Latino Alliance Joins Federal Complaint Against TPS

At Access 2 Interpreters, we keep a close eye on industry news in the translation and interpretation industry. Since we are an Ohio based company-serving clients throughout the Buckeye State, staying well informed on updates within our field alerts us on pressing issues in the area that people face on a daily basis.

We ran across an article in the Toledo Blaze that was worth sharing. When students are not treated fairly because of their cultural background, it poses a problem. This was the case recently in Northwest Ohio.

The Toledo Public Schools received a group complaint formed by the Latino Alliance of Northwest Ohio. The Alliance stated in the case against TPS that they discriminate against students of Latino ancestry by not providing necessary bilingual programs and interpreters, resulting in an unfair struggle for Latino students to succeed.

The Latino Alliance held a conference, following the January 2015 complaint, announcing that they are fully supportive of the complaint made against the TPS, as well as revealing the actions they would like to see take place. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division received the complaint, which was filed by the Advocates for Basic Legal Equality and Disability Rights Ohio. The Advocates argue that the district has violated federal laws in its failure to provide educational equality for all students, dismissing the presence of varied cultural backgrounds, who clearly participating in the Toledo community.

Specifically, parents complained that school documents were only sent home in English, forcing children to have to translate for their parents. The Latino Alliance president, Carlo Ruiz, accuses the Toledo Public School system of being lazy and careless in their lack of attempts in providing quality education for all students, as well as neglecting the fact that the Latino population is growing every year. The Latino Alliance also requested Toledo Public Schools to determine the educational needs of the Latino, Spanish-speaking community, by conducting an assessment. The Latino Alliance hopes the TPS will provide training specific to the different cultures in the school system to its staff members. The Alliance also hopes to see the addition of Spanish interpreters and Spanish-speaking teachers as well. TPS will also need to prove their public promotion for staff of different cultures, encouraging them to apply.

Language and cultural discrimination is no stranger to public schools in Ohio, with TPS being just one of seven other public school districts listed in the file for complaint. Not only schools, but also the Ohio Department of Education was named as a culprit of cultural negligence.

Yana Schottenstein, founder of Access 2 Interpreters, was asked to do an interview for the Executive Influencer issue for The Daily Reporter.

Access 2 Interpreters has grown into one of the largest translation agencies in Central Ohio, providing interpretation and translation services for a variety of clients.

Through high-quality products and a team of talented interpreters, Access 2 Interpreters is able to overcome obstacles and continue to grow.

“I think Columbus in particular, Ohio in general and the U.S. as a whole, provide good opportunities for people who have initiative, who don’t stop, who try,” Yana Schottenstein stated. “As far as people who immigrate, I think that applies to them too. So many people come here. This country is build on immigrants, and I believe that those people who come here are so motivated to succeed.”

Read the article now!

Non-English speaking parents of special-needs students in six central Ohio school districts are outraged that important information relating to the care of their children isn’t being translated. On the 27th January 2015, a federal complaint was filed to take action against the discrimination in the hope that proper translation and interpreters are provided in the future.

According to The Columbus Disptatch, The report was filed on the behalf of 21 families who feel as if they are being shown prejudice by not fully understanding the English language. Their desired outcome is for the districts to recognize what families require translators and to educate the school staff on the requirements to provide language assistance.

The districts accused are Groveport Madison, Dublin, Columbus, South-Western, Toledo, Whitehall and Westerville. Leading the charge is Disability Rights Ohio, an organization that campaigns for people with disabilities in Ohio and another Toledo-based group dedicated to upholding basic legal equality for all.

By Federal law, all public school districts must provide parents with the vital information on their children’s requirements in a language they comprehend. While many of the documents the families receive are translated, the issues arise around not-standard documents that aren’t readily available. Meeting notices, students’ progress reports and individualized education plans are all usually released in English only. Reaching out to the Department of Education could resolve the matter, however, not being able to properly communicate their problem could still hinder a satisfactory outcome.

Representatives from the schools of the accused districts were not familiar with the case and couldn’t provide any insight. In spite of this, they were quick to state that their districts do provide translation and interpretation services regularly. Interpreters are used at a parents request or when the teacher is aware of language difficulties.

However, parents say that interpreters aren’t always present at special-education meetings and when they are in attendance, the translation is poor and parents are often left confused and misinformed.

The problem has been ongoing since 2011 when parents approached the superintendent at a Toledo school district directly to try and resolve the issues within the school system. Being no further forward four years later, the affected families have now instigated legal proceedings.

The Strategic Plan for Language Access in the California Courts calls for a consistent statewide language services plan to ensure language access for limited English proficient (LEP) speaking court users in California.

The historic vote came after an 18-month effort by the Judicial Council of California and a 60-day formal public comment period on a draft of the plan. The plan includes the 58 superior courts in the state and will also include the immediate formation of an implementation task force that will recommend and implement the plan.

Reason for the Plan

Approximately 7 million LEP residents and court users are spread out over vast areas of California and speak over 200 languages. This highlights the fact that California is one of the most diverse states in the country.

Unfortunately, this is also part of the main problem: the language barrier excludes a significant portion of residents from any meaningful participation in the judicial process. In addition, many LEP litigants even show up without lawyers and/or a qualified interpreter leading to the courts having to rely on friends and family who are unqualified to acts as court interpreters.

Although the need for language access services in California has been around for a long time, the Language Access Plan finally represents a truly comprehensive system that ensures LEP court users get meaningful representation.

Implications of the Plan

With the approval of the Plan, California courts can now expect to see an expansion of qualified spoken language interpreters in all court manners. Scheduling protocols will also be created to ensure that these interpreters are used in the most efficient ways.

In addition, investments in technology solutions such areas as video remote technology and multilingual audiovisual tools are planned.

The increased court resources will necessitate additional funding to meet the increased demands of language access without having to sacrifice any other court services.

References:

http://www.courts.ca.gov/28476.htm
http://najit.org/blog/?p=2481

What are the hardest languages to learn? That depends entirely on what your native language is. Many of the world’s languages closely resemble one another – for example, French, Italian, and Spanish are all quite similar in their vocabulary and grammar.

So a French-speaking person might have easier time learning Italian and Spanish, but not Chinese and Japanese. A Korean-speaking person on the other hand, will find Japanese quite easy, but will have his butt kicked when learning English.

This is why it’s hard to objectively define the hardest languages to learn. But assuming you’re most fluent in English, here are some languages you might have difficulties with.

1. Arabic

Where do you even start with Arabic? It’s hard to get past the writing, as it looks nothing like the alphabet. Written Arabic also has fewer vowels, making your reading experience a bit funky.

2. Japanese

While Korean and Japanese are ridiculously similar grammatically, English speakers will inevitably have a hard time learning the three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

3. Korean

Korean writing system, hangul, is actually quite easy. Anyone can learn to read it in a day with reasonable effort. Having said that, Korean sentence structure, verb conjugations, and pesky particles that have no equivalent in English will make you want to vomit.

4. Chinese

You need to know about 1000 to 3500 Chinese characters to understand what you read, but that’s not the biggest issue. Chinese is a tonal language, where meaning changes as you change the tone of a word.

5. Vietnamese

Vietnamese has six tones and all are denoted by several marks, ranging from a hook, a tilde, a dot below the word, etc.

Some runner-ups include Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Thai, and Mongolian. Native English speakers tend to have a harder time with these languages.

Learning a new language is an extremely tough task. There are many settings where a professionally trained translator or interpreter is needed. Luckily, Access 2 Interpreters provides top notch interpretation and translation services to help ease the language barrier.

Source: http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty

Famed Japanese writer of masterpieces such as Norwegian Wood and 1Q84, Haruki Murakami, only has a handful of translators he allows to translate his works. It’s because he understands translation is not merely switching out words from one language to another. It’s almost an art form where a translator must take care not to lose the nuance and subtleties of the source language while avoiding awkward, literal translations.

Same thing goes for interpreting. Just because a person is bilingual doesn’t mean he can effectively interpret from the source language to the target language. Interpreting requires a different set of techniques than simply being able to speak both languages. Those techniques differ by situation and industry. In judicial settings, a use of professional interpreters is crucial.

According to a blog from Lio Lester of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators, there have been cases where a bilingual police officer was the interpreter for a deponent. In many instances, there is no doubt the police officer involved is fluent in both the source and target languages. The issue isn’t the fluency – it’s the conflict of interest and lack of training.

The conflict of interest is fairly obvious. A police officer might have preconceived notions about the deponent he’s providing the interpretation service for. In his mind, the deponent might already be guilty. A professional interpreter has no vested interest in the outcome of a case, which removes any chance of bias.

Lack of procedural training is the bigger issue here. Every deposition is recorded by a court reporter. When a police officer is untrained in proper interpretation techniques, it could potentially confuse the court reporter when labeling entries. In one case, the interpreting police officer kept referring to the deponent as “she,” when in fact, he should’ve spoken in the first person as if he was the deponent herself.

So the conflict of interest and lack of training call for professional interpreters in judiciary settings.

Access 2 Interpreters, a Columbus, Ohio based interpretation and translation company, is exclusively dedicated to filling your interpretation and translation needs. We provide Face-to-Face Interpretation Services in over 70 languages throughout Columbus, Central Ohio, and Ohio. We also provide Telephone Interpretation Services in over 180 languages and Translation Services in over 50 languages nationwide.

Currently, we are in search of a Full-Time Columbus Dispatcher, Monday – Friday, 3pm – 11pm. All positions will require that you live in the Columbus area and that you submit to a background check and drug screening. If you are interested, please send your resume to hr@access2interpreters.com and put the position you are applying for, in the subject line.

Dispatcher Positions
Full-Time Second Shift, Monday – Friday, 3pm – 11pm

REQUIREMENTS

o GED or High School Diploma
o Ability to answer the phone after the second ring
o Ability to think on your feet and make quick decisions
o Ability to communicate professionally and efficiently
o Excellent computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office applications
o Experience in customer service and/or call center settings

Access 2 Interpreters is always looking for skilled and talented Interpreters and Translators. To apply to be an A2I Interpreter or Translator, follow the links below.

Interpreter Application

Translator Application

Please complete the application to apply for a translator / interpreter position. Once we receive your application, the Translation Department Manager or HR Manager will contact you.

Language interpreting is known to date back to Ancient Egypt during the 3^rd millennium B.C. The first records of interpreting were in the form of Egyptian low-relief sculptures in a prince’s tomb that made reference to an interpreter supervisor.

A strong importance of good business changed the way communication was carried out, and gestures were no longer enough, and so this is when the interpreter made his first appearance.

Interpreters continued to be employed throughout the middle Ages. Monks of many different nationalities interpret in monasteries; preachers of foreign lands interpret in councils, as well as some individuals interpreting on business expeditions, military incursions and diplomatic meetings.

During the Age of Discovery, the use of new and different languages had greatly changed the way we see interpretation today. Christopher Columbus in his first voyage noted that his Arabic and Hebrew-speaking interpreters we not very helpful in communicating with the Indians. After this voyage he decided to capture some Native Americans and teach them Spanish so they could help him as interpreters on his next expedition.

Access 2 Interpreters knows that communication is very important. We give you the opportunity to break through the language barrier with A2I. We offer Face-to-Face Interpretation Services in over 70 languages throughout Columbus, Telephone Interpretation Services in over 180 languages and Translation Services in over 50 languages nationwide. We’re here to help you! To inquire about translation and interpretation services, contact us today.

It may be hard to relate a service such as Interpretation to an active sport like acrobatics but in reality, balance, agility, and coordination directly transfer over from sport to service. In acrobatics the ability to create a transition smoothly without hesitation is extremely important, as a team of acrobatics have to work in unison to complete their series of moves and tricks, an interpretation is no different as the interpreter has to work closely with the communication partner and the audience.

As an interpreter, trust and confidence are two large components during a presentation. In order to communicate well with an audience (or perform in front of one) confidence in your presentation is essential. Self-confidence is directly analogous from acrobatics to interpretation with the capacity to understand accurate self-assessment and recognizing common mistakes to fix.

According to an article from NAJIT (National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators), it explains how translators and Interpreters can show self-confidence and self-assessment.

“We must present ourselves as knowledgeable members of our profession in order to be respected and have our work taken seriously. We must know where we are and where we are going and have the conviction to request what we need. Similarly, we must be able to stand our ground if our interpretation is called into question.“

If an acrobat fails to make a move or miss a catch, it is his or her duty to recover and fix the mistake, hopefully while no one gets hurt. The same goes for an interpreter where if an inaccurate translation is presented, it is their job to recognize the mistake and fix it on the spot. In addition to fixing mistakes, the more nervous the individual is, the worse the interpretation can be.  A colleague observing can be a bit nerve-wracking, but the interpreter has to rise to the occasion and take initiative on completing the project on-time with efficiency.

As a leader in its industry, Access 2 Interpreters is a Columbus, Ohio based interpretation and translation company, exclusively dedicated to filling your interpretation and translation needs. We provide Face-to-Face Interpretation Services in over 70 languages throughout Columbus, Central Ohio, and Ohio. We also provide Telephone Interpretation Services in over 180 languages and Translation Services in over 50 languages nationwide. Contact A2I today for a FREE QUOTE or if you have any questions about Interpretation and Translation services.

Do you have trouble sleeping, or wake up often during the night? If you feel that you fall into this category of sleeplessness, you could have a mild case of insomnia. As most people think insomnia is the inability to fall sleep, many are unaware that waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep is also considered a type of insomnia. If you want to wake up in the morning and feel refreshed rather than waking up too early in the morning and feeling tired, you are in luck! Follow these simple tips to avoid waking up tired while overcoming your insomnia.

1. Things to avoid late in the day include caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, heavy meals, and exercise (exercise should be early in the day); in other words, anything that will stimulate your body and keep you from relaxing before going to sleep.

2. Try to go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time every day; make your bedroom dark, quiet, and comfortable when you are ready to fall asleep.

3. Use sleeping masks if there is a light source that bothers you and earplugs if there is noise that keeps you from sleeping comfortably.

4. Avoid taking naps during the day, as this will create a conflict with your sleeping schedule.

5. A routine to help you relax before sleeping is highly recommended, like reading a book, listening to music, or taking a bath.

If what is keeping you awake is worrying about things you need to do, the experts suggest you make a to-do list for the next day. If you follow these simple tips, you will be well on your way in overcoming insomnia as well as creating a more productive sleeping schedule. For Interpretation and Translation services, contact us today for a free quote.