Braille Transcription
Programs that transfer materials that were originally written in English or another language into Braille, a system that uses raised dots to represent numerals and letters of the alphabet which can be identified by the fingers.
Language Interpretation
Programs that offer the services of trained bilingual individuals who are usually proficient in English and one or more foreign languages to help people whose command of English is inadequate to communicate their needs.
Language Translation
Programs that offer the services of bilingual individuals who have reading and writing proficiency in the second language to transfer documents written in the second language into English or vice versa or to explain the meaning of documents written in English to people whose reading proficiency in English is inadequate, using that person's native language.
Sign Language Interpretation
Programs that offer the services of people who are proficient in sign language, one of a variety of communication systems in which hand and body movements represent words, ideas, objects, actions and other concepts, to help people who are deaf or have hearing impairments and hearing individuals communicate with one another. Included are programs for individuals who are proficient in American Sign Language (ASL), Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) as well as those who use systems like Signed Exact English (SEE), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE) which involve manually coded English, signed French which involve manually coded French, cued speech in which words spoken by lips are supplemented by cues which aid speech reading, and oral transliteration in which words spoken by an individual are silently mouthed to the deaf person accompanied by appropriate facial expressions and gestures to facilitate conveyance of the information. Sign language interpreters interpret in two ways: voice-to-sign and sign-to-voice. Voice-to-sign means the interpreter is signing to the deaf person what the speaker is saying. Sign-to-voice means the interpreter is voicing to the hearing person what the deaf person is signing. Some individuals want an interpreter who can perform both roles. Others prefer to speak for themselves and limit the interpreter's role to signing to them.
Telecommunication Relay Services
Programs that allow people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech impairments to communicate through a communications assistant with people who use a standard telephone or the Internet. The communications assistant relays TTY (text telephone or telecommunications device for deaf and hard of hearing individuals) to the telephone user and types that person's response back to the TTY user. Three options when using a telephone relay service are voice carry-over (VCO), hearing carry-over (HCO) and speech-to-speech (STS). VCO allows a person with a hearing impairment to speak directly to the other party and then read the response typed by a communications assistant. HCO allows a person with a speech impairment to hear the other party and relay the TTY response back to the telephone user through the communications assistant. STS provides assistance for people with speech disabilities who have difficulty being understood on the phone. STS communications assistants are specially trained in understanding a variety of speech disorders, which enables them to repeat what the caller says in a manner that makes the caller’s words clear and understandable to the called party. The relay service allows individuals with communication disorders to communicate with all telephone users. Telecommunication relay services can be reached by dialing 711.
Translation Localization/Globalization Services
Programs that provide translation services that involve the complete adaptation of a product for use by a specific audience in a particular locale. Localization efforts go beyond literal translation and ensure that a product reflects the language and cultural conventions of a specific target market as well as applicable technical standards, stylistic requirements and other user expectations. In addition to idiomatic language translation, local details such currency, national regulations and holidays, cultural sensitivities, product or service names, gender roles, geographic references and other similar details must be considered. Products need to be globalized before they can be localized for specific languages and cultures, a process which prepares the product for localization by taking steps that make the text easier to translate, e.g., adopting a consistent writing style, standard terminology and controlled grammar rules; using written examples that have global meaning; planning the layout of graphics to accommodate text that is read from right to left as well as left to right; and allowing space in user interfaces (e.g., hardware labels, help pages, online menus) for translation into languages that require more space. A well-globalized product is one that has been enabled at a technical level for localization.
