Reach your target market and support the Association of Language Companies at the same time! With opportunities to sponsor, exhibit and/or advertise, you can make the personal connections so important to your business, gain the visibility you need and become an integral part of ALC.

Advertise
Advertise on the ALC website and gain the visibility you want to your primary target market. Buttons and skyscrapers are available on select pages. For more information and rates, click here.

The ALC Update is now accepting advertising, as well. Make the most of this opportunity to increase your visibility with every ALC firm and employee. For more information contact infoalcusorg  (infoalcusorg)  .

Exhibit and Sponsor

Exhibiting and sponsoring at the ALC Annual Conference demonstrates your support for ALC and its members and brings attention to your company. Enjoy the exclusivity of being a sponsor and exhibitor. Because the number of opportunities is limited, this is a prime way to position your company to stand out from the rest!

You won’t want to miss the most exciting ALC conference ever! Join your ALC colleagues in New Orleans, May 16-19, 2012 for this once a year opportunity to reach your target market! Exhibit and/or sponsor a package or event at the conference and demonstrate your support for ALC and its members while bringing attention to your company. For more information, Grace Jan at 240-404-6479 or gjanmgmtsolcom  (gjanmgmtsolcom)  .

Click here for more information!

There are a lot of subtleties in language. Regions of every country have their own dialects, sentence structure is different for different languages and each dialect can have multiple types of slang.

Raytheon BBN has been given the almost-impossible task of developing a device that can perform two-way speech-to-speech translations, among other things. Now, I don’t doubt a comprehensive translator can come from this, I doubt that any device can effectively translate human communication.

The reason actual, human translators are so useful is because they master languages in order to make sure subtleties are not lost. Words develop entirely new meanings depending on regions and social status. Speaking from personal experience, a person from New England using the word “wicked” in a sentence is not using a dictionary definition of wicked (unless, in fact, they are using the dictionary definition of wicked). A translator can recognize dialects and slang, guaranteeing that there are no misunderstandings. Any device that wants to be nearly as effective as a human translator needs to be able to understand the context of each word depending on the region and its position in the sentence.

A device that would translate speech would also need to be able to deal with incredibly thick accents. Even native speakers will have their own way of using their language. There are clear differences in how someone from Boston speaks when compared to someone from the South, or even between different cities in the same state. In countries that don’t have such widespread communication, the ones were translators are needed most, accents can sound like another language even if they aren’t using a different dialect.

Slang is an entirely different beast for a device that performs translation to deal with. They can be entire phrases that aren’t supposed to be taken literally (a lounge lizard was not a reptile) or words that are used to mean something other than the definition (the wicked example). Each dialect can have its own slang, and being able to distinguish between dialects and whether or not a word is being used as slang are skills a human translator would have that a machine would have difficultly replicating.

In a place where any slight error in communication can lead to a loss of life, it’s important that we don’t forget just how complicated language is. There’s a reason human translators are still an important part of diplomatic relations and businesses.

Originally posted here.

Click here to read the LEP Data Brief from the Migration Policy Institute, or visit www.migrationinformation.org for more information.

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) — Elsa Miller looked at the 17-year-old boy, listened carefully as he explained in Spanish the chest pains he was experiencing and relayed his words in English to Dr. Dekui Zhang, who was examining the boy at Volunteers in Medicine.

Miller, standing behind the seated doctor, also relayed to the boy questions from Zhang, who doesn’t speak Spanish.

She has served as a medical interpreter for Volunteers in Medicine for more than six months and represents a local solution to a nationwide push to promote certification of medical interpreters for safety reasons.

Because of the growth of the non-English-speaking population in the U.S., and federal laws that require services be understood by people with limited English skills, medical interpreters are in increasing demand.

“Persons who are bilingual are not necessarily interpreters,” said Laura Hurt, director of Volunteer Services at Columbus Regional Hospital. “They have to know medical terminology, learn the role of the interpreter and a code of ethics.”

No nationwide medical interpreter standards exist. Different organizations offer medical interpreter certifications, but few states endorse them. Indiana is not one.

Columbus Regional Hospital used a grant to pay for 22 adults, including five of its staff members and 11 students, to participate in a medical interpreter training program, called Bridging the Gap. The program is offered by Cross Cultural Health Care Program, a nonprofit organization that helps underserved communities receive full access to quality health care that is culturally and linguistically appropriate.

Hurt said health care officials here hope to use the program to create a bank of interpreters for community organizations. For example, people could call Su Casa Columbus to request a certified interpreter.

Miller, also a court interpreter, has volunteered at VIM for 10 years, but only occasionally as an interpreter until she took the course.

“I do this to increase my vocabulary in the medical field, and I like helping people,” Miller said.

Growing need

The non-English speaking population of the U.S. grew 140 percent from 1980 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Also according to the Census, Bartholomew County’s population grew by 5,359 people since 2000, and Hispanic and Asian residents accounted for 83 percent of the growth. The county added 3,164 Hispanics and 1,274 Asians.

Locally, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Indian languages most commonly require the help of a medical interpreter, Hurt said.

Carol Fogler, the English as a Second Language parent liaison at Taylorsville Elementary, took the Bridging the Gap course in Indianapolis this spring.

“I go on several mission trips . and I wanted to be fully equipped to interpret medical terms and emergency situations,” she said.

Fogler said she’s noticed that she has become more of a passive facilitator when she’s interpreting medical information between parents of students and school nurses.

“In the past I might step in and offer thoughts and words, and now I just allow (them) to communicate,” she said.

Federal law also creates a need for medical interpreters.

Executive Order 13166, signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000, requires federal agencies and agencies that receive federal funding to provide services in a manner that people with limited English proficiency can understand.

The 17-year-old boy whose condition Miller interpreted to Zhang said he liked having an interpreter present, even though he knew some English.

“It is very helpful because it helps me understand the things I can’t, and it makes me feel better,” the boy, who asked that his name not be used, said through Miller.

Zhang said most doctors lack the time to learn another language because of the time spent treating patients or learning new medical information.

“Even though we do a thorough exam, without communication we can’t treat (patients),” he said.

Originally posted here.

Committee F43 was first established in 2001 with the help of CLI and in conjunction with other language companies.  We feel the committee is essential to the future of the language industry because they work to examine questions such as, “How can measurable standards be assigned to an interpreting session?”  You can read more about the committee from their page on the ASTM website here.

It is our hope that the work done by Committee F43 and efforts from the Commission on Certification of Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) will begin to develop a national standardization of interpreter certification as well as language company accreditation.  These are exciting efforts within the committee to mold the face of the language servicing industry!

The competitors in question choose to employ their translators and interpreters and part and full-time employees, while CLI chooses to work with independent contractors. Neither business model is necessarily better than another, they are just different. Accusations from competitors that the use of independent contractors is a way for language service providers to avoid paying taxes is in no way accurate.

CLI utilizes independent contractors who are required to fill out a 1099 tax form so that their wages must be reported to the government. There are no exceptions to this process. All of our interpreters and translators are required to pay taxes for their own business, a practice that has been around as long as independent contractors have existed.

We would like to take this opportunity to let our clients know that we are 100% in compliance with the law, and have been speaking out in support of the use of independent contractors. The use of independent contractors as opposed to employees benefits all of our clients by helping to keep overhead costs down and the availability of languages up. Overall, it is a win-win.

To learn more about this issue or to find out how you can help support the  cause, please visit the Contract Interpreter Information Center (CIIC) at www.contractinterpreters.com.

In addition to this exciting debate, you can also expect other unique content, such as:

• • 100% plenary format – no choosing between speakers and sessions
• • A unique blend of keynote addresses, interactive demonstrations with hands-on experiential learning, and a working conference segment
• • Poster sessions to provide depth and breadth to the information presented
• • Long networking breaks and lunches to facilitate collaboration and exchange
• • Expanded conference attendee list sent to participants prior to the conference
• • Texting and social media options to help participants connect during the Summit
• • Post Summit publications for all conference attendees

This is a one-of-a-kind conference that brings everyone in the industry together. We do encourage all of our colleagues and anyone involved in the industry to attend. We look forward to hearing any and all feedback from those who attend the conference.

Please email feedbackclilangcom with any information and/or experiences regarding Interpret America’s 2011 Summit on Interpreting.

During the conference, CLI’s owner and President, Bill Graeper, will be debating with Louis Provenzano, the CEO of Language Line, on the hot topic of classifying interpreters and translators as independent contractors in our industry.

This is an exciting chance for the two opposing viewpoints to finally go head to head over an industry standard that effects everyone who uses a language service provider. The legal decisions made on this issue will effect everyone’s bottom line as well as their level of service. To find out more about the latest news on this issue, please visit the blog at the Contract Interpreter Information Center.

When submitting a document for a translation quote, please send as an email attachment to translationscertifiedlanguagescom  (translationscertifiedlanguagescom)  . Once we receive your quote request, we will process your document for a quote within one business day.* Please note, complex and lengthy documents may take longer than one day to quote.

Once you receive a translation quote you must approve the pricing offered before we will begin the translating process.  When your document is finished we will send the completed file back to the person who requested it, along with the invoice, via email.

If there are specific people within your company or organization that are eligible to submit documents for translation while others are not, please communicate this to your staff.  Once a quote has been approved, CLI is not responsible to determine if the request is eligible for payment. If there is a specific person associated with you company’s account who you would like to be our point person for quote approval, please contact Jen Schade  (jenscertifiedlanguagescom)  (jenscertifiedlanguagescom)   to make arrangements.  Additionally, feel free to email Jen if you have further questions regarding the translation process.

If you would like to speak with someone about translating a document please contact our Translation Project Coordinator, Christopher Bayerle at ChristopherBcertifiedlanguagescom  (ChristopherBcertifiedlanguagescom)  .

*All documents must be received by 5PM Pacific Time in order to receive a quote by the following business day.  Quotes for documents received after 5PM (PT) will be returned within two business days.

For Outbound Calls:

•  If you need to call a Limited English Proficient (LEP) party at home or need a third-party dial-out to include an additional party, please first inform the CLI Customer Service Representative (CSR) before the interpreter is connected.

•  Once the interpreter is connected, you may tell the interpreter who to ask for (the LEP’s name).

• At this time, you may also tell the interpreter how to proceed if the call goes to an answering machine and what message to leave if desired.

For Inbound Calls:

•  Explain to the LEP that all information is confidential, and encourage questions.

•  Speak clearly.

• Smile and be kind; this helps the LEP feel more comfortable.

• If face-to-face and multiple people are in the room, speak one at a time.

• Short sentences are easiest to interpret.

• Speak freely; all CLI interpreters are sworn to confidentiality and the Interpreter’s Code of Ethics.

• Encourage the interpreter to clarify terms with you if necessary.

CLI offers customized usage cards with your account information on the front and these helpful tips on the back. If you would like to order some usage materials for your account, please email Jen Schade at jenscertifiedlanguagescom.