Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Why linguists should know about language access policies by Dima Jaredat as an immigrant linguist in the United States, I often contemplate the country's unique and rich tapestry of cultures and languages. The story of language access in the US is a testament to decision makers commitment to upholding diversity, equality, and inclusion for millions of immigrants. It is also necessarily the story of our profession as language experts, reflecting our renaissance debt tree. Hence, it is important for us based linguists, whether citizens or non citizens, to be aware of these policies. Moreover, knowledge of language access policies can open new employment opportunities, lead to better outcomes for clients, and even influence future legislation. Overview of major policies here is a brief historical overview of major us language access policies that have shaped and continued to shape the country's linguistic and cultural landscapes. Civil Rights act the foundation of us language access policies can be traced back to 1963, when, according to the US Department of Justice, President John F. Kennedy asserted that simple justice requires that public funds to which all taxpayers of all races, colors, and national origins contribute not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes, or results in racial, color, or national origin discrimination cognizant of the need. A year later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964, which is most known for its title six or 42 USC 2000 D et sec. Section 601 thereof stipulates 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.
[00:02:05] This landmark legislation created fertile ground for the passage of subsequent language access policies that aim to ensure no one is discriminated against on account of their limited English proficiency Lep, especially with regards to federally funded services.
[00:02:21] Lau v. Nichols history was made when title VI was cited in the 1974 Supreme Court case of Lau v. Nichols, 414 US 563. Led by Kimmy Kinmen, Lau and other non English speaking chinese students in the San Francisco Unified School District, where the only language of instruction was English. This class action lawsuit fought for equal education for LEP students. According to the OyA project, the school system then only provided about 1000 students with supplemental English language courses, which meant that Lau and many others did not receive the needed courses and therefore had to pursue their studies in English despite not speaking the language. The lawsuit against Fuss claimed that they were being discriminated against and deprived of equal education due to their LEP status as per title VI. When the Supreme Court ruled that SPSS was in violation of the 14th Amendment of the Civil Rights act of 1964. It cited the US Department of Health, Education, and welfare memo regarding language minority children. The memo was issued on May 25, 1970, to identify the active steps that school districts can take to comply with title vitae. The memo, where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify and open its instructional program to these students. Although this is a case based judicial decision that may not necessarily apply to other cases, we owe a debt of gratitude for Lauvae Nichols for making school interpreting a legitimate concept. This ruling does not guarantee that LEP students will not be left behind, but it demonstrates that not speaking the mainstream language is not a learning disability. It is partly because of this ruling that us schools today do not relent when it comes to appointing interpreters for LEP students in need.
[00:04:27] Like education, justice also hinges on language access being carried out fairly. Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, the Court Interpreters act of 1978 serves as a cornerstone for ensuring fairness in the administration of justice in the US. As per 28 USC 1827 B, directors are required to prescribe, determine, and certify the qualifications of persons who may serve as certified interpreters in courts of the United States in bilingual proceedings. Per this legislation, to ensure everybody's fair access to legal services, courts must appoint qualified, certified, and professional interpreters only. Executive Order 13,166 a few years later, a milestone in championing language access rights for the USLA population was achieved. On August 11, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13,166 entitled Improving Access to services for people with limited english proficiency. As per o 13,166, all federal government agencies are required to examine and identify any services for WEP persons and design and implement language access plans accordingly. To best cater for the needs of a multilingual beneficiary base, many us government agencies now offer their services and materials in languages other than English. For example, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles now administers its knowledge test in eight Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Russian, Somali, and Spanish.
[00:06:14] Benefits of awareness raising awareness about us language access policies and frameworks is paramount for linguists and has significant impacts on employment, client outcomes, and advocacy. Enhancing employability knowledge of language access policies can enhance linguists employability in roles that require interaction with LEP persons and where translation work is governed by these policies, such as in government, legal services, and education, it can also help students and people seeking new career paths meet any requirements in advance.
[00:06:51] For example, knowing that the Court Interpretives act mandates the hiring of only skilled certified or professional interpreters can help current and prospective linguists wishing to pursue a career in court interpreting to plan for the necessary certifications and competitive examinations. Moreover, in today's language industry, womb to tomb job models no longer existed, so linguists need a well rounded and diversified knowledge base to survive and thrive. Policy awareness is part of that and is particularly helpful for newer positions such as cultural consultancy roles, which are currently in demand. Improving outcomes by staying informed, linguists can partake in educating others about Lepurse's rights. Much of what linguists do involves facilitating intercultural communication and providing clients with advice on applicable regulatory frameworks. Linguists can use their real world practice to ensure that language access policies are being effectively implemented. By equipping themselves with knowledge and language access, linguists can also proactively solve any problems that may violate existing policies. When linguists notice shortcomings in current solutions, they may be able to develop better options. For example, machine translation plugins that are enabled on semius government websites can translate thousands of words in seconds but often provide incomprehensible outputs that defy the very purpose of language access policies. Linguists can develop a professional and reliable post editing system that uses a well maintained terminology database as a reference. Existing laws can and should guide not only linguists practice but also their innovation endeavors. Bolstering advocacy, linguists and the professional organizations they join can be agents of change, calling for action where and as needed. Such transformation efforts can start with something as simple as submitting slips of support in favor of languages access bills, which is what the American Translators association did in January 2024 in response to New Jersey's Language Access bill is 2459, a law that requires state agencies to render their vital content in seven of the state's most spoken languages.
[00:09:16] Every effort, no matter how small, adds up and paves the way for big changes to materialize. Conclusion Language diversity is an asset, a fact that has been enshrined in the us legislature's commitment to expanding language access for LEP individuals. While guaranteeing access to content and services. These policies also create numerous career prospects for linguists in the land of opportunity.
[00:09:43] Finally, knowledge of language access rights helps linguists advocate for change and serve their clients as best as possible, ultimately improving accessibility for the LEP population.
[00:09:55] This article was written by Dima Giroudat, a Masters in translation student at Kent State University who has worked as an in house and freelance translator. Jaredat created the first ever public terminology database to help expand language access for Arabic speaking LuT persons in the US.
[00:10:14] Originally published in multilingual magazine, issue 232, September 2024.
