Multilingual Crisis Communication: Preparing for the Unexpected, A Human Take  When disaster strikes, there isn’t time to pull out a phrase book. Wildfires, floods and pandemics hit everyone no matter what language they speak. So how do we make sure lifesaving instructions actually reach everyone?  In the early days of the COVID19 pandemic, a rapid review found that many European countries published health guidance […]

Language access programs and their imperatives took some big hits last year, including significant organizational funding reductions and grant revocations for non-profits, health care providers, and local and state governments that depend upon providing access to their programs for Limited English Proficient (LEP)  people through effective language assistance through the use of qualified interpreters and […]

Court interpreting is one of the most demanding roles in the legal system. It requires far more than bilingual fluency—it demands precision, neutrality, deep legal knowledge, and emotional resilience. Interpreters are essential to ensuring that everyone, regardless of language, has access to justice. In high-stakes environments like courtrooms, one misinterpreted word can shift the course […]

Introduction Language is more than a tool for communication – it is a vessel for culture, identity and memory. When groups are prevented from using or learning their own language, they can lose access to community, education and justice. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) describes linguistic rights as human rights […]

What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next  Historically, localization sat quietly in the background; important but rarely strategic, necessary but rarely funded properly. It was something companies “had” to do once the product was “done,” usually in a race to hit a global launch date. Translation was an operational checkbox, not a growth driver.   Today, in part this is still the […]

In April 2025, a deaf man filed a disability discrimination federal lawsuit against the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DCFEMS) and two DC area hospitals for not providing plaintiff Ryan Barrett with an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.  Barrett alleges violations of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, the Affordable Care […]

Patients need clear communication to get safe care. CLAS gives you a framework. Federal law makes parts of it mandatory. This guide explains both—and what to do next.  What Is CLAS?  CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) is a set of 15 standards from HHS’s (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Office of Minority […]