Bowling Green, KY, is growing increasingly diverse. One local school system says it has registered 89 different languages, with large pockets of Swahili and Burmese.
What can a city do for its schools, first responders, and government agencies when the language mix becomes so complex? A great solution is in the form of an on-demand interpreting app that provides one-touch connections to professional linguists.
Bowling Green has embraced this innovative technology. The city is now using on-demand interpreting to assist in communicating with its diverse community.
City employees have the LanguageLine app on their smartphones. Functioning much like Skype or Facetime, the app provides one-touch access to professional video interpreters in 42 languages, including American Sign Language. The app also delivers audio-only phone interpretation in more than 240 languages.
Connections to LanguageLine’s team of more than 20,000 trained interpreters are made in 30 seconds or less.
WATCH THE VIDEO: City of Bowling Green Uses New Tool to Remove Language Barriers
Bowling Green city employees have tested the app over the past year. The city decided to make it a permanent solution after receiving positive feedback.
“Overwhelmingly, these employees said that it was a great resource for them, and they could see utilizing it in the field to facilitate communication on a regular basis,” said Leyda Becker, the City of Bowling Green International Communities liaison.
Becker added that Bowling Green has been using language interpretation services over the phone for more than 10 years. She says the app is allowing the city to extend the reach of its language services.
READ THE ARTICLE: Bowling Green Employees Utilizing Interpreting Program
LanguageLine(R) Can Help
LanguageLine has been the world leader in innovative language-access solutions since 1982. The company sets the global standard for phone, video, and onsite interpreting, as well as translation of the written word. LanguageLine is trusted by more than 30,000 clients to enable communication with the limited English proficient, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing communities. LanguageLine provides the industry’s fastest and most dependable access to more than 35,000 professional linguists in 290-plus languages — 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
