When clients approach us with the need for interpreters in a new language, we listen. In addition to the dozens of new client-requested languages we’ve added to our over-the-phone interpreting (OPI) language list, we’re expanding our video remote interpreting (VRI) roster, as well.
We’re excited to announce that CLI recently added 11 new languages to our VRI services: Bosnian, Burmese, Farsi, French, Haitian Creole, Navajo, Portuguese (Brazilian), Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, and Swahili. These new offerings will round out our existing VRI language list, which includes American Sign Language (ASL), Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, Nepali, Mandarin, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
These new VRI languages make our solution better than ever. They allow our clients to connect their customers with video interpreters in more than 20 languages — a number that’ll only continue growing. We’re hard at work behind the scenes to make sure the languages we offer help our clients communicate with all their customers with ease.
Meeting the demand with VRI
The outlook for interpreters looks good. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for interpreters and translators is expected to grow by 18% through 2026. One reason for this growth is globalization. The world isn’t actually shrinking, but it feels like it. The advent of the internet and modern telecommunication has driven economic interaction and diversity worldwide. More global business means more cross-cultural communication, which means professional interpreters will continue to be in demand.
And savvy industries have taken note. While more traditional methods of interpreting (namely, on-site interpreting) are invaluable, the demand far outweighs the supply (and cost). That’s why industries like criminal justice and healthcare are investing more in on-demand, remote interpreting modes like VRI.
Related: Know the Laws for Using ASL Interpreters Over Video
Video interpreting: what’s the big deal?
Customer centricity, improved efficiency, and cost are key initiatives for a lot of businesses. For hospitals in particular, budget limitations and effective patient care are high on the list of concerns plaguing CEOs. That’s where VRI comes in.
VRI helps decrease costs versus in-person interpreting (think mileage and hourly minimums), while still giving patients a more personable experience. It also cuts down on the need to schedule on-site interpreters in advance.
This is especially important for providers who work in emergency medicine where time is of the essence. With VRI, they can quickly connect their patients to a professional video interpreter in seconds. They’ll have all the benefits of non-verbal communication, and can better serve their deaf and hard-of-hearing patients when an on-site interpreter is not immediately available.
Adding new VRI languages
How do we know which languages are needed and where?
- Our clients let us know when they identify a need for a language we don’t currently support;
- We analyze language trends to assess emerging need;
- We look at population language patterns on a regional and national level; and
- We form partnerships with refugee resettlement agencies across the U.S.
For our video languages, expanding our list to include more of the top languages spoken across the U.S. was a no-brainer. We take great pride in our ability to contract with a range of professional interpreters for our telephone services, so it’s important to us to be able to service our VRI customers equally.
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