Language Access Innovation Drives LanguageLine Growth
LanguageLine Solutions® was the inspiration of a San Jose, California police officer who encountered language barriers following an influx of Southeast Asian immigrants in 1982. To reduce the risk to civilians and first responders, he created a communication solution, combining pager technology and telephones, to rapidly link law enforcement personnel with professional language interpreters as a volunteer service. The interpreter talent, organized by a U.S. Marine interpreter at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, enabled officers to efficiently respond to emergencies or routine matters. The resulting solution was so beneficial to the department, that soon dozens of languages were requested.
The volunteer service incorporated as Communication and Language Line, and was acquired by AT&T, as a strategic business unit. AT&T Language Line Services received significant investments in technology and interpreter quality, creating standards for the emerging telephone interpreting industry. For a decade, the company served as a vital resource for business, government and health care clients who faced changing demographics and state and federal laws and regulations in the 1990s. Professional, on-demand language services enabled organizations of all types to communicate with new consumers, grow their business, ensure safety and security and provide better service to a growing segment of the population.
In 1999, the company became an independent entity, today known as LanguageLine Solutions®. The organization that began as a pioneer of the telephone interpreting business broadened its offerings to serve the increasingly complex market. In addition to phone interpreting, the company also offers video remote and onsite interpreting, translation and localization services, and language proficiency testing and training.
On September 16, 2016, LanguageLine Solutions was acquired by Teleperformance, the worldwide leader in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management. Teleperformance has stated that LanguageLine will continue to operate as a stand-alone business, headquartered in Monterey, California.
LanguageLine Solutions continues its focus on quality, setting industry standards, and continued innovation. The latest innovation, an award-winning cloud-based language access platform known as Olympus℠, is redefining on-demand language service delivery. The platform was built to provide flexibility for future growth of new product offerings including LanguageLine® InSight℠ Video Interpreting, the company’s proprietary video interpreting solution. The Olympus platform will enable LanguageLine Solutions to maximize its 8,000 strong on-demand linguist team, the heart and soul of our business, as modes of interpreting overlap. Trusted by more than 25,000 clients to enable communication in any situation with the growing limited English proficient and the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing populations, we deliver the industry’s fastest and most dependable access to highly trained and professional linguists in more than 240 languages, 24/7/365. LanguageLine Solutions facilitates more than 32 million phone, video, and onsite interactions every year; that’s a new connection every second.
