Thread: Charlotte Struggling To Serve Spanish-Speakers

http://www.wral.com/apncnews/5572763/detail.html

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Businesses, schools, and government agencies in the Charlotte area are struggling to keep pace with the demand for interpreters to serve its fast-growing Spanish-speaking population.

Up to 120,000 Latinos live in and around Charlotte, making it home to one of the nation's fastest-growing Spanish-speaking populations.

"Almost any place you look, the need is there," said Michael Collins, vice president of the Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters.

Local schools have been severely affected by the growth. Nearly 15,000 area school students _ 12 percent _ are Latino, with 2,500 new students reporting for class this year.

Between 150 and 200 professionally trained Spanish interpreters work in city hospitals, the courts, schools and businesses, according to Rick Haffner, co-owner of CICS Language Solutions, which provides interpreters to Carolinas HealthCare System and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, among others.

But he estimates that 2,000 Spanish-language interpreters are needed to cover the various meetings that involve the Spanish-speaking community.

Haffner said interpreters need to do more than simply speak two languages. Their duties also require them to be able to explain legal proceedings and deliver life-threatening medical news.

An interpreter can earn between $25 and $100 an hour.

"The city is changing," said Lorne Lassiter, executive director of the Mayor's International Cabinet. "The Spanish-speaking population is here. It's our obligation as a society to speak with them."

To achieve that, the cabinet is building an online clearinghouse of nearly 200 public and private forms and brochures in Spanish and other languages.

Also, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department recruits from local Latino communities while it sends other officers to Costa Rica to learn Spanish. Less than 3 percent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police force speaks Spanish.

At the state level, the Division of Motor Vehicles allows applicants to take portions of the driving test in Spanish.

On the top floor of the Mecklenburg courthouse, nearly 10 percent of the children cared for at the court's daycare center are Latino, director Gloria Peters said.

The staff, none of whom are bilingual, has had to adjust. They've tried learning soothing sayings like "Tu mama vuelve pronto," or "Your mother will be back soon."

But it's not the same as having a native speaker.

"It would be very helpful to have a Spanish speaker here," Peters said. "A lot of the times it's the children who interpret when we can't."

Maura Elguera Chavez, interpreter manager for the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, sighed when discussing how her 18 interpreters must cover cases for the district, juvenile, civil and criminal courts.

And she worries about finding a dozen more qualified interpreters to meet expected demands when the new, larger courthouse opens next year.

"Everyday, the demand seems greater," she said.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!! LEARN ENGLISH! DO NOT OFFER ANYTHING IN SPANISH! FORCE them to SPEAK ENGLISH.

"The city is changing," said Lorne Lassiter, executive director of the Mayor's International Cabinet. "The Spanish-speaking population is here. It's our obligation as a society to speak with them."

Sounds like this guy has given up and is ready to just roll over.....

Also, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department recruits from local Latino communities while it sends other officers to Costa Rica to learn Spanish. Less than 3 percent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police force speaks Spanish.

I wonder what the local tax payers think of this? There is no one in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area that can teach these classes??

And, pray tell me--why is it OUR OBLIGATION to speak THEIR language? It seems to me that THEY are the foreigners in OUR country so maybe I'm missing something here but I would think it is THEIR responsibility to speak OUR LANGUAGE. OR, better yet--GO BACK HOME.

And I am thinking of moving within 60 miles of Charlotte

Originally Posted by Bootsie

HERE WE GO AGAIN!! LEARN ENGLISH! DO NOT OFFER ANYTHING IN SPANISH! FORCE them to SPEAK ENGLISH.

HIP-HIP HORAY!! I am soooo tired of paying taxes to appease Latinos. I'd much rather see my taxes going toward helping the elderly or the poor. Not a bunch of wild 'newcomers' who refuse to assimilate. I say learn the language or get out!

How about: Be here legally and learn the language or get out

ALL OF THE ABOVE!!

You'll be safe where you are headed, COI.

yea, I hope so Bootsie. I don't think they have moved that far out in the boonies.

I don't think so, COI. I live about the same distance from Charlotte and I NEVER go there except to catch a plane!