Some countries, like Canada, have two or more official languages. This usually means that everything is required by federal law to be provided in both languages; in Canada, these are English and French. The United States as a country doesn’t have such a law, but there are other federal regulations regarding language access that have been implemented throughout time. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” which encompasses discrimination based on English proficiency. In 2000, Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, entitled “Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English Proficiency,” to specifically address the issue of language access for limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals in America.

Some language access decisions and regulations are left to the states to determine as well. This allows states to customize their requirements based on the actual people who live in that state. For example, a study conducted by the National Health Law Program found that in California, there are 257 legal provisions related to language access in health care alone. In Wyoming, there are only four. There are many LEP communities and a wide range of different languages that are spoken in California compared to Wyoming, which is one reason why California has so many more regulations regarding language access.

Language access has incredibly important legal implications for many types of service providers. Each one needs to be sure that they are following the law and providing support for all necessary languages. Language service providers (LSPs) like Monterey Language Services make it possible to provide services in any necessary language. LSPs usually have a great understanding of the legal requirements and can even provide consultations on how to provide linguistic support that follows the law.

Even if there are no laws specifically governing language access for your product or service, you would want to make it as accessible as possible to clients and consumers. After all, the more people who can understand your offering, the more people who are likely to use or buy it!

At Monterey Language Services we are passionate about expanding language access; we believe that everyone has the right to communicate with people and understand information in the way that is best for them, and that often means it will not be done only in English. We work hard to provide services in languages that are as common as Spanish to ones that are rare like Triqui, so that everyone no matter who they are can both listen and be heard.

Technology helps us make even more human connections. Thanks to the Internet and certain tools that have been developed, we can communicate with people across the world, which is helpful in locating and working with highly qualified translators and interpreters in any number of specialized domains (such as medical, educational, legal, or IT), within any timeframe, or any sizes of projects.

Technology also makes it easy for translation clients, project managers, translators, and interpreters to work together as a team. This type of expanding cooperation is a huge help for people in all sorts of limited English proficiency (LEP) communities. It is necessary to build a just and fair society, and we are happy to be able to use technology to further this goal.

In our day-to-day activities, technology plays a major role. Most of our translation and interpretation requests come in electronically, which ensures that everyone is on the same page. We are also better able to fill last-minute requests; most translators and interpreters have access to their apps, text messages and email at all times, and so we can reach them to discuss last-minute projects and especially emergencies. In all of these scenarios, technology helps us expand our reach and make more human connections than would otherwise be possible.

We are greatly appreciative of all of the benefits that technology allows us in our work. However, there are some aspects of the job and the industry that technology cannot replace. Technology has limitations.  Our main focus is helping people and the last thing we want to do is use technology as a substitute for human interaction. This is why we try to make it clear that although we are using many different technologies in our work, there is always a person behind the screen working hard to connect with people and serve our clients. In hospital settings and in most cases, having live interpreters serving clients face to face is even more valuable and worthwhile than over video or phone.

People are still at the heart of the translation and interpretation industry. After all, these services wouldn’t exist if there were no people to read or listen to the translated product! So while certain aspects of this work don’t take place face to face, the importance of people and human input is as high as ever. At Monterey Language Services, we use technology to facilitate communication with our team members and with our clients, who are always our main focus.