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ATA curates articles from around the world as a service for members. ATA members receive these articles in Newsbriefs, an e-newsletter. See full issues of Newsbriefs.

Hundreds More Afghans and Their Families to be Allowed to Settle in U.K.

June 18, 2021

Plans to rapidly relocate hundreds more Afghans who worked for the British military and U.K. government, mostly as interpreters, have been announced. Including family members, more than 3,000 Afghans are…

Civil Rights Complaint Filed over Discriminatory Provision of COVID-19 Services to Persons with Limited English Proficiency

May 11, 2021

The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) has filed a complaint with multiple U.S. federal agencies contending that federal, state, and local agencies have failed to provide meaningful access to COVID-19…

Virginia First State to Offer ASL Video Chats for COVID-19 Call Center

May 3, 2021

Virginia has become the first state to provide real-time video chat access to its COVID-19 information call center for users of American Sign Language (ASL). The mission of the Vaccine…

Upcoming CBS Sitcom The United States of Al Faces Backlash over Afghan Representation

April 2, 2021

The trailer for the upcoming CBS sitcom The United States of Al is being criticized for the casting and portrayal of a U.S. military interpreter from Afghanistan. Set to premiere…

Study Finds Google Translate Still Isn’t Good Enough for Medical Instructions

April 2, 2021

According to a new study by researchers from the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Google Translate still isn’t…

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Adding Five Languages, Including ASL, to the Written Test

April 2, 2021

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) announced the addition of five new languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), to the written portion of the state driver’s license exam. The…

St. Louis Metro Partners with St. Louis Mosaic Project for COVID-19 Language Access Initiative

April 2, 2021

In Missouri, St. Louis Metro Transit has partnered with the St. Louis Mosaic Project to help ensure that non-English-speaking riders throughout the area have access to important COVID-19 information on…

Translations of Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem Spark Debate: Can White Translators Interpret It?

April 2, 2021

Millions of Americans heard 23-year-old Amanda Gorman recite her moving poem The Hill We Climb at President Biden’s inauguration on January 20. The poem has now been translated into 17…

Translator Pleads Guilty to Sharing Military Secrets

April 2, 2021

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a former U.S. military translator has pleaded guilty to divulging classified information to a Lebanese official with suspected ties to the Hezbollah, a…

‘Special and Beautiful’ Whistled Language Echoes Around This Island

March 15, 2021

On La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands in Spain, a whistling language is still in use thanks to mandatory classes for schoolchildren. The language, officially known as Silbo Gomero,…

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