Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for February 3 to February 16

Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information.

Language Access, More Than Just Audio, Vital to a Fair Trial:

A court in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, declared a mistrial last week when a deaf woman's testimony against a man accused of assaulting her was delivered by instant messenger instead of a court interpreter. 

While interpreters are used regularly to translate court proceedings into other languages for trial participants,  American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are not as common and more costly to staff.

Understanding the importance of providing ASL interpreters in court rooms, hospitals, police departments and other publicly founded institutions, leading over-the-phone interpretation company, Language Line Services created and launched, the Language Line Video Interpreting Service, an on-demand, 24-hour, video interpretation service featuring certified and Registered Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). 

For more information, or to set up interviews, contact Christine de la Huerta at 305-448-7535 or christine.delahuerta@rbbpr.com.

Burmese Immigrants’ Struggles Continue Even After Entering the United States:

Members of the Karen ethnic group, whose half-century struggle for independence within Burma has made them particular targets of the military, have been fleeing to the United States in record numbers since the country’s civil war worsened in 2006.

Unfortunately, getting to America is only half the battle for these political refugees. Because of the rapid influx of Karen immigrants, who speak their own language and only sometimes speak Burmese, local resettlement agencies throughout the United States are struggling to find enough Karen interpreters to meet these new residents’ needs.

In the last six months leading over-the-phone interpretation provider Language Line Services has seen requests for language assistance in Karen increase by more than 60 percent, particularly among clients in Denver, upstate New York and Nashville, TN.

Because of this increased demand, Language Line Services has begun hiring new Karen interpreters with a goal of increasing its Karen interpreter base by nearly 100%.

Representatives from Language Line Services are available to discuss this recruitment push for Karen interpreters, the geographic areas where Karen interpreters are most needed and other remote languages that are emerging in urban and rural areas throughout the country.

For interviews or more information contact Jeanine Karp at 305-785-0424 or jeanine.karp@rbbpr.com.

More than half of Korean American Residents Speak Limited English:

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) reported this month that the number of Korean immigrants in the United States grew 27-fold between 1970 and 2007, from 38,711 to one million Korean immigrants.

The MPI study also reported that 57% percent of this Korean immigrant population is considered to be limited English proficient  and half reside in just four states: California, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.

How do these states address the needs of their non-English speaking constituents? In most cases, it’s through an language access program created by Language Line Services,  a leading translation and over-the-phone interpretation provider that works with nearly 95% of the nation’s 911 centers, police departments and first responders, government organizations and hospitals.

Representatives from Language Line Services and/or 911 centers in California, New York, New Jersey and Virginia are available to discuss the impact of this influx of Korean immigrants and best practices for integrating limited-English residents into your community.

For interviews or more information contact Jeanine Karp at 305-785-0424 or jeanine.karp@rbbpr.com.

To Celebrate Valentine’s Day Language Line Services’ Professional Document Translators say I LOVE YOU in 13 ways:

1. Te amo (Spanish)
2. Jeg elsker deg(Norwegian)
3. Aku cinta kamu (Indonesian)
4. Я тебя люблю (Russian)
5. Volim te (Croatian)
6. Miluji tě (Czech)
7. Ik hou van jou (Dutch)
8. Mahal kita (Filipino)
9. Ich liebe dich (German)
10. Ljubim te (Slovenian)
11. Yes kez sirumem (Armenian)
12. Tôi yêu bạn (Vietnamese)
13. Je t'aime (French)

ABOUT LANGUAGE LINE SERVICES

Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language-based services, is a trusted partner to thousands of organizations whose focus is to effectively serve the rapidly expanding market of limited English speakers.

The company delivers a dynamic suite of solutions spanning translation, transcription, phone and video interpretation, interpreter certification, localization and localized software and devices, enabling clients to communicate with customers in their preferred languages.

Through its leading-edge technology infrastructure, Language Line Services provides support for more than 170 languages to its industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including health care, financial services, government, telecom, manufacturing, insurance, entertainment, travel, and more.

For information on how Language Line Services is helping clients achieve their strategic multi-cultural marketing and regulatory compliance objectives, please call 1-800-752-6096.