Officer.com - Lost WITHOUT TRANSLATION

Agencies prepare for encounters with non-English speaking

Officer.com - October 1, 2008 - By Carole Moore

Robert Dziekanski, a 40-year-old Polish citizen who spoke no English, arrived at the Vancouver International Airport on October 14, 2007. Dziekanski, a construction worker, was the only child of Zosia Cisowski. Cisowski, according to news reports, had emigrated to Canada, then worked two jobs for many years in order to send for her only child.

But when Dziekanski made the long journey from Poland to Canada, what was set in motion was the backdrop for an enormous and very public tragedy. After flying from Frankfurt, Germany, on the last leg of his trip, an exhausted and jet-lagged Dziekanski landed at the airport, hoping to see his mother waiting for him.

That was not the case.

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A call for help

Twenty-six years ago, a San Jose police officer realized his department not only was fielding more calls for service from Spanish-speaking subjects, but a growing number of Vietnamese were also settling in the area.

Launched originally as a non-profit, Language Line Services (LLS) of Monterey, California, acted as a kind of go-between for clients who needed to communicate with individuals who did not speak English.

Louis Provenzano, LLS president and COO, says the company partners with 911 calls, police and emergency dispatchers. LLS provides access to 176 different languages.

The concept is simple. The officer notifies dispatch of the need for an interpreter. Dispatch calls the company on a special emergency telephone line and the officer hooks up with an interpreter.


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