Proving that language problems are everywhere, a Massachusetts school teacher recently undertook a translation project — creating a dictionary of youth slang to help him understand his students. When a TV reporter took the results to the streets, the Olds … Continue reading →
When it comes to learning a new language, not all tongues are created equal. Some offer a much rockier path to fluency for native English speakers. Consider this analysis by the Foreign Service Institute on how tough it is for … Continue reading →
You know what you’re saying to patients, but what are patients hearing? The truth is, nine out of ten adults struggle to understand and use health information when it’s unfamiliar, complex or jargon-filled. Limited health literacy costs the healthcare system … Continue reading →
It’s all about diet, says University of Zurich researcher Balthasar Bickel, in a study reported recently in the journal, Science. Bickel’s contention is that the move from a meat-heavy diet — and all the tearing, ripping and hard chewing that … Continue reading →
Here’s a conversation starter that will most likely lead to some interesting laughs with your organization’s interpreters and translators. Check out the bi-lingual translation site, Tr-ex, which provides translations for phrases you enter, then shows their use in a sentence. Tr-ex … Continue reading →
Check out a collaboration between renowned Hmong shaman Wa Leng Lee and artist Sieng Lee, in an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The installation explores the story of Siv Yis, the first Hmong shaman. Along the way, Sieng … Continue reading →
The Center for Victims of Torture has just released a free, downloadable toolkit for providers who work with refugee patients. Based on CVT’s clinical work with Karen refugees, Improving Well Being for Refugees in Primary Care: A Toolkit for Providers gives … Continue reading →
Check out this video in Somali (with English subtitles) on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding. The video was produced by Allina Health and WellShare International, with assistance from Somali WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors, and financial support from the Allina Foundation … Continue reading →
Here’s a moving essay about a college student’s effort to understand more about the escape her grandmother made from the Philippines to the United States. Seeing My Heritage through My Grandmother’s Eyes is another of those stories that point out the … Continue reading →
If you’re trying to arrange interpreter services for patients, it may seem that the world already has too many languages. But here’s the other side of that coin: the number of languages that are at risk of disappearing entirely. A … Continue reading →
Okay, this story about the interpreter who makes the declutter maven Marie Kondo understandable in English might seem a little off track. But here’s the redeeming feature that makes the piece relevant — it’s also full of nuanced description of … Continue reading →
Despite the advances in machine translation that have moved it from the ridiculous to the potentially useful, there remain glitches — particularly in the area of assigning gender, as pointed out in an article in Slator: Language Industry Intelligence. A … Continue reading →
Should the arts be considered an essential ingredient in general well-being? And should therapeutic art or hobby-based treatment be prescribed as part of a treatment plan? The answer is yes, according to United Kingdom Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has … Continue reading →
How many miles of new wall has the Trump administration constructed along the 1954-mile border between Mexico and the United States over the past two years? Check out this graphic analysis by the New York Times for an answer. Though … Continue reading →
How many patients are capable of fully understanding the care instructions they’re given? The answer: barely one in ten. A 2006 national survey found that 12 percent of patients fit the “proficient” health literacy category. Things get even more bleak … Continue reading →
With the Trump administration poised to deport a large group of legal Cambodian immigrants to the United States, among the questions that arise is, How will those booted from the US adapt to Cambodia, a country that in many cases … Continue reading →
Want to be viewed more often as a liar? Try telling the truth in another language. That, roughly speaking, is the conclusion of research conducted by University of Würzburg psychologists Kristina Suchotzki (photo, right) and Matthias Gamer. In their experiment, … Continue reading →
Here’s another way to keep up with the myriad local events that open up a window to the greater world. Check out Global Twin Cities, a website that features an extensive calendar of cross cultural events, a listing of community … Continue reading →
Looking for a compendium of recent news and scholarly articles on immigration issues? Take a look at a special section of the online New York Times, Immigration and Emigration. The most recent iteration includes news coverage of the clash at … Continue reading →
Here’s another note on the consequences of inadequate language services, this time from the St. Paul public school system. Como Park high school student and Karen immigrant Lor Ler Kaw got placed in mainstream English and social studies classes with … Continue reading →
It’s tough enough to understand Twin Cities snow emergency rules for native speakers. Imagine trying to decode them if you’ve got a loose grip on English. Here’s some help for limited-English speakers in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Both cities offer … Continue reading →
Looking for a cheap and easy way to learn how to say hello and exchange a pleasantry or two with recent immigrants? Check out the language lessons — many of them free — at the Open Culture website. You’ll find … Continue reading →
Here’s a twist on a communication problem that has bedeviled Minnesota’s emergency management departments. How do you let non-English speakers know about imminent hazards if your audience doesn’t speak English, or isn’t familiar with the nature of the hazard itself? … Continue reading →
A thousand words or a picture? Here are a pair of recent videos from the New York Times and Washington Post that offer a street-side view of the migrant caravan now making its way from Honduras, toward the United States. … Continue reading →
One frequently cited observation in the world of cross-cultural care is that patients feel more comfortable dealing with providers who look like them. How to get there? Here’s an example from the Minneapolis StarTribune. The article, Ladder program helps youngsters … Continue reading →
The annual Many Faces of Community Health conference is set for Thursday-Friday, October 25 and 26, at the Hyatt Regency Bloomington, at 3200 E 81st St, in Bloomington, with registration open now. Conference sessions are aimed at improving care and reducing health … Continue reading →
Immigrants’ lives will become that much harder as the Trump administration imposes new rules on those who legally use public benefits such as food stamps, Part D Medicare drug coverage, or Section 8 housing vouchers. They could be denied green … Continue reading →
Here’s a interpreting/translation-related lawsuit that could have a major impact on your organization. The case started in 2015 when Houston resident Song Xie was sent home from the hospital with discharge instructions in English that his caretaker son couldn’t read. Song … Continue reading →
Let’s take a break this week from wondering how to help English language learners, and stop to think why most people in Minnesota only speak English. For some fresh perspective on how weak this is in comparison to the other … Continue reading →
In case you doubted that it’s a hard language to master, here’s a video that demonstrates the quagmire through which English learners must wade. In this short film, Aaron Alon shows what happens when you apply consistent vowel-sound rules to … Continue reading →
“On the Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope,” is a series of five short films produced by the Minnesota Department of Human Services that raise awareness and understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and services available to Minnesota families. … Continue reading →
Here’s a thought-provoking article from Psychology Today that explores how language can affect memory and behavior. Author Viorica Marian, Ph.D., psycholinguist at Northwestern University, describes how memories of multilingual people are linked to the language used while the event occurred. “Memories,” she … Continue reading →
What if it was widely understood that Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev had said, “We will outlast you,” instead of “We will bury you,” in 1956 at the height of the Cold War? What if, days before the atom bomb was … Continue reading →
Looking for a compendium of resources on cross-cultural communication and language access? Here’s a web page loaded with tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the links you’ll find here: a language access portal available via the … Continue reading →
For anyone with children (or really, anyone at all) the news about Central American immigrant kids being separated from their parents is heart-rending. But that’s not to say that American history is free of numerous other similar examples. Get some … Continue reading →
The topic in this short video isn’t health care — it’s about a new version of The Odyssey rendered by Classicist Dr. Emily Wilson. As the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English, she discovered that many men before … Continue reading →
Here’s another dimension of the move toward outcome-based pay for providers. In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, Dhruv Khullar, a NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital doctor and researcher at the Weill Cornell Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, reflects on the difficulty in … Continue reading →
Of course you’ve been wondering, What are the top ten movies of all time that feature interpreters? Well, wonder no more. That list has now been assembled by the United Kingdom blog, Kwintessential. Take a look here. The top ten … Continue reading →
It’s time to check out the latest edition of the Minnesota Health Literacy Partnership’s e-newsletter, In the Know: Health literacy news and best practices. The new issue covers topics such as health literacy training for dental professionals, and how to make … Continue reading →
Have colleagues who are working with interpreters for the first time? Here’s a short video that covers the basics. For old hands, the video’s directives might seem obvious, but for first time users these instructions on seating, sentence length, … Continue reading →
Despite the many travails immigrants experience while adapting to a new life, there are also befuddling and ridiculous moments, some of which are captured in this charming, short video produced by The Guardian newspaper. For instance, a Syrian refugee now … Continue reading →
If you’re ready for a jolt of compassion in the public discussion concerning refugees, check out this recent piece in the New York Times — “What Refugees Face on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route.” The article, written by a doctor … Continue reading →
Check out a four-part series on integrating immigrant and refugee physicians into the US health care system. Immigrant docs bring their training and cultural/language skills to their new environment, but overcoming the barriers to resume their medical careers in the US can … Continue reading →
Here’s a quick brush up from Scientific American magazine on the topic, “How to Think about Implicit Bias.” The authors — UNC Chapel Hill Psychology and Neuroscience Professor Keith Payne and Duke University Center for Cognitive Neuroscience postdoc Laura Niemi … Continue reading →
So, that Spanish-speaking patient shows up in the clinic. The doctor believes he or she speaks Spanish well enough to get through the encounter. But is this a case of delusion? Would an interpreter be the better solution? Here’s research … Continue reading →
Though not quite from right down the street, this video series from the University of Glasgow on the complexities of the medical interpreter’s role is unusually well filmed and acted, with nuanced scripts that go beyond the usual easy … Continue reading →
Looking for a window into the living conditions and thoughts of refugees? Check out Refugee Voices, a feature offered on the website of Refugee Center Online. This space gives refugees an opportunity to write about their experiences and attempt to … Continue reading →
In the world of literature, these are boom times for dystopian fiction and refugee sagas. A recent stand-out in the latter category is “Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid. The short novel starts with a set-up familiar to anyone who reads … Continue reading →