Contact us by email at interpreting@alsglobal.net or via phone at 1-800-951-5020 for a free estimate on our ASL and CART services.

Trusted CART & ASL Services in Bethesda, MA

American Language Services has been helping businesses and other entities reach the deaf and hard of hearing community for more than 35 years. While in-person interpreting, at one time, was the only option, recent technological advances opened the door to other options. Since we offer full-service Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), this article will be comparing Virtual American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting with Communication Access Real-Time Translation (AKA- Closed Captioning & Real Time Subtitling) known as CART.

 Please note that according to the American Disability Act (ADA) that deaf and hard of hearing community have the legal right to receive full access through the use of ASL and or CART services. The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and providing ASL interpreters for deaf individuals complies with federal law and promotes equal accessibility.

Some interesting Facts About the City of Bethesda

• Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just northwest of Washington, D.C. 
• It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in turn took its name from Jerusalem‘s Pool of Bethesda.
• The National Institutes of Health main campus and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are in Bethesda, in addition to a number of corporate and government headquarters.
• As an unincorporated community, Bethesda has no official boundaries.
• The United States Census Bureau defines a census-designated place named Bethesda whose center is located at 38°59′N 77°7′W, while the United States Geological Survey has defined Bethesda as an area whose center is at 38°58′50″N 77°6′2″W, slightly different from the Census Bureau’s definition.
• Other definitions are used by the Bethesda Urban Planning District, the United States Postal Service (which defines Bethesda to comprise the ZIP Codes 20810, 20811, 20813, 20814, 20815, 20816, and 20817), and other organizations.
• According to the 2020 United States census, the community had a total population of 68,056.
• Bethesda is situated along a major thoroughfare that was originally the route of an ancient Native American trail.
• Henry Fleet, an English fur trader, was the first European to travel to the area, which he reached by sailing up the Potomac River. After staying for two years with the Piscataway tribe—either as a guest or prisoner—he returned to England, spoke of potential riches in fur and gold, and won funding for another North American expedition.
• Most early settlers in Maryland were tenant farmers who paid their rent in tobacco.
• The extractive nature of tobacco farming meant that colonists continued to push farther north in search of fertile land, and in 1694 Henry Darnell surveyed a 710-acre area that became the first land grant in present-day Bethesda.
• Rural tobacco farming was the primary way of life in Bethesda throughout the 1700s; while the establishment of Washington, D.C. in 1790 deprived Montgomery County of Georgetown, its economic center, the event had little effect on the small farmers throughout Bethesda.
• Between 1805 and 1821, the area of present-day Bethesda became a rural way station after development of a toll road, the Washington and Rockville Turnpike, which carried tobacco and other products between Georgetown and Rockville, and north to Frederick.
• A small settlement grew around a store and tollhouse along the turnpike.
• By 1862, the community was known as “Darcy’s Store” after the owner of a local establishment, William E. Darcy.
• The settlement was renamed in 1871 by the new postmaster, Robert Franck, after the Bethesda Meeting House, a Presbyterian church built in 1820 on the present site of the Cemetery of the Bethesda Meeting House.
• The church burned in 1849 and was rebuilt the same year about 100 yards south at its present site.
• Throughout most of the 19th century, Bethesda never developed beyond a small crossroads village, consisting of a post office, a blacksmith shop, a church and school, and a few houses and stores.
• It was not until the installation of a streetcar line in 1890 and the beginnings of suburbanization in the early 1900s that Bethesda began to grow in population.
• Until that time, dependence on proximity to rail lines insulated Bethesda from growth, even as surrounding communities located directly on these lines blossomed.
• The arrival of the personal automobile ended this dependency, and Bethesda planners grew the community with the newest transportation revolution in mind.
• Subdivisions began to appear on old farmland, becoming the neighborhoods of Drummond, Woodmont, Edgemoor, and Battery Park.
• Further north, several wealthy men made Rockville Pike famous for its mansions. These included Brainard W. Parker (“Cedarcroft”, 1892), James Oyster (“Strathmore”, 1899), George E. Hamilton (“Hamilton House”, 1904; now the Stone Ridge School), Luke I. Wilson (“Tree Tops”, 1926), Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (“Wild Acres”, 1928–29), and George Freeland Peter (“Stone House”, 1930).
• In 1930, Dr Armistead Peter’s pioneering manor house “Winona” (1873) became the clubhouse of the original Woodmont Country Club (on land that is now part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus).
• Merle Thorpe’s mansion, “Pook’s Hill” (1927, razed 1948)—on the site of the current neighborhood of the same name—became the home-in-exile of the Norwegian Royal Family during World War II.
• That war, and the expansion of government that it created, further fed the rapid expansion of Bethesda.
• Both the National Naval Medical Center (1940–42) and the NIH complex (1948) were built just to the north of the developing downtown. This, in turn, drew further government contractors, medical professionals, and other businesses to the area.
• In recent years, Bethesda has consolidated as the major urban core and employment center of southwestern Montgomery County.
• This recent growth has been significantly vigorous following the expansion of Metrorail with a station in Bethesda in 1984.
• Alan Kay built the Bethesda Metro Center over the Red line metro rail which opened further commercial and residential development in the immediate vicinity.
• Bethesda is featured in the 1993 movie Dave, the 1994 movie True Lies, the 1999 movie Random Hearts, the 2003 movie Shattered Glass, the 2005 movie The Pacifier, and the 2012 movie The Bourne Legacy. It is mentioned in the 2001 movie Wet Hot American Summer and the 2007 movie Fred Claus.
• Bethesda is mentioned in a 1994 episode of The Simpsons, a 2009 episode of 24, a 2013 episode of Family Guy, a 2013 episode of Homeland, and a 2013 episode of Scandal. It is also featured in several episodes of the American science fiction television series The X-Files and the 2008 Canadian mini-series XIII, as well as the American space opera Babylon 5, where it is home to the Bethesdadome, the medical headquarters of the Earth Alliance.
• Bethesda is featured in the book series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, written by American author Ann Brashares, who has ties to the area.
• Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks is a video game development and publishing company famous for The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. The town of Bethesda itself is featured in Fallout 3.
• Bethesda is claimed to be “Where the diners are famed for / Waitresses so rude” in the Joan of Arc song “To’ve Had Two Of”.

Reference Source: Kiddle

Bethesda ASL & CART Language Interpreters

American Language Services is known for our high-quality, In-person and Virtual interpreters, as well as the outstanding client services we provide. We work in 200+ languages including Legal and Medical Certified and Qualified.  ASL and CART are the fastest growing languages in Bethesda today a language interpreter can be a very underestimated professional in the world today. There are over 100 languages spoken in the Bethesda Metro area alone. Many of us know one language, and we specialize in one field of study. Our Bethesda Interpreters are fluent in English and at least one other language, and they are knowledgeable in a wide range of specialized fields including legal, medical, technical, manufacturing, and engineering.

A brief history of ASL Interpreting in Bethesda

Most people know that ASL stands for American Sign Language. But not everyone knows that it is a distinct language—not simply an offshoot of American English. Though its beginnings are murky, many believe that ASL originated from a merger of French Sign Language (SLF) and local U.S. sign languages. While ASL and SLF are distinct languages, there are still some similarities between their signs.

What actually is ASL?   ASL a complete, natural language that has the same linguistic properties as spoken languages with grammar however that differs from English. ASL is expressed by movements of the hands and face.  ASL is a language completely separate and distinct from English. It contains all the fundamental features of language, with its own rules for pronunciation, word formation, and word order.  Because of the physical nature of ASL, a two-person team of ASL interpreters is required for assignments longer than 1 hour in duration.

The National Center for Health Statistics claims that 28 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, though only between two and eight percent of them are natural ASL speakers.  Helping these select individuals translate the audible into the understandable is the job of an ASL interpreter.  If you have ever been to a play, a concert or watched a government briefing, you have probably seen an ASL interpreter signing just out of view.  An interesting side note is that Statista estimates that there are currently around 60,000 active ASL interpreters in the USA.

The Benefits of ASL Interpreting in Bethesda

When it comes to communicating with hard-of-hearing or deaf audiences, there are a few reasons you might want to opt for a Bethesda ASL interpreter over CART services. These include:

• A More Personal Connection: A real person has several advantages over a computer screen. First, human interpreters have an easier time conveying emotion. Second, they are better equipped to point out speakers and assist with pronunciation issues. Finally, an interpreter gives a deaf or hard of hearing person a chance to bond with another person.
• Enhanced Speed: Skilled interpreters can hold pace with even the fastest speakers. Lack of delay makes it easier for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to keep up with the conversation.
• Cost Effective:  While costs range by the type of ASL you need (Legal, medical, business, etc.) and when the assignment is scheduled, the cost off ASL, across the board, is less money than CART.

What Is CART?

While the majority of people know what American Sign Language is, the same cannot be said for Communication Access Real-Time Translation. Often referred to as CART, this communication method for the deaf and hard of hearing is best described as subtitling for live discussions. Unlike ASL, which relies on a professional interpreter, CART services are provided by a well-trained stenographer or transcriptionist. They transcribe anything said and then broadcast the resulting text to a phone, computer, or TV screen.

CART is often seen as a cost-effective and efficient way to ensure everybody can follow along. While often used to help deaf students in the classroom, CART captioning benefits anyone that can read.  Much like ASL interpreting, it can be done both onsite with a physical transcriptionist or remotely with an offsite one.

Why You Should Consider CART for the Bethesda Market

Communication Access Real-Time Translation is growing in popularity due to the following characteristics:

• It Serves a Wider Array of Deaf People: If you do a little math, you will realize that 65 percent of hard-of-hearing people in the USA do not speak ASL fluently. CART makes it so these people can join in on the conversation as well.
• CART Makes It Scalable: While people in the front rows can easily make out what an interpreter is signing, it gets harder as the distance increases. Since captions can be beamed to multiple screens simultaneously, they do not have to factor speaker distance into the equation.
• The Text Provides a Written Record: Having a transcript of everything your professor said would be a godsend come finals. Having a record of a meeting can also provide clarity to all those involved as well. The physical nature of CART recording makes that possible. This ability is one reason so many college students opt for CART over traditional ASL interpreting. 

About American Language Services

Founded in 1985, American Language Services was there to help pioneer the rise in remote ASL interpreting options. Our dedication to quality and client satisfaction in interpreting allowed us to shift from a one-woman agency into one of the most successful language agencies in the world. Our language experts provide ASL & CART interpreting services to people all around the world. Because of our 24/7 availability, you’ll never have to worry about us not being available, on off times, for an assignment.

AML-Global has some of the most impressive linguistic talents in the world. These highly skilled language professionals are recruited, screened, and tested to ensure high-quality work.

Contact us by email at interpreting@alsglobal.net or via phone at 1-800-951-5020 for a free estimate on our ASL and CART services.