Alison Trujillo

The State of Language Access in the U.S.

Happy April to everyone near and far! 🌸 As many folks in the U.S. are aware, last month our president filed “Executive Order 14224” declaring English to be the official language of this country. This revoked “Executive Order 13166” (called “Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English Proficiency”), which was issued by formerContinue reading “The State of Language Access in the U.S.”

English/Spanish Land Conservation Terms

About two years ago, I shared a list of important Spanish and English words related to wildfire safety. After working on several projects about wildfire prevention and forest health, I developed several go-to vocabulary lists for myself. (In fancy translator lingo, we call this “terminology management:” basically, long lists of words we don’t want toContinue reading “English/Spanish Land Conservation Terms”

Effective Communication During Emergencies

This week, I attended a webinar hosted by the American Translators Association called “Best Practices in Emergency Response Language Services.” In the wake of the Los Angeles fires, this matter is top of mind, and people are discussing ways to improve communication by reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. Eight professionals working emergency responseContinue reading “Effective Communication During Emergencies”

Keep it Simple: The rise of “plain language”

Have you ever gone cross-eyed reading your insurance documents? How about a legal topic that should seem straightforward but is filled with words and acronyms you don’t understand? The plain language movement aims to help people to actually understand what they are reading, with a new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard called “Plain language. PartContinue reading “Keep it Simple: The rise of “plain language””

Getting Ready for Giving Tuesday

Does your organization celebrate Giving Tuesday? It’s coming up next month! Around the world, the first Tuesday in December will be a day when fundraising takes center stage. If your company is asking for support on Giving Tuesday, are you reaching out to your whole community in this effort? Do people understand your message? ConsiderContinue reading “Getting Ready for Giving Tuesday”

Translation and Interpretation in Education: How to Improve Outcomes for All

In K-12 schools, events like parent-teacher meetings and back-to-school gatherings take place at this time of the school year. Translators and interpreters help with a lot of these events, as well as written communications to families. This month, I’ve been translating Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and letters sent to parents. I also recently interpreted atContinue reading “Translation and Interpretation in Education: How to Improve Outcomes for All”