Technology can make remote interpretation as easy as 1-2-3, but at the same time, there can be any number of technical problems that can interfere with an interpretation assignment. Even though problems do happen, it’s our responsibility to minimize them. Having the prudency to keep an eye out for any problems and their solutions is a key skill for interpreters and everyone to have in modern days. In today’s blog, we will be highlighting some common connection issues and what to do in those circumstances.

Interpretation Links

Occasionally, the link you use to log into the meeting may be incorrect. The most common scenario is probably due to a separate meeting being created, causing you to wait in an empty room. If you as an interpreter find yourself in this case, it is best to get in contact with the language service provider you are working with as quickly as possible to ensure that you receive the correct link.

Interpretation Times

The appointment time may be mistakenly written by any party involved in the scheduling, causing the interpreter to be either early or late. To prevent this from happening, it is best to set a reminder that’s sent 24 hours before an interpretation event starts, so all parties including the client and interpreter can double-check on the proper start time and the right link.

Updates

Many of us have experienced this situation. As soon as logging into a conferencing application, you were notified that the application requires an update. This can cause you to be nervous about being late to the meeting. Testing your application at least 30 minutes before logging into the appointment to make sure everything is up to date is a good way to ensure that you aren’t affected by any sudden updates.

Sudden Change of Interpretation Methods

For various reasons, there may be a sudden change in the method for remote interpreting, such as resorting to the telephone or another type of video conferencing service. In such circumstances, make sure to keep your email and phone ready and handy to see if any notification of changes come to you.

Power or Internet Fluctuations

Fluctuations in power or internet can be unavoidable and unpredictable. You may be able to circumvent power outages or battery shortage by planning ahead as much as possible. Charge your phone, laptop, and computer fully. Always think of a backup plan. If occasionally, things just can’t be helped. In these cases, be apologetic and contact your language service provider or the meeting host for contingency.

Remote work deeply affected the language services industry as well, of course. While many translators who already performed their work remotely were able to adapt well, interpreters who were used to going to events in-person suddenly found themselves having to figure their ways around new video or phone systems and rely on their clients’ ability to use technology as well. By now, in late 2022, these interpreters probably have a good handle on remote work now, but we have a hunch that they’re happy about the recent return to in-person meetings and gatherings.

According to USA Facts, 68% of the United States’ population have been fully vaccinated as of November 2022, while roughly a third of the whole population has had a booster dose as well. While 21% of people in the United States seem to have not had any doses of the vaccine at all, the number of those who at least have some protection is still high. While there is still some risk to in-person meetings, the vaccine helps prevent particularly adverse cases of Covid-19.

With the increase in in-person meetings, wherever possible or requested, we at Monterey Language Services like to send interpreters to on-site meetings. In-person meetings provide less of a risk of missing information due to shaky internet connections or not being able to see the speakers clearly, and we fully support that our interpreters go in-person so long as they are vaccinated and feel safe. Many patients need the in-person support of an interpreter so that they feel comforted in a situation that they might otherwise feel very tense in.

We recently posted about sending Spanish interpreters to a school board event, but we also regularly send interpreters to other places as well, such as medical institutions like major county hospitals, children’s hospitals, large medical groups’ health centers, and even clinics under the State of California’s innovative and research contracts. It is our honor and privilege to be able to provide safe service so many community healthcare facilities, and we admire these places for being able to provide safe, clean spaces for staff, patients, and interpreters to interact.

The Printing Press

It is a little-known fact among the Western world that Johannes Gutenberg was not in fact the first to create a printing press. Borrowing from wood-block printing in many Asian cultures, Korean Choe Yun-ui created the first printing press with moveable block characters in the 1200s. However, due to many factors, such as invasion into Korea and the fact that organizing the Chinese characters to print took quite a while, this printing press did not become widespread.

Gutenberg’s printing press, on the other hand, often printed works written in Latin, which is written with far, far fewer letters than there are characters in Chinese. Arranging the type pieces and going through the printing process was markedly easier than in Korea two hundred years earlier, and Gutenberg’s printing press was essential for the increase in literacy in the following century. In our last blog, we mentioned that Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible was a major turning point in the history of translation; without the printing press, his translation would not have reached even half the people that it did.

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone, first discovered in 1799, held a passage that was written three times—twice in two versions of ancient Egyptian, and once in ancient Greek. The passage, written in 196 BC, was key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics, despite so much of the Rosetta Stone being broken and incomplete.

The Nuremberg Trials

The infamous Nuremberg Trials were held to take Nazis to court and to try them for war crimes that took place during World War II. Remarkably, the trials only took ten months to complete, despite the need to translate and interpret the proceedings into numerous languages. This was accomplished by implementing the world’s first simultaneous interpretation program, which likely saved years off of the Trials’ time. Simultaneous interpretation is difficult to learn the skills for, but is commonly used for conferences, such as for the United Nations.

The Internet

With the advent of the internet, the world became even more global than ever. While learning languages and speaking or writing to a language partner regardless of distance was possible with phone calls and letters, the internet sped up those processes to be nearly immediate.

With this, however, came increasing demands for translation and interpretation for global businesses. Translators and interpreters now had to learn how to not only navigate linguistic landscapes, but also digital ones.

Machine Translation

Very recently in the history of translation and interpretation has been the rise in machine translation. Essentially, putting one string from language A into a machine, which would produce that string in language B. This method vastly improves the speed at which translators can do their jobs, but as machines can’t understand language in the way that humans do, translators and proofreaders are necessary to ensure that the final product doesn’t sound unnatural.

Now

While looking back at history, we also look towards the future. In the past, human history has had lots of events that have influenced today’s translators and interpreters. Many events even had an impact on the world as a whole, such as the printing press and the internet. In the future, there will only be even more AI inventions and events that will shape the translation and interpretation sphere. However, one thing we have seen clearly is that language has been highly varied and shaped by human thought and action; in that vein, we in the translation and interpretation industry are still far, far away from being replaced by machines or robots.

An Example

Imagine an elderly woman being brought to a hospital, accompanied by her grandson. The family has only recently moved to the USA from Oaxaca Mexico, but the elderly woman’s first language is Triqui Bajo, an indigenous Oaxacan language. While her grandson understands his grandmother’s speech and can communicate with her, his native language is Spanish.

If an Triqui Bajo interpreter were not provided, the woman would have to speak to her grandson in Triqui Bajo about the pain in her stomach, the grandson relaying her words to the best of his ability in Spanish to the interpreter or hospital staff. Like the children’s version of the “telephone game,” there’s a high chance that some, if not much, information will be lost. As the grandson was not well versed in Triqui Bajo, he may be missing critical vocabulary, such as anything from “fracture” to “pneumonia,” “hernia,” and beyond.

What this Means

This lack of a matching language pair can inhibit the service that a client receives. In severe cases in a medical setting, this can be a matter of life and death. This case study highlights the importance of translators and especially interpreters who are fluent in minority languages. It’s critical to find people with knowledge of these languages. If due to the last minute nature, an in-person interpreter is not available, remote interpretation methods should kick in.

Imagine that they were able to get an interpreter for Triqui Bajo and English; this would allow for a direct flow of communication between the elderly woman and the hospital staff. Response time for treatment would subsequently be quicker, and the woman might therefore feel more comfortable and confident that she is receiving adequate care. While the grandson might need his own English/Spanish interpreter to understand fully the treatment decisions, that could easily be delegated to another interpreter and not require a stretched out “telephone game” where meaning can be lost.

Monterey Language Services provides translation and interpretation services for all languages and is very strong in providing Triqui Bajo interpretation Services. Every day, we send Triqui Bajo interpreters to cover medical interpretation assignments or IEP (Individualized Education Program) assignments. There have been some high profile Triqui Bajo legal interpretation cases served by Monterey Language Services as well.

Understanding Your Finances

No business can do anything without finances. Do budget properly, and do the math to understand your bottom line. How much do you need to make to turn a profit? How much is too much for customers to afford?

Knowing when and where to cut back on your finances and where to invest is critical to keeping your business afloat. With the huge impact of the pandemic, it’s no question that the loss of sales affected many businesses too much. To weather these hardships, downsizing on your output, office space, or perhaps even prices might help you keep the business going.

Making and Keeping Connections, even Remotely

Many language service providers rely on freelance translators and interpreters as vendors for their business; most times, getting in touch with them is often done through phone calls or emails. But, how do you get the vendor—especially interpreters—to their assignments, when in-person meetings are restricted?

Phone and video methods are hardly secrets. Even outside of the pandemic, these are common ways to get an interpreter to someone immediately regardless of where the client and interpreter are. Those LSPs and other small businesses that had already been getting ready to use remote or online options were in a good place to adapt their services to the pandemic.

Communicating with Your Team

To keep open communication with your team members is vital. Just as upper management relies on associates to get the on-hands work done, associates rely on upper management to answer their questions. The back-and-forth dynamics and momentum are crucial to move your business forward.

In times of hardship like the pandemic, transparent communication is very important. Employees may be nervous about job security or keeping certain accounts going. Positive reinforcement, support, and leadership can provide teams with the confidence they need to weather any circumstance.

Don’t be Afraid of Change…

New technologies come out constantly in today’s world, even during the pandemic and afterward. Learning how to use them can help your business stay up-to-date, and can even help with your output’s quality and/or quantity.

Other changes might include the coming and going of staff, a vendor changing their prices, the laws you have to keep in mind, etc. Keep abreast of these changes and remember to stay flexible; taking too long to adapt might leave you in the dust of your competitors.

Adapting to pandemic looked different for all sorts of companies, but what’s important is to stay creative. Some businesses turned remote, others decided to automate work flows, and some decided to host online events.

…But Try to Stay Consistent

Sudden, unexplained changes even outside the pandemic can upset a person’s balance and leave them scrambling for an answer. For example, having to reduce the price per word for a translation could result in a vendor refusing to work with you, or raising the prices too high for a customer could result in the customer backing out of a deal.

As important as it is to stay flexible, people like to stick to tried and true methods—things remain reliable that way. So, whenever possible, keep consistent in your work, and be as transparent as possible with your customers. Consistency and transparency will always be appreciated by those you work with.

So what is 1557?

Section 1557 of the ACA “prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities.” The term “national origin” is understood to include providing language services for those with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Section 1557 was first put into place in 2010, and had a few issues with it. For example, the then-legal standard was for “competent” interpreters to assist LEP individuals; this could allow a loophole for family members or even non-adult family members, or bilingual/multilingual staff at the agency to provide interpretation. Without proper, certified medical interpreters, there may have been many miscommunications, to say the least.

Major Revisions

The Obama administration’s revisions took effect in 2016. Under this revision, some changes were that “competent” interpreters were changed to “qualified” interpreters; minors and family members were only allowed to interpret under special circumstances such as emergencies; and bilingual/multilingual staff were held back from interpreting unless they were able to sufficiently demonstrate proper interpretation abilities. Translation of written materials was also required.

Many things changed in 2020 due to the Trump administration, however. For example, the wording was changed to have a more general requirement of language services to LEP people, rather than each and every LEP person. Federally funded organizations had to undergo a test to determine how to provide language services; the Trump administration changed this again to be more based on the “likelihood” of servicing an LEP individual rather than each specific instance of servicing an LEP individual. Standards of remote video interpretation were also removed, focusing instead on telephonic interpretation only.

Finally, citing too many expenses (presumably for translation fees, extra paper space, and ink), there was also a change to not require that each state have the top fifteen languages represented in a tagline on a non-discrimination notice. Taglines are short statements written in non-English languages that notify the reader that they can access language services free of charge.

Proposed Revision

As mentioned previously, the US Department of Health and Human Services has released a proposed rule to reverse the changes implemented by the Trump administration and to strengthen language access in general compared to the rulings from the Obama administration. Some proposed changes include the following:

Previously removed definitions will be added back for the following terms: language assistance services, limited English proficient individual, qualified interpreter, qualified translator, and qualified bilingual/multilingual staff. Care will also be taken to provide each LEP individual with language access, as well as those who need assistance such as sign language; this will be aided by the requirement of taglines on a large number of documents.

Other changes include the restoration of standards for remote video interpreting, the requirement to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to each LEP individual, the requirement to inform individuals of their rights, and the requirement to have a specific employee be responsible to coordinate compliance with 1557. Another change would be applying Section 1557 to Medicare Part B, which notably has not had requirements for Section 1557 despite being federally funded through trust funds.

Our Conclusion

These proposed new rules seem to be taking a huge step toward fair access to language services. Especially exciting is the requirement returning to provide each LEP individual with language access, rather than a general estimate of people. We at Monterey Language Services believe that everyone deserves the right to access to information and services in the language of their choosing, and we’re all for the proposed rules and hope they come to pass sooner than later.

That article reminds us of a recent situation we encountered. We had a client seeking asylum in a somewhat remote location in the United States who requested Triqui interpretation. We were about to provide a Triqui interpreter over the phone for telephonic interpretation, given that in-person interpretation in such a remote location was not really possible for the client. However, at the last minute, the asylum office decided that they did not allow telephonic interpretation. There could be any number of reasons for the telephonic interpretation cancellation. Yet, these incidents have got us thinking. What rights do non-citizens have in the United States, especially in regards to translation and interpretation?

According to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, any program that receives Federal funds or financial assistance cannot discriminate based on race, color, or national origin of a person; this also means that these programs must provide access to people with limited English proficiency. Read more about Title VI here and more about Title VI and LEP services here.

However, Title VI does not provide an all-encompassing solution. Service providers are only required to take “reasonable steps” to give access to their programs to LEP individuals. Whatever the case, non-citizens do have the right to request language assistance from Federally-funded institutions. Non-citizen’s rights to have access to translation and interpretation is a basic human need for communication. We at Monterey Language Services are all for supporting the human rights that non-citizens deserve to have in whatever format that interpretation would be conducted, be it in-person, by phone, or over video.

This blog post is our first attempt to look into non-citizen rights to translators and interpreters, so stay tuned for more to come!

We mentioned in our last post that gas prices have been soaring this year, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll be dropping any time soon. Luckily with the general trend toward remote work, many have the option to work from home and save on travel and gas in the tank. However, this doesn’t mean that translators, and interpreters especially, should just exclusively hole up in their homes. For instance, the gas price increase will affect low-income households terribly, especially those that don’t speak English, or speak limited English.

Similarly, the American baby formula shortage has left parents struggling with increased costs for formula—at least, the formula that they can find. We’re not expecting the issue, or the ramifications, to be resolved overnight. Once again, low-income families could easily be hit the hardest, with non-English speaking families having another barrier to entry concerning information from news outlets, supermarkets, and doctor recommendations. We suggest keeping a close eye on news concerning this event. Even if formula were magically restocked and prices dropped to normal tomorrow, there would still be long-lasting effects, especially concerning the health of children.

It would be best for translators and interpreters to be prepared to travel for assignments concerning low-income households and LEP (Limited English Proficiency/non-English families). These low-income households might not have easy access to the technology needed for remote translation or interpretation. Even access to email and cell phones might be limited or impossible. Given the tendency for low-income families to have a lower quality of health compared to medium-income households, they could very likely be in need of in-person interpretation at a clinic or hospital. In-person interpretation activities may gradually rise again.

Sadly, the Russian war with Ukraine is unlikely to end any time soon. Many Ukrainians have fled, looking for refuge, and numerous translators and interpreters have stepped up to the plate. Yet still, the need for translations and interpretations into and out of Cyrillic-based languages will likely only rise. We suggest that any translator or interpreter able to help do so.

Lastly, while there has been some return to “normalcy,” Covid-19 is still a danger to many and will likely stay that way going into the end of 2022. We hope you use lots of precautionary measures, and stay safe and healthy.

First, understand that if you’re feeling the effects of inflation, so are your clients and companies that you’re working with. You should try looking at your rates compared with other translators and interpreters and know where you stand.  Everyone’s situation is different, however everyone is in the same inflation. This means the best way to cope with the uncertain times is to make sure that you stay in a good position without losing any of the business that you currently have. You should always be sure to do your best to honor your rates with your current clients. Even to lower your rate to attract more business may be also a good idea!

Next, the world has gone through a lot of changes over the years and we all have had to learn and adapt in order to stay afloat. Before the pandemic, the majority of work was done in-person, but now, there are more and more remote interpretation opportunities. Be sure to also widen your reach to other parts of the country. If you are working from home, that means you can work anywhere. Someone in a completely different area from you may be looking for someone with your experience. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

If you’re going to be working more from home, it may be time to reassess your internet, phone plan, and current equipment. Investing in better internet, phone service, and equipment will make you a more attractive interpreter or translator because you will not have as many technical difficulties as others may have. For that matter, be sure to educate yourself on how to connect to the various video conferencing services. For example, try setting up Zoom, Google Meets, or Webex on your own and test having a call with yourself to make sure you know how to quickly connect and also that your audio equipment is good. Connection means work and livelihood in today’s work place!

Finally, we do hope the world will be back to normal where we can also provide both remote and in-person interpretation without worrying about the inflation nor the pandemic. After all, a balance of in-person and remote work would be the ideal model for clients, interpreters and language service providers!

This opinion has only been further enforced in the light of the current pandemic. With social distancing being encouraged, many businesses and individuals are moving away from face-to-face business and moving to the safety of digital solutions. With many people preferring in-person interpretation, and less interpreters willing to ignore safety conventions to fulfill these requests, there are some who would prefer to try machine translation.

In this day and age, there are sophisticated machine translation engines that can even almost do simultaneous interpretation. If the subject is within a specific, technical subject, the accuracy of the outputted translation goes up as well. Many would point to this as being the time for machine translation to rise in popularity and use.

Even so, businesses still tend to prefer using interpreters when they can. There is, and will most likely never be a true replacement to a human interpreter. In fact, interpreters were already still able to work remotely even before the pandemic. With Zoom and over-the-phone interpretation, interpreters are still able to work without too much of a change to the experience.

Of course, there are still some difficulties and annoyances with remote interpretation, but it is still the most reliable and preferred method for interpretation. The same applies for translation. Most translation has been done remotely, and is still preferred over machine translation for the same reason businesses prefer human interpreters. Though machine translation is a powerful tool, it is still not reliable or trusted enough to fully replace the human touch. During this pandemic, the work of translators and interpreters may be affected, but it is not because of a rise in machine translation.