Vietnamese Becomes One of San Francisco’s Official Languages
NBC News (6/20/24) By Isabel Yip
Vietnamese has joined Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino as an official language of San Francisco, California. As a result, the city will be required to translate websites, board and commission meeting materials, and bills from the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector and Public Utilities Commission, among other services, into Vietnamese.
The change comes after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted in May to lower the requirement for determining when a language becomes eligible for translation services. Previously, a language needed 10,000 speakers to be translated as an official language. That threshold has been lowered to 6,000 speakers.
According to the San Francisco Language Diversity Data Dashboard, Vietnamese is the fourth largest language population in the city, with 6,791 speakers.
This change, along other amendments to the San Francisco Language Access Ordinance, is aimed at providing residents with city information in their native languages. City officials have called the ordinance “one of the strongest local language laws in the nation.”
“In San Francisco, one in three residents is an immigrant and nearly 43% of our population over the age of five speaks a language other than English at home,” Jorge Rivas Jr., executive director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, wrote in the introduction to the 2024 Language Access Compliance Report. “Recognizing our diversity is fundamental to ensuring that public services cater to the needs of all residents.”
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Interpreters Reject Procurement Agreement Extension in Canada
Slator (7/18/24) By Rocío Txabarriaga
According to a statement from the Canada Region of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC), 75% of federally accredited freelance official language interpreters who work for the Parliament of Canada have refused to sign an extension of the procurement arrangement they entered into last year. The contract expired on June 30, 2024.
Interpreters are concerned with the decision made by Canada’s Translation Bureau (TB) to extend the open contract, with substantive changes, for a second year. The extension option was included a year ago provided that, upon renewal, the original contract conditions still stood.
AIIC’s statement said the contract extension includes an amendment that accredited freelancers “believe would substantially change the conditions under which they provide their services.” It also said that the TB warned that even if the interpreters did not sign, the amendment would still be applicable to all types of contracts.
The contract changes include a new rule that would pause the remunerated working clock for interpreters every time a parliamentary proceeding pauses in the House or Senate for votes or for any other reason.
Nicole Gagnon, spokesperson for AIIC, said in a press release that “many freelancers regard the TB’s actions as a breach of contract and an unacceptable change to the way interpreters work, especially in parliament. ‘Stop-and-go’ interpreting simply does not exist anywhere in our profession. Yet the TB is trying to keep freelancers waiting in the booth during pauses in parliamentary proceedings without counting their time. It’s like refusing to pay the taxi driver when his vehicle is stopped at a red light.”
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In Pennsylvania, Bill to Expand Number of Sign Language Interpreters Passes State Senate
PA Senate Republicans (7/10/24)
Legislation that would modernize Pennsylvania’s Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act was passed by the state senate this month. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Originally enacted in 2004, the act was designed to supplement provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that did not specify interpreter qualifications. Senate Bill 1274 would update the provisions to meet the evolving needs of the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing communities. The bill has received support from numerous deaf individuals, interpreters, and advocacy organizations across the commonwealth.
“The importance of this legislation cannot be overstated,” said Senator Devlin Robinson, one of the bill’s sponsors. “For too long, the number of registered sign language interpreters has not kept pace with the demand. This bill addresses that shortfall by broadening the pathways individuals can take to become qualified interpreters.”
Key provisions of the bill include expanded certification recognition, the acknowledgment of additional pathways beyond traditional bachelor’s degrees to provide interpreters with diverse qualification paths, and the resolution of inconsistencies in current certification and registration criteria to enhance clarity and accessibility for all stakeholders.
“Today, we took a major step toward making our commonwealth more inclusive,” said Senator John Kane, another of the bill’s sponsors. “The dedication and collaboration it took to get this crucial bill passed will allow us to better serve our deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind communities, ensuring they receive the essential services they rightfully deserve.”
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Language Immersion Students on Kauaʻi Create Library of Books in ʻŌlelo Niʻihau
Hawaiʻi National Public Radio (7/12/24) By Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi
Hawaiʻi’s only Hawaiian immersion school in the Niʻihau dialect on Kauaʻi is on a mission to publish 1,000 books in ʻŌlelo Niʻihau, the island’s native language.
Over the past six years, students and staff at the Ke Kula Niʻihau O Kekaha Charter School on Kauaʻi have written and published 400 books in ʻŌlelo Niʻihau.
Tia Koerte, the school’s principal, launched the initiative when she first arrived. “In 2016, I was a new principal. It was important for me to understand what our community expected of me as the new leader—what they envisioned for their children and what the children envisioned for themselves,” Koerte said.
In 2018, students and staff began writing and publishing books in the Niʻihau dialect. The school partnered with Hamline University in Minnesota to create resources in ʻŌlelo Niʻihau. “At the time, there were zero materials published in our language. A lot of it was handwritten and/or delivered orally,” Koerte said. “It was important for me to begin building the foundation of a program.”
“I like when we read to our parents because we feel really special when we make those books,” said student author Brooklyn Keale.
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Words Without Borders Receives $150,000 Grant
Publishing Perspectives (7/10/24) By Anderson Porter
Words Without Borders (WWB), the international nonprofit organization that publishes translated literature, has received a $150,000 general operating grant from the Mellon Foundation, the largest in the company’s history.
Founded in 2003 and based in the U.S., WWB classifies itself as “the largest digital platform for contemporary literature in English translation.” It has published works by more than 4,600 writers and translators without charge to readers.
As many as 140 languages and 143 countries are reportedly represented in the company’s archives, and its program, WWB Campus, helps educators with curricular resources and training to bring international literature into their classrooms.
“In deeply divided times, this grant affirms the importance of engaging both deeply and widely with the world’s literary voices through the art of literary translation,” said Karen Phillips, the outgoing executive director and publisher of the program.
“This historic grant from the Mellon Foundation will have a significant impact on WWB at a critical juncture,” said Samantha Schnee, chair of the program’s board and founding editor. “It also communicates to the broader arts community that an organization focused on expanding access to international literature deserves attention and support.”
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