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 Baton Rouge, LA

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 Baton Rouge

• Louisiana governor Huey P. Long had the H.P. Long Bridge in Baton Rouge built too low to the water on purpose, so ships would have to dock and unload in the city instead of passing through, making Baton Rouge a crucial port city. Sneaky.
• The Senate of the State Capitol—as well as the entire historic building—harbors a lot of interesting stories. For instance: There’s a pencil stuck up in the ceiling of one of the rooms, from when a bomb apparently went off in 1970. Thankfully, no one was injured—except the ceiling.
• Baton Rouge was the only site of a battle in the American Revolution that was waged outside the original 13 colonies.
• Baton Rouge might love “American Idol” more than anyone else. Why? Probably because judge Randy Jackson grew up there.
• Baton Rouge’s Cottage Plantation has to be among the freakiest plantations ever— Civil War prisoner Angus Holt haunts the place every night.
• Although it probably doesn’t hold a candle to Spanish Moon, the former morgue widely known as one of the most haunted sites not only in the state, but the entire country.
• Back in 1958, LSU athletes couldn’t drink Gatorade (since that was seven years before the drink was invented). Instead the team used what “Bengal Punch,” which is believed to be the first sports drink ever made.
• Historic Catfish Town got its name because residents were able to catch catfish from their front porches during floods.
• There must be something in the Baton Rouge water that inspires athleticism, considering that nine current NFL players, five MLB players and five NBA players (including a couple players called Shaquille O’Neal and Pete Maravich) all started out here.
• Football games at LSU can get so loud that in 1988, a home game’s final pass charged the crowd of 80K to cheer so loud that a seismograph in the LSU campus about 1K feet away from the actual stadium registered it as an earthquake.
• And there has to be something about Baton Rouge that movie and TV show directors just seem to love too. “True Blood,” “Battleship,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Pitch Perfect,” “JFK,” “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Oblivion,” and “Ray” were all completely or partially filmed in the city.
• Speaking of history – a lot of towns have historic buildings, but LSU itself is so historic that 57 of the principal buildings in the university are actually listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
• The LSU “Hey, Fighting Tigers” fight song was actually adapted from the Broadway show tune “Hey, Look Me Over.”
• LSU contributed the most soldiers to World War II (after graduation) of any university – except for military academies.
• Author Mark Twain adored Baton Rouge, but not the Old State Capitol, which he called a “whitewashed castle, with turrets and things.” He thought the building had no place in the city, as stated in his work “Life on the Mississippi.”
• The state capitol building in Baton Rouge also happens to be the tallest in the entire nation, at 450 feet.
• One of Mary Todd Lincoln’s half-brothers was killed in the Battle of Baton Rouge during the Civil War.
• Everyone talks about Rosa Parks refusing to get up from her seat on the bus, but Baton Rouge was actually the first city with a bus boycott against segregation. It lasted eight days in 1953, motivating the more famous Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.
• Baton Rouge is home to the only naval ship to still have its World War II appearance and wartime paint: the U.S.S. Kidd.
• The battleship’s also a pretty ripe site for hauntings as well. Many have reported seeing dead sailors in World War II uniforms, probably the lost souls of those 38 men killed onboard.
• Did you know that LSU is the only university in the nation to actually have a live tiger as the mascot? It’s Mike the Tiger.
• Mike is actually kept in a special habitat in the back of the stadium. Before the home games, Mike’s placed in a cage near the visiting team’s locker room for intimidation purposes.
• It’s actually a legend that for every roar Mike let out during a game, the team would score another touchdown.
• Three LSU’s Presidents were actually military generals, spanning an entire century: General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1860 to 1861, Major General Campbell Hodges, 1941 to 1944, and Lt. General Troy Middleton, 1951 to 1961.
• The LSU lakes were actually formed from swampland, but not naturally. In the 1930s they began as a public works project.
• It was estimated back in 2005 that approximately 200,000 displaced Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans were actually relocated to Baton Rouge.
• The LSU Press is the only university press to not only win a Pulitzer for fiction, but also poetry.
• LSU’s Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhanced Services Laboratory director Mary Manheim has managed over 1,000 forensic cases, has been called by countless U.S. law enforcement agencies, and even Scotland Yard overseas.
• In honor of Louisiana culture, LSU happens to be one of the only universities in the nation offering not only a minor in French, but a minor in French with emphasis on Cajun French.
• Coach Les Miles had a nickname: “The Mad Hatter.” He earned that nickname due to the white hat he always wears.
• He was so weird that he’d even taste grass at every visiting stadium. That all started when he was caught on tape chewing cud during a last-year home win over Alabama.
• Baton Rouge actually is French for “red stick,” a name given after a bloody pole that held the heads of dead animals. It marked the boundary between two tribal hunting grounds back in the day. Seems legit.
• The LSU football team is the only team to wear white football jerseys for both home and away games—the official rule is that home teams must dress in color while the visiting team dresses in white. The team has never been reprimanded, believe it or not.
• Reference Sources: Movoto

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

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 Baton Rouge

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