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 Louisville, KY

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 Louisville

• Louisville was voted the manliest city in America by GQ magazine.
• Legend has it that the University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team originated the high-five during a practice of the 1978-79 season. High-fives can even be seen during the highlight reels of that year.
• The historic Old Louisville neighborhood is one the largest Victorian neighborhoods in the US. It also has more pedestrian-only streets than any other neighborhood in the country.
• A now closed Louisville eatery, Kaelin’s Restaurant, claimed to be the original inventor of the cheeseburger.
• A Virginia militia man, Captain Aaron Fontaine, moved to Louisville in 1798. Before the abolition of slavery, his plantation was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Later, in 1905, the city built an amusement park on the site of the old estate and, in his honor, named it Fontaine Ferry Park. Ironically, the park was “whites only” until 1964.
• Two Louisville kindergarten teachers, Patty and Mildred J. Hill, created the “Happy Birthday to You” song. It was originally entitled “Good Morning to All” but was later changed to fit a birthday theme.
• Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan initially wanted to include his hometown, Louisville, in the movie “Traffic.” However, he decided that Cincinnati’s inner city looked seedier and would serve the film better.
• At 6,218 acres, Louisville’s Jefferson Memorial Forest is the largest municipal urban forest in the country.
• Renowned professional boxer Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville.
• The Louisville Redbirds were the first minor league baseball team to draw more than 1 million fans in a single season.
• Louisville is named after King Louis XVI of France.
• On Feb 13, 1981, the Ralston-Purina soybean processing plant released hexane vapors into the Louisville sewer system, causing a series of explosions that destroyed over 2 miles of the city streets. Thankfully, there were no fatalities.
• The annual Thunder Over Louisville event is the largest annual fireworks show in America.
• In 1999, surgeons from the Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center directed the first hand transplant in the US. The procedure was performed on a New Jersey native, Matthew Scott, who had lost his hand in a fireworks accident. Ironically, a couple years later, Scott had the honor of pressing the button to kick off Thunder Over Louisville.
• Several of the parks in Louisville were designed by famous architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also co-designed New York City’s Central Park.
• The world-famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat was created by John Andrew “Bud” Hillerich in Louisville in 1884. However, the bats were originally called Falls City Sluggers. The name Louisville slugger wasn’t trademarked until 1894.
• Legendary author F. Scott Fitzgerald was stationed at a camp near Louisville as a young Army Officer. Parts of the city served as inspiration for his novel, “The Great Gatsby,” like the Seelbach Hotel.
• A half-man half-goat creature, the Pope Lick Monster, is rumored to live under a railroad trestle in East Louisville.
• Louisville’s Main Street has the second largest collection of cast-iron storefront facades in the nation. Only New York City has more.
• At Louisville’s Bourbons Bistro, you can choose from over 130 varieties of bourbon. The spot was also awarded the Gold Medal for Whisky Magazine’s “Whiskey Bars of the World.”
• The annual Trinity-St. Xavier game claims to be the most-attended regular-season high school football game in the nation. It typically draws in over 35,000 fans.
• Lewis and Clark met in Louisville in 1803 before beginning their famous exploration, forming one of the most famous and successful partnerships in history.
• Louisville is home to Churchill Downs which, since 1875, has hosted the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the American Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing.
• Louisville is the only US city to make Zagzat’s 2012 list of “8 Awesome Foodie Getaways Around the World”.
• Well-known writer Charles Dickens visited Louisville twice. After staying in the Galt House, he wrote, “a splendid hotel; and were as handsomely lodged as though we had been in Paris.”
• In 1876, the Louisville Grays became part of the national baseball league. However, their term was short lived. In 1878, the team was disbanded because of a gambling scandal, the first in major league baseball.
• Louisville’s 1959 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen, Martha Layne Collins, went on to be Kentucky’s first and, as of 2014, only woman governor.
• The Belle of Louisville is the oldest operating Mississippi-style steamboat.
• The Actors Theatre of Louisville won The Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1980.
• National Baseball Hall of Fame player Pee Wee Reese grew up in Louisville.
• The 1883 Southern Exposition in Louisville had the largest installation of incandescent light bulbs to-date, which had recently been invented by Thomas Edison. The expo had 5,000 incandescent lamps, more than all the lamps installed in New York City at the time.
• The Pendennis Club, a private club in Louisville, is the birthplace of the Old Fashioned drink, possibly the first mixed drink to be called a cocktail.
• Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather, also named Abraham Lincoln, lived on a farm in East Jefferson County until he was shot and killed by an Indian.
• A Louisville company, Omega National Products, claims to have made 90% of the disco balls used in the US during the country’s disco heydays. They still produce the shiny mirrored spheres to this day.
• The Louisville Slugger Museum is home to the world’s biggest bat. At 68,000 pounds and 120-feet tall, it’s an exact-scale replica of Babe Ruth’s 34-inch Louisville Slugger bat.
• Louisville’s Southeast Christian Church was formed in 1962 with only 53 members. Today it has 30,000 members and is the 5th largest church in the US.
• American actor Tom Cruise once worked at an ice cream shop in Louisville and briefly attended St Xavier High School.
• A 4 million square foot cavern lies beneath Louisville Zoo, called Louisville Mega Cavern. Among other attractions, it holds the world’s only fully underground zip line course.
• The Kentucky State Fair in Louisville is the largest air-conditioned fair in the country
• The 12th US president, Zachary Taylor, grew up in Louisville. Today he’s buried in the city at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
• Louisville holds the annual Idea Festival, which attracts great thinkers from all around the world.
• Apparently, Frank Sinatra was very fond of the food at a Louisville Italian restaurant, Vincenzo’s. A veal dish was later named Involtini Di Vitello Sinatra in his honor.
• Louisville’s Kart Kountry claims to have the longest go-kart track in the world.
• Louisville based company Caldwell Tanks has built water tanks in the shapes of a giant ketchup bottle and a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.
• Each year, a blanket of exactly 554 roses is presented to the winner of the Kentucky Derby.
• The Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch was the first public library built for African-Americans.
• The 981 mile long Ohio River, which runs through Louisville, is one of the major rivers of North America. By volume, it’s the largest tributary of the Mississippi River in the US.
• A Louisville restaurateur, Jennie Carter Benedict, created Benedictine, a spread made with cream cheese and cucumbers.
• Louisville’s annual Bluegrass Balloon Festival is the 5th largest hot air balloon festival in the U.S. and the largest in Kentucky.

Reference Sources: Movoto Real Estate

Louisville 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 Louisville today a language interpreter can be a very underestimated professional in the world today. There are over 100 languages spoken in the Louisville Metro area alone. Many of us know one language, and we specialize in one field of study. Our Louisville 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 Louisville

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 Louisville

When it comes to communicating with hard-of-hearing or deaf audiences, there are a few reasons you might want to opt for a Louisville 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 Louisville 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.