference proceedings
Part of book/report
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2023)
Exploring Real Space blends as indicators of discourse complexity in Swedish Sign Language
.
De Gruyter Mouton
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2019)
Att vara "en bra tolk" – förr, nu och i framtiden.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Att tolka från ett tecknat till ett talat språk.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Raanes, Eli;
Haualand, Hilde;
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Tolker og tolking - en introduksjon.
Gyldendal Akademisk
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2018)
Foreward.
The Federation Press
Foreword
-
Nilsson, Anna-Lena.
(2016)
Interpreting from signed language into spoken language: The skills and knowledge needed to succeed.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Teaching
Courses
Knowledge Transfer
2023
-
InterviewNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2023) Tolkepodden. Tolkerollen – kommer vi noen gang i mål?. Tolkepodden Tolkepodden [Internet] 2023-05-31
2022
-
Academic lectureFerrara, Lindsay Nicole; Anible, Benjamin Donald; Hodge, Gabrielle; Jantunen, Tommi; Leeson, Lorraine; Mesch, Johanna. (2022) A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across different signed languages. University of Catania Sign CAFE 2 , Ragusa, Sicily 2022-10-13 - 2022-10-15
-
Popular scientific lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2022) Kan man tolka allt?. Teckenspråksforum, Göteborgs stad Teckenspråk i fokus 2022 , Göteborg 2022-05-12 - 2022-05-12
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Popular scientific lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2022) Tolkning = tillgänglighet? Tillgänglighet = tolkning?. Teckenspråksforum, Göteborgs stad Teckenspråk i fokus 2022 , Göteborg 2022-05-12 - 2022-05-12
2021
-
LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena; Haualand, Hilde. (2021) Allies for change: how can interpreters and deaf people work together? . Diaconia Univ. of Appl. Sc. (Diak) & Humak Univ. of App. Sci Nordic Seminar , Turku (Zoom) 2021-01-29 - 2021-01-30
2020
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Academic lectureFerrara, Lindsay Nicole; Anible, Benjamin Donald; Hodge, Gabrielle; Jantunen, Tommi; Leeson, Lorraine; Mesch, Johanna. (2020) A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across different signed languages. University of New Mexico HDLS , Virtual 2020-11-21 - 2020-11-23
-
Popular scientific lectureHaualand, Hilde; Nilsson, Anna-Lena. (2020) Tolk - inkludering i praksis eller en nødløsning?. Tolkene i Akademikerforbundet Fagkveld , Oslo 2020-02-27 - 2020-02-27
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Popular scientific lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena; Haualand, Hilde. (2020) Tolking; inkludering i praksis eller en nødløsning?. Oslo Døveforening og Tolkene i Akademikerforbundet Fagkveld/Fri faglig fredag , Oslo 2020-02-27 - 2020-02-27
2019
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2019) Hvordan kan alle få et ord med i laget i et flerspråklig arbeidsmiljø?. Signo Tegnspråk 2019 , Litteraturhuset, Oslo 2019-05-15 - 2019-05-15
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Academic lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2019) From Gestuno interpreters to International Sign interpreters: Improved accessibility?. World Association of Sign Language Interpreters World Association of Sign Language Interpreters Conference , Paris 2019-07-18 - 2019-07-19
-
Popular scientific lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2019) Att vara "en bra tolk" – förr, nu och i framtiden. Sveriges teckenspråkstolkars förening STTF 50 år , Göteborg 2019-02-23 - 2019-02-24
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Popular scientific lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2019) Å være en god tolk – før, nå og i fremtiden. Tolkeforbundet Fagdag Tolkeforbundet , Bergen 2019-03-16 - 2019-03-16
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2019) Is it ok to make your living from the Deaf community without being a part of it?. Sveriges teckenspråkstolkars förening European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters Conference , Malmö 2019-09-07 - 2019-09-08
2018
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2018) Hva gjør en professor i tegnspråk og tolking? . Institutt for språk og litteratur, NTNU Tiltredelsesseminar , Trondheim 2018-08-17 - 2018-08-17
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Academic lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena; Myriam, Vermeerbergen. (2018) "Signed Language Linguistics: Taking Stock" Part 1 – Introducing the (history of the) field. The Permanent International Committee of Linguists International Congress of Linguists ICL20 , Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) 2018-07-02 - 2018-07-06
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2018) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – continuing to develop your skills. Sveriges teckenspråkstolkars förening (STTF) Nordic Seminar 2018 "Theory in practice - Practice in theory: Bridgning the gap between researchers and practitioners" , Umeå 2018-02-22 - 2018-02-25
2016
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena; Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole. (2016) Meaningful use of space: easy or hard for hearing L2 learners?. La Trobe University TISLR12 , Melbourne 2016-01-04 - 2016-01-07
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PosterNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2016) Expressing time through space: Embodying conceptual metaphors in an L2. International Society for Gesture Studies ISGS7 International Society for Gesture Studies Conference , Paris 2016-07-18 - 2016-07-22
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Academic lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2016) Teaching L2-interpreters to embody conceptual metaphors: A way to future-proof signed language interpreting?. Heriot Watt University Critical Link 8 , Edinburgh 2016-06-29 - 2016-07-01
2015
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Academic lectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2015) Interpreting from Signed Language into Spoken Language: The skills and Knowledge Needed to Succeed. European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters Conference 2015 , Krakow 2015-09-12 - 2015-09-13
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2015) Att tolka mellan två språk i två olika modaliteter. Sveriges teckenspråkstolkars förening. STTF:s årsmötes och fortbildningshelg. , Härnösand 2015-03-14 - 2015-03-15
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena. (2015) Meningsskapande och mottagaranpassning. Sveriges teckenspråkstolkars förening STTF:s årsmötes- och fortbildningshelg. , Härnösand 2015-03-14 - 2015-03-15
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InterviewRaanes, Eli; Bjerkli, Georg; Nilsson, Anna-Lena. (2015) Tolkeutdanning gjennom 20 år. NRK-tegnspråknyhetene NRK-tegnspråknyhetene [TV] 2015-06-05
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LectureNilsson, Anna-Lena; Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole. (2015) Depicting from experience: learning to give directions in space. NTNU The Fifth Conference of the Scandinavian Association for Language and Cognition (SALC V) , Trondheim 2015-08-18 - 2015-08-21
2014
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Academic lectureRaanes, Eli; Ferrara, Lindsay Nicole; Nilsson, Anna-Lena. (2014) “Why was that funny?”: Exploring humor and language in Norwegian Sign Language. Universitetet i Tromsø NORKOG Kognitivt sommerseminar 2014 , Tromsø 2014-07-20 - 2014-07-21