This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
Aug 19, 2014
Translation industry news

Mee Memorial Hospital agrees to provide indigenous language services

Source: Monterey Herald
Story flagged by: Maria Kopnitsky

Mee Memorial Hospital officials have reached an agreement with the federal government to provide language assistance to speakers with limited English abilities, including speakers of indigenous Mexican languages.

The agreement resolves three separate complaints filed in 2012 on behalf of three Triqui speakers, who claimed in their complaints they had been discriminated against by the hospital because they were not provided with adequate access to translation services.

The agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing, but it stops the investigation by the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lawyers with California Rural Legal Assistance filed a complaint on behalf of Agustina Montesino, who was a patient at Mee Memorial’s clinics for more than 10 years but had never been provided an interpreter in her language. More.

See: Monterey Herald

Subscribe to the translation news daily digest here. See more translation news.

Comments about this article


Mee Memorial Hospital agrees to provide indigenous language services
Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:51
English to Spanish
+ ...
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
 

Sign in to add a comment

To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »
This discussion can also be accessed via the ProZ.com forum pages.


Translation news
Stay informed on what is happening in the industry, by sharing and discussing translation industry news stories.

Close search
All of ProZ.com
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search