"The United States is home to about 1.6 million Indian immigrants, making them the third-largest immigrant group in the United States after Mexican and Filipino immigrants. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of Indian immigrants surpassed the number of Chinese and Hong Kong-born immigrants for the first time since at least 1960."

This is the latest of a series from the "Migration Information Source", published by the Migration Policy Institute. You can find others in the series here, here and here.

"Indian immigration to the United States, a fairly recent phenomenon, grew rapidly during the 1990s and 2000s. In addition, people with Indian ancestry have also immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean, East Africa, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Population Size and Distribution

• There were about 1.6 million foreign born from India residing in the United States in 2008.
• Nearly half of all Indian immigrants resided in California, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.
• The Indian born accounted for about one in 10 immigrants in six states.
• Between 2000 and 2008, the size of the Indian immigrant population more than doubled in 10 states.
• Over one in six Indian immigrants resided in the New York metropolitan area.
• Indian immigrants made up at least 10 percent of the immigrant population in 10 metropolitan areas.
• There were 2.3 million members of the Indian diaspora residing in the United States in 2008, including 455,000 native-born US citizens of Indian ancestry.

Editor's note: If you serve the Indian American communities in your area, this extensive MPI series of articles provides a wealth of information.

More about Indian American immigrants

• U.S. State Department
• CIA World Fact Book
• Wikipedia.org
• Languages of India - Ethnologue.com

From Ethnologue, the National or official languages: Hindi and English. 22 official 'scheduled' languages: Assamese, *Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, *Gujarati, *Hindi, Kannada, *Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, *Malayalam, *Marathi, Meitei, *Nepali, Oriya, Eastern Panjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, *Sindhi, *Tamil, *Telugu, *Urdu.

* Indian languages currently interpreted by Language Line Services. See the entire list here >>

Are you new to your organization? Or have colleagues who just joined your team?

Sometimes, as the make-up of an organization's workforce changes, training for every day procedures -- often critical procedures like how to reach an interpreter when you really need one -- is overlooked.

So, we at "In Other Words" will occasionally remind you that we are here to help -- with online demonstrations and physical training tools (see the next article) to make it easy for you to:

• Learn how to use Language Line Services
• Train others within your department
• Help your limited English speaking patients communicate their needs, and
• Make your workplace as efficient and patient-friendly as you can.

An over-the-phone interpretation is, as you may already know, simply a three-way conference call between you, your patient, and a Language Line Service interpreter.

When your organization first signed up as our client, we provided you with everything you needed to immediately serve those of your patients who speak little if any English.

However, if you're new to your group, to Language Line Services, or to using an interpreter in general, take a few moments now to visit the following Web pages.

The next time you need to get a hold of an interpreter, you'll be glad you did:

• Here's a quick, video demonstration of how it works, along with illustrations of the 3 ways you can access our interpreters;
• Here is a more in-depth series of "Questions and Answers" that you can use to train your colleagues;
• Here is the Code of Ethics you can expect every one of our interpreters to adhere to; and
• A dramatized demo of how our interpreters are trained to handle emergencies (such as a baby born in the backseat of a police car).

As you'll see in the next article, there are several more training and language assistance tools we have for you as a Language Line Services client.

For now, though, just know there are three quick ways to get answers from our Customer Care team of experts:

• Write to us at CustomerCare@Languageline.com
• Complete an electronic "Voice of the Customer" form here, or
• Call us at 1-800-752-6096 option 2

When you become a Language Line Services client, you have access to two groups of training tools.

The first group are tools to train your staff on how to access and efficiently work with our interpreters.

The second set is designed to let your limited English speaking patients know they are valued and will be serviced.

The popular Language ID Card* (pictured) includes the phrase "Point to your language. An interpreter will be called." The limited English speaking person can self-identify their own language to help you request the proper interpreter.

Benefits of this tool include:

• Instructions in the top 94 common languages, grouped by the geographical region of the world.
• The convenient size fits in personal organizers and many law enforcement officers like to keep a copy in their ticket books. (3.5"w x 8.5"h folded)
• A great tool for face-to-face situations. This card assures limited English speakers that they are valued and will be helped

Two other tools serve similar functions as the Language ID Card, and are used in different situations:

The Language Line Poster*

"Interpretation Services Available" Wall and Desktop Posters - These posters (18"x24") or desktop displays (8 ½" x 11") below are well suited to public areas and also allow limited English speakers to self-identify their language, simply by pointing to it.

• Ideal for public places.
• Instructions in the top 20 common languages state that an interpreter is available and ask them to point to their language. (18"w x 24"h)

Language Line Desk-top Display*

• This desk-top display with built in easel, is a smaller version of the poster. (8 ½"w x 11"h)

Our goal is to help you and your staff communicate with limited English speaking patients as easily as possible.

Make these tools available to every person in your organization who comes in contact with people of different languages.

*Charges do apply for these tools.

Which Mode of Language Service Is Best for Non-English-Speaking Patients?

Telephonic, In-Person Interpretation or Bilingual Providers?

The short answer is that over-the-phone interpretation was determined best, at least in this one study for the Journal of Pediatrics and published here by Medscape (free registration required to see full article).

Being the largest telephone interpreting provider, we at Language Line Services are of course happy with the study's outcome, but the major finding is explained by author Dr. William Basco, a Charleston, South Carolina pediatrician:

"I suspect that clinicians and hospital administrators have often wrestled with questions about which interpretation modality is best.

"No doubt, much more was going on in these interactions than could be measured, but credit must be given to the investigators for designing a study that provides some objective data on which interpreting modality is best.

"I say 'best' because, as noted by the investigators, many other factors are important when evaluating the adequacy of interpretation, such as patient understanding of medication regimens or understanding of follow up, for example.

(Editor's note: Language Line Services would also include the quality of the interpreter).

"Although the data from a single study are not enough to say definitively that "telephone interpretation is best," they do provide some reassurance that the modality may not matter as much as we have feared.

"Moreover, the findings raise interesting questions, such as why telephone interpretation performed better -- a finding that the investigators admit was unexpected -- which can be pursued in future studies."

Again, you can read the entire Medscape article here (free registration required to see full article).

Selected News of the Month

• More Than Just Spanish Speakers: Language Line "LanguageTrak" Report Details the Many Faces of Immigration


• National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum Tackles Next Challenge, Implementation of the National Test


• Corporate Social Responsibility: Language Line Services - "Helping to Create a Compassionate Global Community"


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


• Environmental Responsibility - Language Line Services' Global Perspective on a Worldwide Concern

More Language Line Services news here >>

The Coordinating Committee for the May 1st National Medical Interpreter Certification Forum recently contacted past attendees, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, and the more than 800 Facebook supporters for their input on locations for the upcoming 2011 May 1st Open Forum.

It was decided that the 5th annual convening of the forum will be held in Southern California.

Requests for registration information can be sent to may1st_nmic_forum@yahoo.com.

The National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum is an annual convening that brings together industry leaders and stakeholders, large and small, private and public, working together to collaborate with a specific focus on the topic of National Medical Interpreter Certification.

The purpose of this initiative is to improve and support standardization of the quality of language services in our nation's health care institutions and to give every organization and individual a voice and opportunity to participate in an inclusive and transparent environment.

We hope you'll "Save the Date - May 1, 2011" - and request registration information by emailing to may1st_nmic_forum@yahoo.com.

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages, as well as offering a wide variety of corporate openings.

Dual Role Interpreters in California

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.

As for over the phone interpreters only, we have openings in a number of languages including:

• Arabic
• Chru
• Edo
• Gaelic
• Haitian Creole
• Japanese
• K'iche
• Latvian
• Pashto
• Punu
• Polish
• Sango
• Sinhalese
• Somaili
• Vietnamese, and
• Several Others

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

• Trainer - Face-to-Face Interpreter
• Project Manager - Lingo Systems
• Interpreter Response Center Specialist
• Payroll Specialist
• Business Development Executive
• Response Center Specialist
• Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains Applications Developer
• 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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