VIDEO INTERPRETING CONTINUES TO MAKE INROADS
 

The 2010 census found that 25.2 million individuals, or 9 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 5, are limited English proficient (LEP). In an effort to reduce the isolation and vulnerability of the LEP population, entrepreneurs are developing new technology-based approaches to bridging the language gap. Some of these approaches were profiled in a report from the Migration Policy Institute published last year. One of these innovations is video interpreting, in which a bank of off-site interpreters are available electronically for interpreting assignments. Video offers many advantages over both in-person and telephone interpreting: first, it reduces the travel time and scheduling problems associated with in-person interpreters and often provides a broader repertoire of languages; and second, unlike telephone interpreting, video permits the interpretation of emotional and visual cues, so important in the communication process. Experimentation with video interpreting, sometimes called "interpreting on demand," has taken two general forms: first, a language provider such as Language Access Network makes its pool of interpreters, operating from call centers in Columbus, Ohio, and Manhattan Beach, California, available to customers all over the United States; or second, organizations with interpreters on staff, such as the Health Care Interpreter Network- a grouping of eight public hospitals in California -- share their resources through closed networks. Since the California Network was established in 2005, it has serviced about one million interpreting encounters. A recent study of the California network has shown that the costs of video interpreting are now comparable to those of in-person and telephone modalities, suggesting that video may gain a growing share of the interpreting market. Most of the experimentation with video interpreting technology has occurred in health care, disability (sign language), and courtroom settings. It seems probable that video will find growing acceptance in other venues.