affordablelanguageservices.com

Coming into the language industry and not speaking a foreign language, I did not realize the importance of interpreters. More importantly, I did not know about the seriousness of documenting interpreting services in order to comply with the law. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects people from discrimination based on race, national origin, or color in programs or activities that receive any type of federal funding, and requires organizations to ensure people can “meaningfully access” programs and activities.

The market for translating and interpreting is awash with new technology, which is great for patients and providers—when it works. As a primarily face to face interpreter, I have often heard doctors and nurses complaining about poor connection or sound quality when using a telephonic or video interpreter. Luckily, interpreter technology, along with broadband speeds, has come a long way in the last couple years and the technology works pretty darn well, with a few glitches.

As we advertise to recruit qualified medical interpreters, the question we commonly ask is, “Are you bilingual?” Well, this is a start to know if someone speaks another language fluently. However, is this enough to recruit and send someone on a medical appointment? The answer is a resounding “NO!”

In many professions, effective communication is essential for a successful provider-consumer interaction. Particularly, healthcare providers rely on verbal and nonverbal communication as the primary tool for obtaining patients’ health history. Language and cultural barriers can lead to miscommunication, which can further lead to under- or over-diagnosis and inappropriate treatment.

The Question: How much will my translation cost?
The Answer: It depends!

The interpreting profession for spoken languages has come a long way since it began using volunteers to national certified interpreters of today.  The demand all over the United States for all languages has skyrocketed in the past 10 to 12 years. In the past, interpreter services were provided by volunteers, children and other community members without any training. These ad hoc interpreters were doing the best they could with what they had.  Many family members acted as interpreters and many times they left out crucial information. They were omitting and or distorting the message during the medical encounters leaving the limited English proficient patients open to risk. Sometimes the limited English proficient patients would not follow instructions or they were less likely to come back for follow up appointments due to the poor communication between the provider and the patient.  According to the recent census, 20.8 % of the population in the United States speaks a language other than English.  Laws like Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, are some of the reasons for the new emerging interpreting profession.

In our global world, translation is a fact of life. If your customers can’t read about your product in their language, they won’t buy it. If they can’t get support for the product in their language, they probably won’t come back.

JV Almeda is the Internal Operations Manager at ALS

We’ve spent the past few months trying to put into words what it is we do every day. For some, we translate marketing materials into Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. For others, we help them call customers who don’t speak English. For many, we help ensure they get the medical care they need.

On August 27, 2013, I had the privilege of attending the 2013 Goering Center Family & Private Business Awards Celebration with Lynn Elfers, CEO and founder of Affordable Language Services. Over 700 people were in attendance at the 14th annual awards celebration held at Music Hall, in the historic Over the Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The room was filled with excitement, as family and private business owners, including finalists from 92 local organizations, enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres prior to the presentation of the awards.