From “Lost in Translation” to “Beyond Spanglish”

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

About 25 percent of the total Los Angeles County population is Spanish-speaking constituents who are not proficient in English. Linguistic translation is inadequate when communicating land use policies and regulations that have legal consequence. It is critical that the County enhance translation and interpretation services beyond hiring bilingual staff. Three pillars in technical translation are technical competency, linguistic knowledge, and cultural sensitivity. In 2014 Regional Planning (DRP) created its Spanish Planning Program to enhance customer service to the Spanish-speaking constituents. The Program includes the Spanish Planning Committee which establishes in-house translation and interpretation protocols and spearheads service enhancement projects.