Immigration language services are of huge importance in the U.S. today. With rising immigration numbers and many residents considered to be of limited English proficiency, immigration translation and interpreting services are a must. In New Jersey, Korean interpreting services are especially needed.
Korean Interpreting in Palisade Park
Palisade Park, a town in New Jersey, is home to one of the biggest Korean communities in America. With more than 10,000 Korean immigrants and first generation Americans with Korean heritage, over half of the entire town does not speak English as its first language. As such, one would assume that English to Korean interpretation and translation services are highly used services.
So far this has only partly been the case, with translations being provided in elections, but interpreting services being neglected. The absence of interpretation services has had a significant impact on council meetings, with many Korean community members saying that they “felt alienated”. Participating is especially important to some, as voting concerning business takes place at these events. Many members of the Korean community also run shops along the city’s main boulevard, and as such they need a say in any conversation surrounding commerce.
Trying to understand English, while following debates, has led to many misunderstandings. Even when members of the Korean community brought their own interpreters, they could follow the conversation, but could not participate in important discussions. This was due to the fact that not enough time was given for the interpreter to finish relaying what was happening before voting took place.
While there is no law that specifically requires venues such as council meetings to provide interpreters or interpreting equipment, it is still required to take “reasonable steps” to accommodate people with LEP (Limited English Proficiency). With an LEP community as large as that of Palisade Park, an interpreter seems like the most reasonable step.
Going forward, following a council meeting where a volunteer provided English to Korean interpreting services, a resolution to hire professional Korean interpreters for future Council meetings has been passed. Although a step-forward, this resolution will not cover other events, such as zoning board meetings. The mayor however, does not rule out having interpreters there as well in the future, depending on how the situation develops.
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