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The Fundamentals of Language Access
Hello and welcome to issue #5 of the California Dignity for Families Fund (CDFF) Newsletter Series: Learning for Immigrant Justice! This month we’re exploring the importance of providing in-language support to those who do not speak English proficiently so they can access essential services and resources, regardless of their native language or country of origin.
When we talk about migrants and refugees at the border, most people envision migrants arriving from Latin America via Mexico, which leads to the assumption that Spanish is the only language service providers at the border need to know. In reality, there are a multitude of languages (over 40!) spoken by incoming migrants and there is a dire need for a diverse network of translators and interpreters.
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Read on to find out which languages are spoken at the border, why migrants need access to in-language support in order to integrate into their new communities, and how we can invest in organizations doing language access work.
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Language Diversity
There are many indigenous migrants, mostly from Mexico and Central America, arriving at the border who do not speak Spanish, and there is a critical need for interpreters who speak their languages. According to Odilia Romero, Co-founder and Executive Director of Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), one of CDFF’s nonprofit partners that provides interpretation services to indigenous migrant communities across the U.S., there are over 17 indigenous languages spoken in Los Angeles County, including Zapoteco, Chinanteco, K’iche’, Mam, and Q’anjob’bal.
There are, of course, also migrants arriving in the U.S. from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) is a CDFF nonprofit partner based in San Diego that works with asylum seekers and recently resettled refugees from countries in those regions. Their clients speak over 25 languages and dialects including Oromo, Somali, Swahili, Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Russian, Nuer, Dinka, Amharic, Lingala, Zigula, Tigrinya, May-May, Kazigwa, Rohingya, French, Kinyarwanda, Luganda, Kurdish, Persian, Farsi, Karen, Karenni, Shan, Burmese, and Arakan.
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Top needs of migrant families and individuals as shared by CDFF nonprofit partners.
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Why Language Access is Critical
In-language support is central to meeting both the urgent and long-term needs of migrants, including access to legal services, medical care, food, housing, and transportation. To meet this need, CIELO has built a network of more than 350 indigenous interpreters who provide interpretation services in courts, schools, hospitals, and other government institutions. Without these services, it is extremely challenging for migrants to meet basic needs and integrate into their new communities.
In the longer term, those who become U.S. citizens can participate in our democracy by making their voices heard at the ballot box. Voting access is an issue that PANA has been working on by successfully advocating with the San Diego county elections office, urging them to offer facsimile ballots in Arabic and Somali.
Homayra Yusufi, Deputy Director of PANA, points out that, “Being able to communicate in the language you are most comfortable using is vital to receiving proper medical care, benefits, and legal services, and for accessing democracy.”
Odilia Romero of CIELO adds, “We must shift our perspective to see interpretation as a human right, not just a service.”
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How Philanthropy Can Support Language Access
Language access was identified as an essential need by the majority of CDFF’s nonprofit partners, yet many of them also shared that they do not have clearly structured language access plans. Funders can help organizations ensure language access in the following ways:
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1. Funding intentional language access plans for organizations
Organizations that work with migrants are in acute need of interpreters. But advancing language access must go beyond hiring or contracting with staff with those skills. Homayra Yusufi of PANA suggests that funders understand the need for:
- Robust, intentional language access plans and staffing.
- Dedicated, consistent, trained interpreters that speak a range of languages and dialects.
- Sufficient resources for professional and accurate translation of a broad range of applications and documents.
2. Funding advocacy to ensure accurate census counts
According to both PANA and CIELO, accurate census counts can help ensure that communities have access to in-language services and support. Odilia Romero of CIELO explains that, when indigenous migrants are counted as Latino or Hispanic, “this demographic erasure translates into injustice for migrant indigenous peoples.” This mislabeling leads to the assumption that Spanish language interpretation services are the only ones needed while neglecting the need for indigenous language translation and interpretation.
Homayra Yusufi of PANA agrees that an accurate census count would help with language access. “Part of the issue is that language services, when offered at all, are usually offered only to those language minorities that make up a substantial portion of the population. And those determinations are usually based on census data that does not accurately identify African and Middle Eastern refugee and immigrant communities.”
3. Funding language advocacy
PANA is currently advocating for language access by supporting a statewide bill, AB 884, that would require the state of California to provide voting materials and ballots in languages other than English that are spoken and used by at least 5,000 voting-age individuals in the state and 100 voting-age individuals in each county. PANA worked to inform the drafting of the legislation and is actively lobbying for passage of the bill. This type of advocacy is central to ensuring that all non-English speakers have the language support they require not just to meet their basic needs, but also to thrive in their communities in the long term.
This means funding a dedicated staff person who can, according to Homayra Yusufi of PANA, “advocate for and monitor the implementation of effective language access policies and programs at the local, state, and federal levels.”
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You can learn more about the Fund’s principles and priorities here:
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Thank you for learning about the importance of language access with us! By funding language access plans, investing in comprehensive census counts, and supporting language advocacy, we can help organizations ensure language access for their community members today and far into the future.
Join us next month as we discuss the legal needs of migrants and the potential impact of the end of Title 42 on those needs.
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