Facts about the Hispanic population, Somali population and other groups in the area around Columbus, Ohio who speak foreign languages at home. From ASIST Translations, provider of professional translations and onsite interpreters for business, medical, government and legal clients.
You need to be very careful how symbols are treated in the source text you provide for translation to other languages. Here are a few common issues: # Not everyone associates this symbol with “number.” In many languages, some sort of text abbreviation for the word “number” is used (for…
ASIST Translation Services Inc. has been translating to and from Spanish for the US market for over 25 years (as well as other Spanish-speaking countries around the world, of course!). Among the frequent topics of conversation with our translation clients are the many myths and misconceptions about the Spanish-speaking population…
Esperanto is the international language created by Dr. Ludwik Zamenhof from Poland. The goal of Esperanto was to allow all people to communicate with one another. Dr. Zamenhof published the first brochure about the Esperanto language in 1887. Esperanto, which means “he who has hope”, was thus born. Since its…
Do you know the law when it comes to providing translators and interpreters for your business?
Unfortunately, many individuals, businesses, governments and non-profit agencies are unaware of the state and federal regulations dictating just when and where such language support services are required—for both hard of hearing customers as well as those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
And that can lead to big problems.
Take, for example, the Florida judicial system, which last year faced a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. The complaint alleged Florida courts violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to provide free, qualified interpretation services in court related functions. For any programs that receive federal financial assistance, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin. The complaint claimed that Florida courts were not properly providing interpreters for people with LEP, and that such negligence was a form of national origin discrimination.
In some cases, you might want the conversion to be an exact translation, but not always.

- Bilingual/Multilingual – The ability to communicate fluently in two or more languages. These terms would not apply to someone who is only marginally skilled at speaking another language(s).