Language Line Services’ "Cross-Cultural" Update for September 30 to October 13, 2008

Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information

For a list July's 2008's top language requests for all states, visit http://languageline.com/page/topten

**LanguageTrak Alert: Karen language on the rise (details follow)**

Language-Associated Disparities in Health Care:

According to a new report published in the online edition of the American Journal of Public Health (http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2007.119008v1),  the U.S. Spanish-speaking adult population represents a particularly vulnerable subset of U.S. Hispanics, with far worse access to the healthcare system.

University of North Carolina researchers compared Spanish-speaking Hispanics with English-speaking Hispanics for 25 health indicators. They found that Spanish-speakers have less access to care and use of preventive services.

A Language Line Services representative is available to discuss the impact of language barriers and how healthcare providers are working to overcome language-associated disparities. For more information, contact shawn.yanan@rbbpr.com.

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Social Services Suffer as Immigrants Can’t Overcome Language Barrier:

The state of Alabama has reported that due to the huge increase in Hispanic immigrants to the area, the social service network in the area is being strained.  From 2000-2006, Alabama’s Hispanic population has grown by 48%, more than ten times the overall growth rate of the state population. 

As a result, the state is encountering residents who do not know how to apply for a driver’s license, open a bank account, or even identify themselves due to the language barrier.  Language Line Services, the leading provider of language services, works with state and local government agencies, 9-1-1 centers, hospitals, banks, insurance companies and other organizations to provide phone interpretation to limited-English speakers in over 170 languages. 

An LLS representative is available to discuss how states can provide the necessary language assistance to immigrants to enable them to receive needed social services.  For more information, contact Julie Jimenez at 305-461-5794 or julie.jimenez@rbbpr.com.

 

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Language Access Effects Anti-Terrorism Litigation. 

This week in Guantanomo Bay, a U.S. Military Commission is convening to try five so-called “Enemy Combatants,” or persons that the U.S. government has deemed to lie outside the scope of rights granted to prisoners of war by the Geneva Convention. 

One of the characteristics of this separation from the traditional legal system is a disavowal of the right to language access, which involves the “fundamental precept of American justice that an accused defendant must understand the proceedings against him,” according to Anthony Barkow, Executive Director of the Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at New York University School of Law. 

On a number of occasions over the past few days, “interpreters could not keep up with events in court, or incorrectly interpreted what was being said.” Defendants, defense lawyers, and defense interpreters have “consistently objected that the interpreters had lost track of or inaccurately interpreted the proceedings,” according to Barkow, who has tried numerous anti-terrorism cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Were these proceedings to occur in a regular federal court, the proceedings would have been halted and competent interpreters would have been commissioned. 

Representatives from Language Line Services are available to discuss courtroom language access programs and how they ensure due process.  For interviews or more information contact Julie Jimenez at 305-461-5794 or julie.jimenez@rbbpr.com.

 

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LanguageTrak

The information below is provided by LanguageTrak™, a demographics tracking service provided by Language Line Services. The data reflects the languages most requested by emergency services, government agencies, health care facilities and businesses.

 

**Karen is a South Asian language spoken primarily in Burma’s Myanmar Province:

Nationally, in the past year there has been a 162% increase in the need for Karen interpreters.

Areas that have seen the largest increase in the demand for Karen:

1. Plant City, Tampa, Zephyrhills,  FL 2600% increase
2. Mankato, Rochester, Worthington, MN 1900% increase
3. Lansdale, Levittown, Philadelphia, PA 1800% increase
4. Chicago, IL 1200% increase
5. Fernandina Beach, Jacksonville, Saint Augustine, FL 850% increase
6. Ames, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, IA  700% increase
7. Bethel Park, McKeesport, Pittsburgh, PA 533% increase
8. Kennewick, Spokane, Yakima, WA 360% increase
9. Atlantic City, Trenton, Willingboro, NJ 350% increase
10. Allentown, Reading, West Chester, PA 300% increase
11. Bardstown, Frankfort, Louisville, KY 271% increase
12. Eagan, Red Wing, Saint Paul, MN    259% increase
13. Ogden, Provo, Salt Lake City, UT  250% increase
14. Syracuse, Utica, Watertown, NY 230% increase
15. Phoenix , AZ, 225% increase

Areas with the largest demand for Karen:

1. Boulder, Denver, Littleton, CO         
2. Eagan, Red Wing, Saint Paul, MN   
3. Syracuse, Utica, Watertown, NY      
4. Phoenix , AZ          
5. Lansdale, Levittown, Philadelphia, PA
6. Atlantic City, Trenton, Willingboro, NJ
7. Arlington, Cleburne, Fort Worth, TX             
8. Buffalo, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, NY        
9. Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, CT        
10. Franklin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, TN           

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ABOUT LANGUAGE LINE SERVICES

Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language-based services, is a trusted partner to thousands of organizations whose focus is to effectively serve the rapidly expanding market of limited English speakers.

The company delivers a dynamic suite of solutions spanning translation, transcription, phone and video interpretation, interpreter certification, localization and localized software and devices, enabling clients to communicate with customers in their preferred language.

Through its leading-edge technology infrastructure, Language Line Services provides support for more than 170 languages to its industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including health care, financial services, government, telecom, manufacturing, insurance, entertainment, travel, and more.

For information on how Language Line Services is helping clients achieve their strategic multi-cultural marketing and regulatory compliance objectives, please call 1-800-752-6096 or visit http://www.LanguageLine.com