Sign-Language Interpreter for Mayor de Blasio Is a Web Hit

New Yorkers who tuned in to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s televised storm briefings found themselves distracted by the unusual activity on one side of the screen. That would be Jonathan Lamberton, the mayor’s sign-language interpreter, whose arsenal of rapid gesticulations, vigorous frowns and mime-like smiles -- a stark contrast to the mayor’s sober mien -- raced around social media, earning equal parts awe and amusement.

The seemingly melodramatic style, it turns out, is by design. Lamberton, 38, is deaf, a relative rarity in his profession, and he uses an innovative form of interpreting that can be easier for some hearing-impaired people to understand. Typically, interpreters are trained in American Sign Language and can hear the words they are expected to translate. But Lamberton works with a hearing partner who signs an initial translation to him. Lamberton then signs his own take, adjusting for meaning and nuance. The difference, he explained, is like hearing the subtle accent of a native speaker, rather than someone who has picked up a foreign language. “As a deaf person, as a native user of the language, I’m able to make the message more clear,” Lamberton said.