Communicating More For Less: Using Translation and Interpretation Technology to Serve Limited English Proficient Individuals
Author: Sperling, Jessica
Date Published: 2011
As the immigrant population continues to grow in the United States, an increasing number of people speak a primary language other than English. For instance, just over 21 million people in the United States were Limited English Proficient (LEP) in 2000; in only eight years, this number grew to 24.4 million LEP individuals. Given this sizeable and growing population, state and local governments and service industries are now using technology to provide services to LEP individuals. They turn to technological innovations to improve efficiency of in-house translators and interpreters, reduce costs, and improve their use of translation and interpreting vendors. Employing language access technology to facilitate translation and interpretation can be a cost-effective approach to reducing redundancy and saving resources. However, choosing the right translation or interpretation technology can be a time-consuming and confusing task for language access service managers. Language access needs vary immensely, encompassing a wide scope of organizations, businesses, and government agencies. Nurses and doctors need to be able to converse with LEP patients; police officers must find ways to communicate with non-English speakers; and the full spectrum of state and local organization must be able to communicate with all community members in a public health or safety emergency. As each has specific interests and objectives, rarely do any of these groups have language translation demands that can be met the same way.
Date Published: 2011
As the immigrant population continues to grow in the United States, an increasing number of people speak a primary language other than English. For instance, just over 21 million people in the United States were Limited English Proficient (LEP) in 2000; in only eight years, this number grew to 24.4 million LEP individuals. Given this sizeable and growing population, state and local governments and service industries are now using technology to provide services to LEP individuals. They turn to technological innovations to improve efficiency of in-house translators and interpreters, reduce costs, and improve their use of translation and interpreting vendors. Employing language access technology to facilitate translation and interpretation can be a cost-effective approach to reducing redundancy and saving resources. However, choosing the right translation or interpretation technology can be a time-consuming and confusing task for language access service managers. Language access needs vary immensely, encompassing a wide scope of organizations, businesses, and government agencies. Nurses and doctors need to be able to converse with LEP patients; police officers must find ways to communicate with non-English speakers; and the full spectrum of state and local organization must be able to communicate with all community members in a public health or safety emergency. As each has specific interests and objectives, rarely do any of these groups have language translation demands that can be met the same way.
