Telephone Interpreting Services

Modern organizations recognize that the face of our nation is changing and that we are entering a period of unprecedented diversity. Already 64 million U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. That number is expected to escalate rapidly, as ethnic majorities will become the majority in the U.S. by 2045.

240+

Languages available on-demand

The advantages of LanguageLine Phone Interpreting

LanguageLine was founded in 1982 by a police officer who sought to overcome language barriers he experienced in the field. Today we are proud to be an essential partner in managing and growing modern organizations that welcome all people, regardless of language, culture, or ability.

We have the experience, team, and technology to convert the complexities of our nation’s linguistic landscape into a powerful business asset for you.

Today we are the largest provider of over-the-phone interpretation – larger than our next 10 competitors combined, with over 14,000 highly skilled professional interpreters available on demand. This means we can scale to your needs, no matter how unexpected they may be. We handle roughly 40 million interactions per year, answering each call within just seconds.

40 M

Interactions facilitated annually

8.3 sec.

Avg. connect time for Spanish calls

0.012%

Complaint-to-call ratio

14,000

Professional interpreters available on-demand

99.99%

Platform availability

16.1 sec.

Avg. connect time for all calls

My Arabic Interpreter did a great job assisting me. We were doing a medical history with a non-English speaking member. The call was long and time consuming. The interpreter was very patient. It surprised me that I didn't have to repeat the medical questions to her that I was asking the client.

Nurse at a major health insurance company

medical phone interpreters are qualified to assist

Customize Your Solution

custom over the phone interpreting options for clients

We understand that no two people – nor any two organizations – are identical. Unlike any provider in our industry, LanguageLine has the flexibility to offer state-of-the-art, customized call flows. These inventive, affordable solutions have the effect of delighting your customers while reducing costs.

Customizations include:

Direct Response

Provide an in-language experience for your limited-English caller from the beginning of the call to the end. An interpreter remains by the callers’ side the entire time.

Skip the Line

Providing language access in a call center has typically involved an agent putting a limited-English caller on hold, then dialing out through a series of manual steps. Skip the Line allows callers to bypass the interactive-voice-response (IVR) and data-collection steps, allowing them to reach in interpreter faster.

Overflow Solutions

This helps call centers that sometimes experience more inbound traffic than their in-house bilingual agents can handle. With this new overflow solution, non-English-speaking customers are assured their calls will be handled in a consistent manner, with 100 percent of the experience taking place in their preferred language.

Custom Language Menus

Now there is a way to simplify things so that agents can access an interpreter more quickly. LanguageLine is able to assist contact centers in setting up custom language menus that prioritize the top languages you encounter.

Play Video

‘This is community policing on steroids’

See how New York police officers are using on-demand mobile interpreting in the field to bridge communication gaps.

Approximately 130,000 of Nassau County’s 1.4 million residents are considered limited English proficient. The county is nearly 16 percent Hispanic, while almost 9 percent of residents identify as Asian.

The county police force is equipping 177 police vehicles with the LanguageLine app on their smartphones, allowing them to reach professional interpreters on-demand in more than 240 languages. Ultimately there will be 650 phones throughout the department with the application.

“We’re interacting with the public well over a million times a year,” a spokesperson said. “You can imagine the frustration level of the police officer and (member of the public) when they can’t communicate. This puts them at a comfort level.”