County’s translators are speaking your language
A top team of interpreters and translators celebrated European Day of Languages and demonstrated their linguistic talents on Wednesday (26th) at a special event in Warwick’s Shire Hall.
Staff from Warwickshire County Council’s Interpreting and Translation Services (ITS) team said “bienvenue”, “witamy” and “soo dhawow” when they welcomed colleagues to find out more about the many language services they offer to the council and organisations around the county.
Hot topics such as language and access to council services, and language and equality issues, were the subject of a number of presentations at the multi-lingual event.
Amazingly, Warwickshire County Council’s ITS team can provide services to translate and interpret over 140 different languages and dialects from around the world, including British Sign Language!
Monika Rozanski, Manager of Interpreting & Translation Services (ITS), said: “We really enjoyed celebrating the diversity of languages in Warwickshire at this event. Approximately 5% of people living in Warwickshire belong to ethnic minority groups, and we have seen the demand for interpreting and translation services increase in recent years.”
The ITS team handle around 150 requests for help each month, varying from the translation of written documents to requests for interpreters at meetings.
Monika Rozanski continued: “We’re continually offering new languages to meet changing demands. It is vitally important to ensure that we can communicate with residents whose first language is not English or who have a hearing or sight disability.”
European Day of Languages, a Council of Europe initiative, is held annually on the 26th September to celebrate language and cultural diversity. The day was first celebrated in 2001 and it is now recognised by 45 different countries. The aim of the day is to increase awareness and appreciation of all languages and encourage lifelong language learning.