Language Line Services is expanding its On-Site Interpreting Service in 10 major California markets including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.

If you've not used face-to-face interpreters before, you might be interested in when, where and why health care and other facilities use this alternative to telephone interpreters.

On-site interpreting is often used in situations:

• When complex and sensitive issues need to be discussed like end-of-life decisions or negative diagnoses
• In situations requiring extra human interaction
• When lengthy meetings or interviews are planned in advance
• During group meetings or interviews
• Where the Limited English Speaker prefers to have the Interpreter there in person, or
• Feels uncomfortable using the telephone

Language Line Services offers on-site interpreters primarily to health care users with interpretation available in California's most requested languages: Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese

Our interpreters are employees, rather than independent contractors, which is often very important to our clients because:

• Employed interpreters are tested, trained, monitored and certified
• Employed interpreters sign and abide by a Code of Ethics, and
• Using employed interpreters often enhances and supports our client organizations' risk management efforts

For more information about how your customers and patients could benefit from the services of face-to-face interpreters -- and to immediately download your own copy of the "Best Tips about Working with an On-site Interpreter" (pictured) -- complete the brief form here. Thank you!

One of the chief characteristics of English is its teeming vocabulary, an estimated 80% of which has come from other languages!

Linguistic borrowing has occurred over many centuries, whenever English speakers have come into contact with other cultures, whether through conquest and colonization, trade and commerce, immigration, leisure travel, or war.

While English has borrowed most heavily from the languages of Europe and the Near East, it has also acquired many loan words from Asia, sometimes through the intermediary of Dutch, the native language of the merchant-sailors who dominated the Spice Islands trade in the 17th century.

Many of these borrowed words no longer seem foreign, having been completely assimilated into English.

Some examples are boondocks, gingham, and ketchup. Others are still strongly associated with their country of origin, such as terms for specific "ethnic" dishes or the different schools of martial arts.

Chinese & Korean Words

Cantonese (southern China, Hong Kong)
chop suey, from a word meaning "miscellaneous bits."
chow, related to chop in chop suey, from a word meaning "food, miscellany."
kumquat, a small citrus fruit.
typhoon, from the words for "great wind."
wok
yen, meaning a "yearning" or "strong desire."

Mandarin (Beijing, China; official national standard)
gung ho, a motto used by the Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society, from words meaning "work together." It was picked up by U.S. Marines during World War II.
kow-tow, from words meaning "to knock [one's] head."
kung fu, from gong fu, meaning "skill, art."

Korean
tae kwon do, meaning "trample-fist-way."

Japanese Words

aikido, from words meaning "mutual spirit art."
futon, a type of mattress.
geisha, from gei, meaning "art" and sha, "person."
hara-kiri, from hara, meaning "abdomen, bowels" and kiri, "to cut."
honcho, from a word meaning "squad leader."
judo, from words meaning "soft way."
jujitsu, from words meaning "soft arts."
kamikaze, is translated literally as "divine wind," from the name of a typhoon that saved Japan by destroying the Mongol navy in 1281.
karaoke, from kara, meaning "void, empty" and oke(sutora), meaning "orchestra." In a case of reverse borrowing, the Japanese word okesutora came from the English word orchestra.
karate, from words meaning "empty hand."
kimono
ninja, from nin, meaning "to endure" and ja, "person."
ramen, ultimately from the Mandarin Chinese words for "pulled noodles."
rickshaw, from jinrikisha, meaning "person-strength-vehicle."
sake, a rice wine.
samurai, "warrior."
shogun, "general."
soy
sushi
tofu, originally borrowed into Japanese from Chinese.
tsunami, meaning a "large ocean wave."
tycoon, from taikun, meaning "great prince." Used as a title, the word was originally borrowed into Japanese from Chinese. It was brought to the U.S. after Matthew Perry's visit to Japan in 1853 and 1854. Members of Abraham Lincoln's cabinet used it as an affectionate nickname for the president. Later it was applied to business magnates such as J. P. Morgan.

Malay & Tagalog Words

Malay (Malaysia and Indonesia) amuck (or amok)
batik
cockatoo, from Malay kakatua, via Dutch.
gingham, borrowed from Malay into Dutch (ginggang), and from Dutch into English.
ketchup, from kicap, meaning "fish sauce."
launch, a type of boat.
orangutan, from orang, meaning "man" and hutan, "wilderness, jungle."
paddy, from padi, meaning "rice, rice field."
rattan
sarong

Tagalog (northern Philippines)
boondocks, from bundok, meaning "mountain." During the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, the word was adopted by American soldiers, who used it to refer to any far-off or wild place. Later it passed into the general vocabulary.

Polynesian Words

Hawaiian
hula
luau
ukelele, from words meaning "flea jumping."

Tahitian
tattoo, introduced to the English-speaking world by Capt. James Cook in his account of his voyage around the world from 1768 to1771. Sailors later brought the actual custom to Europe.

Tongan
taboo, like tattoo, occurs for the first time in Capt. James Cook's journals.

For much more information, click here.

By permission:
Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Gung ho, Tycoon, Amuck." Infoplease.
© 2000-2010 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
< http://www.infoplease.com/spot/asianwords1.html>.

This is the second open call in an ongoing series of informational forums to provide updates and information to interpreters, stakeholders and the industry at large.

All are invited and welcome to participate!

• Topic: What Every Interpreter Needs to Know to Get Certified
• Speaker: Nelva Lee, PhD. Chair, National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
• Date: Saturday, April 10, 2010
• Time: 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 10:00 a.m. Mountain / 11:00 a.m. Central / 12:00 p.m. Eastern
• Duration: 1 hour

To access Audio portion of the meeting: USA Toll-Free: (877) 336-1839 ACCESS CODE: 6248587

To access the Web portion of the meeting:

Web Meeting Address: https://www.webmeeting.att.com
Meeting Number(s): (877) 336-1839
ACCESS CODE: 6248587

We recommend that you dial in 5 minutes early to avoid issues. The call will be muted to participants to prevent audio issues or background noise.

If you have questions in advance, you can also submit them to info@certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org

In case you do not have web access but still wish to follow along, the presentation can be downloaded at www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org

If your organization would like an individual presentation, we will be happy to accommodate! Please contact info@certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org

• "Misclassification of Workers Puts Courts, Due Process in Jeopardy" by Louis Provenzano - HuffingtonPost.com


• Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for March 2010. Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information


• Language Line Services Awarded Interpretation Services Contract by United States Department of Homeland Security

Read more Language Line Services news here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages including:

• Chru
• Edo
• Garre
• Kotokoli
• Kpelle
• Mam
• Mixteco
• Trique
• Punu
• Putian
• Sango
• Sinhalese
• Uzbeq*

As for professional and experienced on-site interpreter positions, we are seeking the following within Contra Costa County, CA only:

• Spanish
• Farsi
• Cantonese
• Mandarin
• Punjabi
• Tagalog
• Hindi
• Laotian
• Mien
• Russian
• Arabic
• Sinhalese
• Uzbeq*

An exciting new opportunity is available to experienced interpreters living in the Los Angeles area. Interpreters will now be able to do both on-site, face-to-face interpreting as well as over-the-phone interpreting in the following languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Armenian, and Japanese.

And, finally, among non-interpreter positions, here is a selection for which we are interviewing:

• Account Manager
• Collections Specialist
• Customer Contract Salesforce Administrator
• Interpreter Response Center Specialist
• Payroll Specialist
• Business Development Executive
• Response Center Specialist
• Graphic Designer/Production Artist, and
• Several other positions

For non-interpreter positions, please apply at: www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile.

EEO/AA Employer.

* Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open every week.

Visit our Career Center here >>

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