If you've been reading "In Other Words" for awhile, you know we have a thing for the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

The primary purpose of this newsletter, now in its 7th year online (and several years before that in print), is to inform our readers about their limited English speaking customers and the cultures from which they come.

To that end, we are always on the look out for interesting and accurate reporting about the languages and cultures of U.S. residents. MPI is often the first place we look. And it never disappoints.

MPI's website MigrationInformation.org is a cultural reporter's dream, and highly readable for all who are interested in the varied U.S. communities.

In our April issue we featured MPI's series of articles on Filipino Immigrants.

Then in June we pointed our readers to MPI's coverage of Indian Immigrants in the U.S.

This month we present to you MPI's excellent coverage of our Korean American neighbors.

Per MPI: "This spotlight focuses on Korean immigrants residing in the United States, examining the population's size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics using data from the US Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2000 Decennial Census, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) for 2008 and 2009.

Read the rest of MPI's "Korean Immigrants in the United States" here >>

Though a larger percent of Korean Americans speak English than do many other immigrant populations, Language Line Services continues to experience a growth of Korean interpretation requests in the top 20 U.S. markets.

We're always on the look out for interesting articles on culture and language.

Here are two really intriguing articles found by "In Other Words" readers.

We thank you for sending them to us to share with your fellow readers... and we encourage all of our readers to do the same.

When you see something you think we'd all enjoy reading... or viewing (a la YouTube, etc.)... please send them along to Newsletter@Languageline.com

This first article comes from the August 26th New York Times Magazine:

"Seventy years ago, in 1940, a popular science magazine published a short article that set in motion one of the trendiest intellectual fads of the 20th century.

"At first glance, there seemed little about the article to augur its subsequent celebrity. Neither the title, "Science and Linguistics," nor the magazine, M.I.T.'s Technology Review, was most people's idea of glamour.

And the author, a chemical engineer who worked for an insurance company and moonlighted as an anthropology lecturer at Yale University, was an unlikely candidate for international superstardom.

"And yet Benjamin Lee Whorf let loose an alluring idea about language's power over the mind, and his stirring prose seduced a whole generation into believing that our mother tongue restricts what we are able to think."

Read the rest of this New York Times Magazine article here >>

This next article is from the July 23rd Wall Street Journal:

"Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?

"Take 'Humpty Dumpty sat on a...' Even this snippet of a nursery rhyme reveals how much languages can differ from one another.

In English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we say "sat" rather than "sit." In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can't) change the verb to mark tense.

"In Russian, you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the sitting."

Read the rest of this Wall Street Journal article here >>

Thanks again to our readers for suggesting these interesting articles.

Now, won't you send your suggestions to Newsletter@languageline.com as well?

Thank you!

Report: Critical Link 6 Conference on Community Interpreting, Birmingham, United Kingdom, July 26-30, 2010.

Three hundred fifty participants from 35 countries and representing all continents attended the 6th International Critical Link conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom hosted by Aston University.

The theme of the conference, "Interpreting in a Changing Landscape," reflected the vital role that community interpreters play globally - interpreters in social services, health care and the legal arenas.

There were 160 papers presented, plenary sessions and poster presentations. Spoken and sign language interpreters representing dozens of languages shared experiences and knowledge in an effort to foster collaboration and to further advance the field.

The first and founding conference of Critical Link >was in Canada in 1995,The aim of the conferences are to explore the political, legal, human rights, international, economic, social, cultural and linguistic aspects of community interpreting. These conferences have allowed academics, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, providers and users of interpreting services a global platform.

Complete report continues here >>

For more information on the conference, including the complete program and abstracts, please go here >>

The link for the Facebook page is here >>

Report prepared by: Linda Joyce, CMI, Language Access Specialist, Ljoyce6403@yahoo.com

In collaboration with: Jeanette Anders, Sr. Manager, Health Care Market & Partner Relations, Language Line Services, janders@languageline.com

New! Web Advanced Medical Training Program for Interpreters

This web-based training program condenses the same 40-hour content of the Advanced Medical Training for interpreters in a 25-hour format that includes:

• 15 hours of independent learning via the Web, combined with


• 10 hours of Instructor-Led Sessions over the phone.

The convenience of the self-paced training modality eliminates the constraints of time and place to enable participants to access the training from any location, at any time.

The web-based curriculum is presented in a user-friendly format with easy navigation and skilled technical support.

Trainers in the Instructor-Led Sessions each have an average of 20 years of experience, which they skillfully use to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences in a shared learning environment.

In addition, self-assessment tools enable participants to focus on their individual areas for improvement.

The medical portion includes:

• Anatomy and physiology
• Medical specialties
• Healthcare practices
• Diagnostic procedures and testing
• Pathology and treatment

The interpreting portion covers:

• Ethics
• Linguistic challenges
• Sight translation
• Cultural competence

Upon completion of the training, participants can receive 10 Continuing Education Points (CEPs) from the American Translators Association (ATA).

• See video demonstration of Web Advanced Medical Training here >>


• Take advantage of the introductory rates here >>


• Read the news release here >>


• See all Language Line University training programs here >>

• Two Noted Healthcare Language Access Advocates Join Language Line Services


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


• Leader in Medical Interpretation Delivers New, Cutting-Edge Online Training Tool | Language Line University


• "Open Letter to IRS: End Employee Misclassification Now" by Louis Provenzano in the HuffingtonPost.com

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, 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, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange county areas. 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 work-at-home, over-the-phone interpreters, we have openings in a number of languages including:

• Arabic
• French
• Somali
• Cantonese
• Korean
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Vietnamese

As well as...

• Balochi,
• Chamorro
• Edo
• Gorani
• Kpelle
• Lusoga
• Mam
• Mixteco
• Punu
• Susu
• Trique

And, finally, top Corporate open positions include:

• Account Manager - Healthcare
• Sales Associate - Healthcare
• Business Manager
• Collection Specialist
• Project Manager - Lingo Systems
• Sales Executive Government -West Coast
• Senior Sales Executive - Business Partnership Development
• Senior Sales Executive - Government
• Senior Sales Executive - Healthcare
• Senior Sales Executive - Acquisitions

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 >>

News: Director of Outreach for the Texas Association of Health Care Interpreters and Translators Douglas Green and Oscar Arocha of Boston Medical Center Join Company's Healthcare Division

MONTEREY, CA - (August 31, 2010) - Language Line Services, the leading provider of interpreting and language solution services, today announced that Douglas Green, founding board member and director of outreach for the Texas Association of Health Care Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT), and Oscar Arocha, director of Boston Medical Center's Interpreter Services Department, have joined the company as the newest additions to the growing talent within the healthcare division.

In their new roles, Green and Arocha will help Language Line Services continue its public policy push towards reimbursement of healthcare language access programs and requirement that all interpreters working in the hospital setting be certified medical interpreters.

"We are proud to welcome Mr. Green and Mr. Arocha to the Language Line Services team," said Louis Provenzano, President and COO of Language Line Services.

"Their depth of experience and shared passion to improve healthcare for all patient populations will be an invaluable asset to the company, the more than 12,000 healthcare customers we serve and their patients, and our current pursuit of federally mandated reimbursement for the services of certified medical interpreters."

Read more about Douglas Green and Oscar Arocha, our two newest members of the Language Line Services healthcare team here.

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