Languages and the provision of language translation services can mean different things to different groups of people; for the recipients of such services, they can mean the difference between isolation and participation; they can provide a social lifeline and they can mean the difference between interacting within society’s official framework…or not. For the providers of such services they can mean an opportunity to extend their reach to additional clients or service users; they might mean an extra and burdensome responsibility…but now it seems failure to do so in the USA can mean litigation and an expectation of punitive compensatory payments.

During a call to the Emergency Services to inform them that Maria Salinas (who is deaf) had found her fiancé unconscious, she found that she had to wait an inordinately long while for the Emergency Services to provide an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter: in fact, no such interpreter ever materialised. Miss Salinas did eventually manage to communicate her predicament to a neighbour, who then rendered assistance and placed another call on her behalf.

This failure subsequently landed the City of New Braunfels, with a lawsuit and an order to pay Miss Salinas some $75,000!

Now the Commissioners of Cromal County are voting to commence negotiations with Deaf Link; a San Antonio based company who provide ASL video conferencing facilities to enable communication for the deaf via a ASL interpreter. County officials are hoping that this will protect them against any further litigation.

On the basis that new trends often tend to manifest in the USA before making an appearance over here, maybe Translation Services providers of all varieties should take note!