Language Barriers in Healthcare

Speaking a different language from that of your doctor is a very scary thing. Medicine itself is mystery enough with all of its terminology and lingo. While it's often hard to understand what's going on with your body in the first place, imagine if you couldn't even talk to your doctor. This is a very vulnerable and scary situation and it is one that many people face on a daily basis, around the world.

The inability to talk to your doctor can cause many problems. For example, in England a German doctor working for the National Health Service misunderstood a British patient because the doctor did not speak proficient English. The patient ended up dying. The NHS is now working to ensure that all doctors prove their English proficiency, whether or not they are members of the EU. This is an important step because it has the potential to prevent many similar mishaps that seem to be common occurrences.

Clearly language barriers in healthcare have devastating results. They also exist in the United States. It is estimated that there are over 50 million people living in the US who are deemed to have limited English-language proficiency. These are people that would require medical translators. But medical translators are often unavailable. These are people who are trained in medical terminology, but also understand colloquial terms and are thus able to properly convey the sentiments and symptoms of the patient to the doctor and vice versa. Since these trained professionals are often unavailable many people must rely on the inexact translation of family members, or simply make do with the little information that can be communicated across the gap when no help is available.

I think that we should work to encourage bilingual healthcare workers in the United States because clearly this language divide between healthcare workers and patients can have dire consequences. Doctors and nurses fluent in both English and Spanish could make a great positive impact on this problem. Clearly we can't plan ahead and have translators for every language in every hospital, but I think it is important that as a society we make this a priority for this is a part of giving people the access to the care they both need and deserve and to make that things literally aren't lost in translation.

I can only imagine how vulnerable these people must feel, hoping and praying that their doctors and understanding what is going on with them. There has to be a level of distrust involved in these communications, whether there is a translator or not, because you want to know that your doctor is hearing exactly what you said. I hope that as a society we can strive to provide better care in this manner, as well as the many others we are discussing in our law making bodies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7746190/Foreign-doctors-and-nurses-have-to-pass-tough-language-tests-to-work-in-NHS.html

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/In-the-Literature/2008/Jan/Language-Barriers-in-Health-Care--Special-Supplement-to-the-Journal-of-General-Internal-Medicine.aspx

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos175.htm

The Na'vi Language

Who knew that an alien language sensation could be created by a movie? Well, that is exactly what the blockbuster Avatar has done. The Na'vi language was created by Professor Paul Frommer from the University of Southern California linguistics department explicitly for the movie. About five years ago he signed on to the Avatar team and built the language from the ground up, drawing influence from an innumerable number of languages. He combined these many influences to create what is now known as Na'vi, the native language of the planet Pandora.

Within 24 hours of the release of the movie fans were starting to learn the Na'vi language and already asking for more. It is estimated that 12,000 people are currently trying to learn the language and more and more fans are beginning each day. Fan sites where they discuss grammar and syntax. There is even a Na'vi-English dictionary that contains about 500 words, but fans are pleading for more. Frommer is willing to help, but is waiting for the go ahead from Fox who has thus far remained quiet on the subject. Fans have been able to take the language farther using grammatical structures and more, but they want to make sure that they are speaking the true Na'vi language, not something they've simply made up. This is why they're begging for anything they can get their hands on.

I think it's ridiculous that movie fans have become so obsessive that they've started learning this language. There is no real world application of Na'vi, and this time and energy spent learning it could be used to study Spanish, or another language that has a practical application. In particular I think that this is wasted energy because there are any number of languages that are currently dying out. Perhaps we should try to preserve these languages instead. Perhaps the draw of the Pandoran language is that it is exclusive. But, going along with this logic, the languages that are dying out should also be desirable because they, too are exclusive.

I think this obsession is a manifestation of our society's preoccupation with Hollywood and pop culture. It goes right along with the glamor and status of movie stars that Americans are so concerned with, so it does not surprise me that the majority of Na'vi language learners are Americans. I think the passion these people display is great, but these men and women should move on and learn a language that has an authentic meaning- one that wasn't simply created for a movie.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/avatars-blue-language-on-the-rise-20100514-v45z.html?autostart=1

http://www.learnnavi.org/

http://www.slate.com/id/2248683

Music and the Deaf: What One Man is Doing About It

One of the things that we all love is music. I can't imagine what it would be like to be deaf because not only would I be able to hear the voices of my family and friends, but I wouldn't be able to enjoy the music I so dearly love. I'm even listening to it right now as I type. But someone is trying to change this.

Sean Forbes is a man who has been 90% death since birth, but in 2006 decided to cofound the Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-Pan). D-Pan creates music videos of popular songs for the deaf in which actors and actresses sign to the lyrics. The latest is that he just signed a major record deal with Web Entertainment, the same company who signed Eminem. Forbes has always been interested in music, he is capable of hearing the low-end vibrations of hip hop and as a result learned how to play the drums. While at first he was reproducing the music of other groups to give access to the deaf community, Forbes also has a great talent for creating his own music. He was just awarded this recognition and will be touring this summer with the cowriter of some of his music.

I was very surprised when I read this article. I wasn't quite sure what the purpose of D-Pan was, or how it worked. Then I watched some of Forbes' music videos and understood completely. He uses subtitles, signing, and images of rhythmic movement, such as drums, to convey the lyrics and beat of the music. I was surprised by the effect. I listened to some songs with no sound. Of course it wasn't the same, especially considering I don't know sign language, but it was interesting to see.

I think it is great that sign language is getting more recognition in a world that is so focused on sound. Sign language definitely does not receive adequate recognition, so this was a refreshing article to read. I think it is important that as a society we encourage all types of diversity, including language diversity. Still, there is so much emphasis on spoken languages that we seem to have all but forgotten sign language. I think this is a good reminder that music and art comes in all different forms, and so does language. I hope that Sean Forbes does really well in his music career, for this is definitely something that should be encouraged.

http://www.freep.com/article/20100516/ENT04/5160321/Deaf-musician-Sean-Forbes-lands-major-recording-deal

http://www.d-pan.org/

Americans and Their Movies

Of late, fewer and fewer Americans are going to see foreign films. While foreign films made up 10% of the U.S. box office in the 60s, they now make up about 0.75% of the American box office. There has been a sharp decline over the years, particularly in the last decade. Perhaps because of this great decline in attendance, fewer and fewer films are even making it into the American market. They once were the primary genre shown at art cinemas, but now even these movie theaters are showing a great decline in the screening of foreign films.

This decline has resulted in a great disparity in the exchange of culture. We are spreading the American way of life throughout the world through American produced movies, but we are rarely exposed to other cultures as a result of this lack of foreign movies.

There are numerous hypotheses about the cause of this steep decline. Some think that Americans just don't like reading subtitles. This is hard to imagine though, because Avatar had the greatest box office profits in history and great portions of it were subtitled. Other examples of successful subtitled movies include Slumdog Millionaire and Inglourious Basterds. Others say that the foreign films just aren't there- there aren't enough, and the ones that do break into the market just aren't good.

I think that the major problem is that Americans don't want to learn about other cultures and foreign films are literally too foreign for them. They seem inaccessible to such an narcissistic culture that values the English language far and above all others. We consider ourselves to be the center of the universe, after our status as the world power, so why would we need movies from anywhere else? In general, we are not very accepting of other cultures, as made obvious by our treatment of immigrants. There is a great fear of everything we consider to be "other," and I think this definitely extents to our views of foreign films. I think this is the reason that attendance has dropped so drastically.

Another reason is perhaps that we've gotten used to all the smoke and mirrors of Hollywood. Billions of dollars go into the moviemaking business with unlimited special effects and this is what often hooks many potential viewers. They want to be wowed by the newest technology, regardless of the plot line. Foreign films, on the other hand, are much lower budget and usually have a higher message. I think this is too deep for many Americans who just want to go to the movies and let the pretty pictures wash over them. Not as many people are interested in a thought provoking performance, and this is one of the great benefits of many foreign films.

Either way, no matter the reason, it is a shame that Americans are closing their minds to the great influence of foreign films. I think there is much to learn and a great deal of insight to gain from these movies.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/20100509_Americans_are_seeing_fewer_and_fewer_foreign_films.html?viewAll=y

Accents and Learning

The state of Arizona recently decided to test and evaluate all teachers on their English fluency. Those who are deemed to have thick accents, incomplete fluency, or who speak ungrammatically are going to be removed from classrooms in which students are still learning to speak English. The idea is that students learn what they hear and Arizona does not want its students learning accented or improper English. There are many controversies involved because even to begin with it is difficult to define fluency. Also, many of these teachers are experienced educators. Many people feel that this is another manifestation of the prejudices that exist against immigrant populations in the United States.

In another article from the Washington Post, Valerie Strauss writes about a study done in Israel that found that students learning a language learn best when taught by someone with the same first language, and thus the same accent. It turns out that these results apply to all learning, not just in language. The study showed that it often takes too much energy for a student to try to understand the foreign accent of the teacher and then have to learn the material in addition. This is a lot for a student to process at one time.

This study completely refutes the premise of Arizona's new language learning initiative. The majority of the teachers instructing language learning classes in Arizona are Hispanic and are teaching Hispanic students. Thus, they have the same accent and presumably this will be the easiest way for them to learn in the classroom.

I have definitely experienced this throughout my primary education. Several times I had math teachers who were native Mandarin speakers. It was often difficult to understand their accents. I always had to make an extra effort to understand what they were saying even before I considered the material being taught. It just added an extra level of concentration and effort that otherwise is unnecessary. In this respect I feel that my personal experience matches up with the results of the study.

I think it is clear that Arizona is making a mistake. The lawmakers should definitely look at this study before they implement these new measures to "safeguard" the learning of their English language learners. Clearly their aim is to help students be as successful as possible in the classroom. This is an admirable goal, but the state of Arizona should reevaluate their methods to make sure that they are truly working to accomplish the goal they have set forth. Otherwise, particularly under these new mandates, many well qualified teachers could be pushed out of their jobs for no reason, while in fact they are the best equipped to teach this student population.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572504575213883276427528.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/learning/accented-teachers-may-be-bette.html

Are bad words appropriate now?

It certainly seems so from politics and the media. There are innumerable examples of words that are widely used today that once were thought to be very much off limits. One of the more tame examples is the word ass. Once it was very taboo to use any questionable language in everyday conversation. Now we're at the point where Dick Cheney tells a senator to "go f--- himself" on the floor of the senate. The language is often used in songs and heard on the radio and is commonplace in the movies and on TV. Print media is a bit more conscious of its use. Still, we are bombarded nonstop by this coarse language. But is it okay?

There were many contributors to the article I read, and it seemed that the consensus is that our use of language today is just more informal as a result of the overall diminished formality of our culture in general. The fact that these words are deemed appropriate is a trickle down affect from our less formal culture. Also, as many said, there have always been words that have been considered tasteless. Standards change. They are constantly changing, and these were the same questions that were being asked a hundred years ago. The words in question were just different.

I agree with the contributors of the article that this is just a cyclical phenomenon. There have always been certain words and customs that have been considered risque. This is always the case. In this sense, nothing is new. We've always been asking these same questions. Still, I understand why there is some concern. These bad words have become so pervasive in our culture, it's hard not to question their necessity at times.

In general, I think this is similar to my opinion about teenagers' use of language and their informalities in texting and on the internet. I believe that there is a time and place for everything. I don't think it's appropriate for the vice president of the US to tell someone to "go f--- himself." This is uncalled for. I understand that he, too, is a person. Clearly he felt very strongly about his position and got caught up in the debate. Still, he holds a top level, official position in our government and the eyes and the ears of the world are focused on him. For this reason I believe that his actions were uncalled for.

The use of language in entertainment is another matter entirely. I don't have a problem with "bad" words being used in movies or on TV, we just have to take into account the audience. These words have become commonplace in our everyday lives, and I don't think it would be authentic to completely cut them from these representations and icons of our culture. The same goes for music, though music is a bit more difficult to regulate.

Language is constantly changing, and I think this is simply yet another example. I think the use of crude language is sometimes taken to an inappropriate extreme, but in general I view this as a natural evolution of the English language. Changes are bound to occur and I think this is one of the many inevitable changes that it will undergo.

http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14994647?nclick_check=1