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 in Charlotte.

Reliable ASL & CART Services in Charlotte

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 Charlotte

• Downtown Charlotte is called “uptown,” much to the confusion of… well, pretty much everyone who isn’t from there. Locals have been saying it that way for at least 85 years. Apologists will happily point out that central Charlotte does sit at a higher elevation than the rest of the city. “When you go there, you’re going up to town,” says native son Jack Wood. “That’s the proper name for it.” In the 1970s, Wood—a clothier by trade—made a push to preserve this verbal quirk. After some intense lobbying, he convinced the City Council to officially designate the historic sector as “Uptown Charlotte” on September 24, 1974.
• According to some, the coveted title of Pimento Cheese Capital of the World belongs to Charlotte. The city’s Ruth’s Salads produces 45,000 pounds of the Southern lunchtime staple every week—the most of any company in the Southeast—and Charlotteans comprise one of the largest markets for the stuff in the nation. (The other biggest market for pimento cheese sellers: Raleigh-Durham.)
• In the 1700s, two vital pathways crossed where uptown Charlotte now lies. One was the Great Wagon Road. Built by European settlers, it once stretched from Philadelphia to Georgia—and its existence set the stage for a mass southward migration of colonists. In North Carolina, the route bisected a large Native American trail. Remnants of these two roads still exist in Charlotte, where they’re known as Tryon and Trade streets. Today, their intersection is called Independence Square.
• The Charlotte metropolitan area is the largest in the United States that doesn’t have a zoo. However, if you’re in town and feel like a road trip, the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro—which one of America’s largest chimpanzee troops calls home—is only 75 miles away.
• Charlotte was officially incorporated in 1768 under the name “Charlotte Town.” This was a tribute to King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It’s currently a part of Mecklenburg County—which is named after the German region in which she was born.
• Charlotte’s current NBA team is called “The Hornets.” You might also notice that there’s a hornet nest logo emblazoned on the sides of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police vehicles. Why is this community so infatuated with stinging insects? In 1780, British General Charles Cornwallis marched his men through the city, where they encountered firm resistance. He’d go on to call Charlotte “a hornet’s nest of rebellion.” Little did he realize that the town would wholeheartedly embrace his comment. Today, Charlotte’s two main nicknames are “the Queen City” and “the Hornet’s Nest.”
• Some people believe that Charlotte produced its own Declaration of Independence more than a year before Philadelphia did. In April, 1819, the Raleigh Register made a bold claim. Readers were told that, after Lexington and Concord, prominent North Carolina patriots assembled at the Charlotte courthouse. On May 20, 1775, the men allegedly signed a so-called “Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence,” which severed their colony’s ties with Great Britain once and for all. Alas, most historians don’t buy this story—and neither did Thomas Jefferson. It is worth noting that no original copies have ever turned up. So far as we know, the document never existed. Nevertheless, Charlotteans still celebrate May 20 as “Meck Dec Day.” Every year, a reading of the text takes place at Independence Square—along with some good, old-fashioned cannon-firing.
• The NFL’s Carolina Panthers have played their home games in Charlotte since 1996. At present, they’re the only team in the league that’s owned by a former player—ex-Baltimore Colt Jerry Richardson.
• Astronaut Charlie Duke was born in the Queen City on October 3, 1935. At age 36, he became the 10th man to walk on the moon—something that only 12 people have ever done.
• Perhaps Charlotte’s oddest landmark is her majestic Firebird sculpture. Completed in 1991, it had roosted in several cities before finding a permanent home on Tryon Street, just outside the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Created by Niki de Saint Phalle, the 17-foot avian is adorned with over 7500 pieces of colored glass. For this reason, his statue is often called “the disco chicken.”
• Another sculpture worth visiting: Czech artist David Černý’s Metalmorphosis, a giant, mirrored, rotating self-portrait installed in Whitehall Technology Park. The piece measures 31 feet tall and weighs around 14 tons.
• Once upon a time, North Carolina—and not California—was known as “ the Golden State.” In 1799, a 17-pound nugget unexpectedly turned up in Cabarrus County. This event triggered something that the United States had never seen before: A gold rush. Over the next several decades, miners would try to strike it rich throughout western and central North Carolina. Almost overnight, Charlotte went from a small town to a booming metropolis. Profitable mines (such as the McComb) popped up around town and, in fact, many of their tunnels are still hiding beneath Charlotte’s outskirts.
• Today, Charlotte remains an economic hot spot. Behind New York City, it’s now the country’s second-largest banking center. Bank of America is headquartered here, as are Wells Fargo’s East Coast operations. This reality has given rise to yet another nickname: Banktown.
• In the Queen City, NASCAR is king. Uptown, you’ll find the organization’s 150,000-square-foot Hall of Fame. Racing fans can also head out to neighboring Concord, North Carolina, where the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway resides. Billed as “the greatest place to see a race,” it hosts three of NASCAR’s biggest annual events: The Coca-Cola 600, the Bank of America 500, and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
• If you’re dreaming of a white December 25, Charlotte might not be for you. Since 1878, the city has only gotten measurable snow on four Christmas Days: in 1880, 1909, 1947, and 2010.
• America’s eleventh president and the subject of a catchy They Might Be Giants song, James K. Polk was born just 10 miles south of Charlotte on November 2, 1795, on his family’s 150-acre Mecklenburg County farm. The Polks would later relocate to Tennessee in 1806.
• Remember the plane that had to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River back in 2009? You can now see it on display at the Charlotte-based Carolinas Aviation Museum. The airbus’s infamous last flight was originally supposed to take it from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to the Queen City. Accordingly, 80 of the 155 passengers on board hailed from the greater Charlotte region. Every so often, a few of them swing by the museum for a “meet and greet” with visitors.
• Known as “the Jackie Robinson of Pro Golf,” Charlotte native Charles Sifford was the first African American to participate in the PGA Tour. After setting that milestone in 1961, he went on to make history again six years later at the 1967 Greater Hartford Open. There, Sifford did something else that no black athlete had ever done before—win a fully sanctioned PGA event. He was inducted to World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
• The very first Family Dollar opened up in Charlotte during the month of November, 1959. Within 10 years, it turned into a 50-store chain. By 2013, 78,000 Family Dollars had emerged in 48 states. Since then, the company’s merged with—and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of—Dollar Tree.
• 2012’s The Hunger Games was almost entirely shot in North Carolina. Charlotte didn’t get left out: Knight Theater on Tryon Street is where the tributes’ interview scenes were filmed.
• For many Charlotteans, transportation got a lot easier when the LYNX Blue Line began operations in 2007. As of this writing, no other light rail system in America sends its trains directly through a convention center.
• Barbecue is a huge source of Tarheel State pride. According to food critic and historian Robert Moss, “Charlotte may well have been the home of North Carolina’s first barbecue restaurant.” As evidence, he cites a classified ad that the Charlotte Observer published in 1899. Therein, a Mrs. Katie Nunn promotes her grocery store on South Church Street. To entice customers, the ad alleges that Nunn’s husband, Levi, is “the only barbecuer in Charlotte.” This little notice is one of the earliest-known records of a commercial BBQ establishment in North Carolina.
• Grab your wet suits: Olympic canoe/kayak slalom competitors train at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Situated on the outskirts of Charlotte, this facility boasts the world’s biggest manmade whitewater river. In roughly 8 seconds, its powerful pumps can unleash enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
• Founded in 1836, the Charlotte Mint was specifically designed to produce one thing and one thing only: gold coins. Ultimately, more than $5 million-worth of these were produced there by the time it was shut down in 1861 and converted into a Confederate hospital.
• Last year, 92-year-old Charlottean Harriette Thompson became the oldest woman in recorded history to ever finish a marathon. Thompson—a grandmother and two-time cancer survivor—was in her 70s when she first started running competitively. At the 2015 San Diego Rock n’ Roll Marathon, the North Carolinian trotted onward for 7 hours, 24 minutes, and 35 seconds to complete all 26.2 miles of the race.

Reference Sources: MentalFloss

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

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 Charlotte

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

ASL Interpreting or CART in Charlotte: Which One Better Suits Your Needs?