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Mee Memorial Hospital agrees to provide indigenous language services

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Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Indigenous Languages Aug 22, 2014

I would think that finding interpreters for indigenous languages from Mexico, Guatemala, etc. would be extremely difficult, and the task would have to be done by relay; that is indigenous language to Spanish and then Spanish to English. Furthermore, it would not be easy to find persons fluent in an indigenous language who also have an educated level of Spanish, much less English. Added to this is the fact that indigenous languages are not uniform and for proper understanding the interpreter woul... See more
I would think that finding interpreters for indigenous languages from Mexico, Guatemala, etc. would be extremely difficult, and the task would have to be done by relay; that is indigenous language to Spanish and then Spanish to English. Furthermore, it would not be easy to find persons fluent in an indigenous language who also have an educated level of Spanish, much less English. Added to this is the fact that indigenous languages are not uniform and for proper understanding the interpreter would have to be quite familiar with the variant spoken in the interpretee's specific community or village. I have read that different versions of the "same" indigenous language from different villages can often be only 50% or 60% mutually intelligible.

The above presents a tremedous challenge for law enforcement, medical services and so many others who have a need to communicate with such people. The problem can also include many other "exotic" languages. ▲ Collapse
 


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Mee Memorial Hospital agrees to provide indigenous language services







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