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.

First, it’s probably safe to say that our language will continue to not only evolve, but also continue to mix and meld with other languages. We’ve all heard the term “Spanglish” which is the slang word for the end product of someone attempting to speak one or the other, but then certain terms are replaced when the correct word is not known. Naturally, this is most commonly spoken in high school classrooms.

We think of this informal process of mixing languages as fun and games even though, realistically, other languages being smelt together with English is very likely. There are over 80 countries which have English listed as one of if not the only official language. Like most, English is not set in stone. New dialects and slang will continue to sprout and eventually “bridge the gap” between our English and other languages it comes in contact with.

Of course, no drastic changes are bound to appear for a while. Still, we will be able to see slight changes among the English language in our lifetimes. Each generation brings new words (Or old words with different meanings) to the table, which keeps us on our toes. One example of this we have all experienced can be found when taking a look at one of our most common forms of communication here in the states: text messaging. “LOL” is no longer an awkward sounding nonsense word; instead we see this is “Laughing Out Loud.” Others such as “BRB” for Be Right Back, “SMH” for Shaking My Head, and “OMW” which stands for On My Way, are all commonly used in texts between virtually anybody.