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 Hoboken, NY

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 Hoboken

• The land Hoboken was built on was once an island, surrounded on both sides by the Hudson River and the estuary that existed at the base of the New Jersey Palisades. The region’s Lenni Lenape people camped there seasonally, and called the land “Hopoghan Hackingh,” meaning “Land of the Tobacco Pipe,” as a nod to the area’s abundant green serpentine rock, which they used to—you guessed it—carve tobacco pipes.
• The Dutch governor of Manhattan, Peter Stuyvesant, per the Hoboken Historical Museum’s website, “bought all the land between the Hackensack and the Hudson Rivers from the Lenni Lenape for 80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 kettles, 6 guns, 2 blankets, 1 double kettle and half a barrel of beer.” The Dutch who occupied the region in the 17th century referred to it as “Hoebuck,” meaning “high bluff.”
• Continental army colonel John Stevens is the man responsible for changing the land’s tag to “Hoboken.” The attorney and inventor purchased what was then a massive estate at auction after its owner, a Loyalist named William Bayard, had been kicked out by the colonial government.
• Life was good along the Hudson, except for one thing: the turtles. Stevens’ new estate was overrun with snapping turtles, which kept eating his chickens. So, Stevens decided to turn his lemons into lemonade (or in this case, his reptiles into turtle soup), inviting his wealthy buddies from the island of Manhattan over for a turtle feast. The day was deemed a success, and the Hoboken Turtle Club was born. Early members included George Washington, John Jay, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton.
• The tradition continued into the late 19th century, by which time the Hoboken Turtle Club—considered by some to be the country’s first real social club—had a tony new Manhattan address, where its members were better known for their drinking prowess than their affinity for reptile recipes.
• The first steam-powered ferryboat began running between Hoboken and Manhattan’s Vesey Street in 1811. Behind the vessel: the aforementioned John Stevens, who focused much of his engineering career on figuring out the best ways to harness steam for transportation.
• Stevens was also the recipient of the United States’ first railroad charter in 1815 and built and operated the country’s first steam-powered locomotive in 1825. It traveled a total of half a mile around his estate in Hoboken.
• The first trains to travel between Hoboken and New York City began running under the Hudson River in 1907. Today the PATH train—the Port Authority Trans Hudson—helps passengers make more than 72 million trips across the river annually.
• During World War I, approximately two million U.S. soldiers were shipped off to Europe from Hoboken’s docks. “Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken” became a rallying cry for troops hoping to make it home in time for the holidays.
• Hoboken’s historic train terminal—formerly the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Terminal—was itself the site of several firsts. Thomas Edison operated the first electric train from the station to Montclair, New Jersey, and the terminal was the first public space in the country to boast central air conditioning [PDF].
• The stunning Beaux-Arts building, which was restored to its former glory in the mid aughts, has served as a shooting location for films such as Funny Girl (1968), The Station Agent (2003), Julie & Julia (2009), as well as Eric Clapton’s 1996 music video for “Change the World.”
• Speaking of filmmaking, the 1954 drama On the Waterfront was shot almost entirely on location in Hoboken and featured appearances by real dockworkers and policemen. The film raked in eight Oscars, including a Best Actor prize for star Marlon Brando.
• The great photojournalist Dorothea Lange hails from Hoboken, and artist Alexander Calder studied at the city’s Stevens Institute of Technology.
• Hoboken’s most famous son is Frank Sinatra, who was born in a tenement there on December 12, 1915, to Italian immigrants Natalie “Dolly” Della Garavente and Anthony “Marty” Martin Sinatra. Marty, a boxer, went by the name “Marty O’Brien” in order to gain access to the town’s Irish-only gyms.
• America’s pastime was developed there in the 1840s. Alexander Cartwright, credited with inventing modern-day baseball, and his team, the New York Knickerbockers, held court on Hoboken’s Elysian Fields, going up against teams like the New York Nines.
• So was the zipper. In the 1890s, a man by the name of Whitcomb Judson improved upon previous zipper-like clasps by introducing a sliding device. Together, he and an associate started the Universal Fastener Company and began producing the closures in Hoboken.
• One Hoboken resident, an Italian immigrant by the name of Italo Marchiony, developed and patented a waffle holder for ice cream in 1903—paving the way for the cone-shaped summertime staple we enjoy today.
•  Another important dessert milestone occurred there in 1912, when the NYC-based National Biscuit Company made its first sale of a brand-new cookie to a grocer on Washington Street. More than a century later, you can find Oreos in nearly 100 countries around the world.
• In 1964, three young men from Jersey City decided to take a risk on a new sandwich craze they had first encountered down the shore: the submarine. Together, they opened the very first Blimpie sandwich shop on Washington Street.
• Hoboken has its very own superhero. Marlon Rodriguez, a.k.a. Hoboken Batman, rides up and down Washington Street on his Bat Bike, and even helps direct traffic for emergency vehicles.
• Hoboken’s boozy reputation goes all the way back to the 17th century, when in 1663, Dutch settlers opened up the country’s first brewery.
• But it’s not quite as brew-happy as people seem to think, despite the oft-cited stat that it has more bars per square mile than any other city in the U.S. Take a look at this table for proof.
•  While the town is often touted as one of America’s most walkable small cities, if you need a ride to, or from, the bar, Willie McBride’s will pick you up in its house limousine.
• In an unassuming building on 9th and Madison sits one of the country’s most prestigious recording studios, Water Music Recorders. The studio has played host to dozens of artists, including Beyonce, the Dave Matthews Band, U2, Blondie, Sonic Youth, My Morning Jacket, Ryan Adams, and more. Lenny Kravitz, meanwhile, recorded multiple albums at Waterfront Studios on Washington Street. In the midst of a session there in 1991, he and guest musician Slash decided to go on a booze run. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, which meant liquor stores were closed. So the enterprising duo decided to go door-to-door, asking people for alcohol donations.
• Sorry, Brooklynites: this past March, Hoboken was named the Hipster Capital of America by FindtheBest.com. To qualify for consideration, cities had to have populations of 50,000 or more, a significant number of people between the ages of 20 and 34, and a high proportion of residents with bachelor’s degrees. The site determined final scores by multiplying the number of coffee shops for every 10,000 residents by the number of yoga studios for every 10,000 residents. No word yet on if any local hipsters have tried to ironically resurrect the Turtle Club.

Reference Source: Mentalfloss,

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

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 Hoboken

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