Separated by a Common Tongue: Foreclosures Trap Translators in Middle

Credit Crisis Brings Them More Business -- And Stress; Guilt Trips in Mandarin


By MIRIAM JORDAN

MONTEREY, Calif. (April 1, 2009) -- For years, interpreter Yu Ching ended many calls by saying, "Congratulations. You have been approved," as she helped credit-card companies and mortgage lenders reach a growing share of the Mandarin-speaking market in the U.S.

But on a recent morning, the call-center interpreter didn't have the last word. "You're sending me off a cliff," shrieked a woman, after Ms. Ching relayed a bank official's refusal to let the woman avert foreclosure by selling her house for less than the value of her mortgage.

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