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The Associated Press
10.19.2006
New service, free to callers, plans to go nationwide Tucson, Arizona | Published: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/151828
SAN FRANCISCO — Foreigners here are now able to get a Spanish "hola" or
Korean "yeoboseyo" translated into "hello" by dialing up an interpreter who
can instantly help them pay a utility bill, apply for credit cards or buy
opera tickets in the comfort of their own languages.
A toll-free telephone number can connect immigrants, tourists and business
travelers to translators standing by to communicate a caller's needs to the
city government and a handful of businesses that have signed on to the
eight-language pilot program.
The Your World, Your Language service is a collaboration between telecom
giant AT&T and Language Line Services, an interpretation provider. It's
starting in San Francisco, where nearly half the residents speak languages
other than English, and it's slated to go nationwide over the next year and
a half.
"Clearly, the demographics of the country are staggering, and we believe
once the service is readily available it will be used by millions," said
Louis Provenzano, president of Language Line Services.
The service is free for callers, with participating companies and
organizations paying for the two-way translations — about $15 for a
10-minute call, Provenzano said. Language Line already offers over-the-phone
interpreters versed in more than 170 languages to government agencies,
health-care institutions, insurers and other companies, including AT&T.
AT&T also has bilingual service representatives on its staff to help
non-English-speaking customers. But with dozens of languages, from Albanian
to Swahili, used by U.S. residents — census information shows that about one
out of five speaks a language other than English — having in-house
interpreters isn't feasible for many businesses and service providers, said
Jody Garcia, an AT&T vice president for specialty customer care.
The idea for Your World, Your Language came in part from the businesses that
agreed to test it, Garcia said. Frustrated by the uncertain success of
multilingual advertising campaigns, the companies wanted a better way to
reach a "warm lead" — someone who already is interested in a product or
service.
The telephone translation service appears to offer that, plus the tools to
change an eager consumer into a buyer, she said.
"It's clear customers are looking to reach us in their language of their
choice," Garcia said. "It's a way for businesses to grow their bottom line
and really value the consumer."
The service is available initially in eight languages that reflect the
linguistic diversity of San Francisco: Cantonese, Japanese, Korean,
Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The range of businesses
taking part in the pilot program is limited for now, but it includes Dish
Network, Cingular Wireless and the San Francisco city government.
For the city, which has struggled to link its diverse array of residents
with information ranging from where to vote to how to find parks, the
program was "a perfect match," said Scott Oswald of the Mayor's Office of
Neighborhood Services.
"Our goal is to reach more and more folks and help them out," he said,
adding that as a public entity, the city was invited to take part in the
program for free.
As part of the partnership, Language Line Services is providing the
interpreters while AT&T is routing calls and maintaining the telephone
network.
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