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 Menlo Park, CA

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 Menlo Park

• Menlo Park, California, in San Mateo county, is 2 miles W of Palo Alto, California (center to center) and 17 miles NW of San Jose, California. The city benefits from easy access to the nearby cities and towns with which it shares the San Francisco metropolitan area.
• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45 km2), of which 9.8 square miles (25 km2) are land and 7.6 square miles (20 km2) are covered by water. Menlo Park is long and narrow on a northeast to southwest axis. The northeast portion borders the San Francisco Bay and includes the Dumbarton Bridge that connects Menlo Park to Fremont on the east side of the bay. The city shoreline includes the city’s largest park, Bedwell Bayfront Park (160 acres (65 ha)) and the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.[26] San Francisquito Creek marks much of the southeast border of the city. West Menlo Park (not part of the city despite its name) along Alameda de las Pulgas nearly separates the southwestern part of the city (known as Sharon Heights) from the rest. The extreme southwest is clipped by Interstate 280.
• The Bayshore Freeway (part of U.S. Route 101) traverses Menlo Park northwest to southeast near the shoreline and somewhat parallel to the Bayshore Freeway to the southwest is El Camino Real. The intersection of El Camino Real and Santa Cruz Avenue is considered the heart of the city. Nearby, the Menlo Park Civic Center is bounded by Ravenswood Avenue, Alma Street, Laurel Street, and Burgess Drive. It contains the council offices, library, police station, and Burgess Park, which has various recreational facilities. Other major roads include Sand Hill Road in the Sharon Heights area.
• The residential areas of Menlo Park can be unofficially divided into several neighborhoods. From “east” (northeast toward San Francisco Bay) to “west” (southwest toward the Pacific Coast), they are defined by the Palo Alto Weekly as:[14] Belle Haven is the only neighborhood east of Route 101; much of the rest of that area is business or protected land. Between 101 and the roughly parallel Middlefield Road are the neighborhoods of the Willows, Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor, Flood Triangle, Vintage Oaks, and South of Seminary (the seminary being Saint Patrick’s Seminary). Between Middlefield and El Camino Real are the Caltrain track and Felton Gables, Linfield Oaks, and Park Forest. West of El Camino until the foothills of the Peninsula are the neighborhoods of Downtown Menlo Park, Central Menlo Park, and Allied Arts (sometimes also known as Stanford Park, it is named for the Allied Arts Guild in it). In the hills are Sharon Heights and Stanford Hills. Several other neighborhoods are closely associated with Menlo Park but are actually in unincorporated San Mateo county; these include Menlo Oaks and Fair Oaks (latter part of the North Fair Oaks census area) between Bayshore and Middlefield, University Heights (also known as West Menlo Park) between Sharon Heights and most of the rest of the city, and Stanford Weekend Acres, which is somewhat near Stanford Hills.
• The area that is currently known as Menlo Park was originally the property of two Irish immigrants, Dennis J. Oliver and his brother-in-law D. C. McGlynn. This was basically a tract of land on what was formerly called Rancho de las Pulgas. It was named ‘Menlo’ after the owners’ former home of Menlough in County Galway, Ireland. In 1863, a nearby station was named “Menlo Park” by the San Francisco and San Jose Rail Road. The town of Menlo Park gradually developed around this station, and went on to become a popular home for many San Francisco businessmen. The town had its first post office in 1870. Menlo Park was incorporated in 1874.
• Menlo Park area has a rich historical heritage that is reflected in numerous museums in the neighboring area. One can begin by taking a tour of the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, the Cantor Center for Visual Arts or even the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. Among the historic sites are the Ardenwood Historic Farm and the Dunsmuir Historic Estate. Visitors can take full advantage of a number of amusement parks that provide excellent entertainment opportunities for adults and children alike. There are also a number of wineries like the Chouinard Vineyards, the Kathryn Kennedy Winery, the Elliston Vineyards and the Westover Vineyards. Shopping plazas too are sure to attract the attention of visitors.

• Menlo Park attractions include:
  • Allied Arts Guild.
  • Bohannon Industrial Park.
  • Menlo Park Central Library.
  • McKeon Memorial Library.
  • Willow Oaks Park.
  • Sharon Shopping Center.
• Menlo Park was, during the 1970’s, a very bohemian town. The town’s main bookstore, Kepler’s Bookstore, used to be located in a run-down Victorian house on the city’s main strip. It had the largest collection of Mad Magazine publications this side of New York. Kepler’s is famous for allowing people to sit on one of their many old chairs and sofas to read without buying. Going from one section to another meant traversing a creaky, dilapidated wood floor. It had a cool poster section, with many drug culture references. Throughout time, it moved to various locations, and now has ended up on one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Menlo Park (El Camino and Menlo Ave). Formerly catering to a mostly student audience, it now serves up non-discounted books to the wealthy elite of Menlo Park. Just outside of Kepler’s doors is a coffee house (surprise!) that caters a variety of influential and not-so-influential types: Barrone’s is the only place in Menlo Park offering a $10 mediocre breakfast.
• The prices of real estate in Menlo Park have increased anywhere from 10 to 20 fold over the past 30 years, depending on the area. Formerly a nice retirement community with affordable real estate for middle class families, Menlo Park is now only affordable to the “option laden” wealthy.
• Walking downtown used to be a pleasant experience. One could experience the pleasures of an ordinary sleepy college town, while shopping a variety of stores. They included a hometown bakery, a coffee shop where the locals gathered, hair salons, furniture stores, health food shops, and more. Now you can only buy baked goods at Le Boulangerie; Coffee isn’t so bad – you have a choice of two dozen different coffee shops. Taking a stroll downtown takes you past one of the many eateries with outdoor seating.
• Much of Menlo Park’s economy revolves around the companies on Sand Hill Road, consisting of venture capital, private equity, financial services, law firms, and other professional service companies and investment vehicles focusing on technology. Geron, Katerra, Robert Half International, Exponent, and SRI International are among the companies based in Menlo Park. Meta moved its headquarters to the former campus of Sun Microsystems in Menlo Park in December 2011.

Reference Sources: CityTownInfo, WikiTravel, Wikipedia

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

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 Menlo Park

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