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 Richmond, VA

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 Richmond

• Rat basketball is actually a spectator sport at the Science Museum of Virginia. Rat Team SMV plays on a miniature court for visitors. You have to see it to believe it. 
• For Earth Day 2014 the city’s Earth Day Richmond Community Impact Project attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest recyclable structure made entirely out of aluminum cans.
• Writer Edgar Allen Poe grew up in Richmond. The Edgar Allan Poe Museum houses many of his works and some personal effects and is considered to be the oldest building in Richmond.
• Pocahontas once lived in what is now Henricus Historical Park.
• Actor, producer, screenwriter and director Warren Beatty, and his sister, Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine were both born in Richmond.
• Professional tennis player, Arthur Ashe Jr., won 3 Grand Slam titles, the singles title at Wimbledon, and the Australian and U.S. Open. Ashe was the first African American to do so, and he was raised right here in Richmond.
• In June 2011 the city helped set the Guinness World Record for the Largest Swimming Lesson at Swansboro Park, at the same time as many other lessons held around the world to bring attention to the importance of teaching children to swim.
• The Nascar Sprint Cup is held each year at the Richmond International Raceway. The Raceway is thought to be one of the best places to watch Nascar.
• From 2003 to 2009, the Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival featured ferret-legging competitions—where contestants would put a live ferret in their pants and see how long they could endure it.
• The 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall, was buried in Richmond.
• The state capitol building was designed by someone you might have heard of – Thomas Jefferson himself.
• The Bottoms Up restaurant bears water markings that resulted from rising waters during a 2004 hurricane. Hurricane Gaston hit Richmond in 2004.
• Take a walk or drive down Monument Avenue to see many of Richmond’s biggest historic figures cast in stone, like Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. And you’ll get a glimpse of spectacular 19th and early 20th century architecture too.
• Who could possibly imagine “The Today Show” without Matt Lauer. He never would have gotten to where he is today without Richmond, where he worked as a local talk show host.
• Richmond was voted the Best River City to live in by “Brown’s Island Outside Magazine”.
•  The U.S. News And World Report granted the “Best Affordable Place To Take A Vacation” distinction to Richmond, while “Bloom’s Business Magazine” similarly determined that Richmond was the “most fun and affordable U.S. city”.
• “Forbes Magazine” placed the city in the top ten for “up and coming” entrepreneurs.
•  Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech was made in Richmond. Church Hill, specifically, St. John’s Episcopal Church.
• The largest Civil War hospital was in Richmond, in Chimborazo Park, which is now encompassed by Church Hill.
• The first African American governor was from Richmond. Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born and raised in the Churchill District and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1989.
• The John Marshall Hotel is right downtown has hosted presidents—and at least one king. Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter each stayed there, and the King, Elvis Presley was also a guest.
• The 135-acre Hollywood Cemetery is not a resting place for the stars as you might think, but rather for 22 Confederate generals, perhaps thousands of confederate soldiers, two U.S. Presidents, and six Virginia governors. It’s second only to Arlington National Cemetery in the number of visitors it receives.
• The 10 Tiffany stained glass windows in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church are dedicated to Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
• It was the early 1900’s when Maggie L. Walker broke the glass ceiling and the South’s pervading color barrier at that time. The African American entrepreneur/social activist was the first woman bank president in the United States—in Richmond.
• At one time the Richmond Coliseum was the largest sports arena in the state, until the John Paul Jones arena was constructed. The coliseum is now the home arena for indoor football. The Richmond Raiders is the home team. The arena is used less for sporting events as it is for concerts and other attractions.
• Montgomery, Alabama was the original Confederate Capitol. The capital city was switched to Richmond in 1861.
• The Richmond State Capitol building might look a little familiar. It’s designed like the U.S. Supreme Court Building in the Neoclassical Architecture, distinguished by Greek and Roman influences.
• Maymont Park has pretty much everything you could want for a day enjoying the great outdoors in Richmond. A koi pond, zoo animals like bears and eagles, and several gardens including a Japanese Zen garden and a Roman garden.
• Richmond basically has its own water park right in town with the James River Park System. The river has Class IV rapids for an eighth of a mile, and you can go paddling, hiking, birdwatching and fishing.
• While earlier attempts had been made to effectively replace the existing animal-hauled street railways throughout the country and in Europe, Richmond was the first city to successfully integrate a reliable electric streetcar system into its public transportation offerings.

Reference Sources: Movoto, Magnolia Green

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

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 Richmond

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