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 Tacoma, WA

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 Tacoma

• Tacoma ( tə-koh-mə) is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington’s Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 31 miles (50 km) northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to the 2010 census. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third largest in the state. Tacoma also serves as the center of business activity for the South Sound region, which has a population of around 1 million people
• Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Takhoma or Tahoma. It is locally known as the “City of Destiny” because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th century. The decision of the railroad was influenced by Tacoma’s neighboring deep-water harbor, Commencement Bay. By connecting the bay with the railroad, Tacoma’s motto became “When rails meet sails.” Today, Commencement Bay serves the Port of Tacoma, a center of international trade on the Pacific Coast and Washington State’s largest port.
• Like most central cities, Tacoma suffered a prolonged decline in the mid-20th century as a result of suburbanization and divestment. Since the 1990s, developments in the downtown core include the University of Washington Tacoma; Tacoma Link, the first modern electric light rail service in the state; the state’s highest density of art and history museums; and a restored urban waterfront, the Thea Foss Waterway. Neighborhoods such as the 6th Avenue District have become revitalized.
• Tacoma-Pierce County has been named one of the most livable areas in the United States. In 2006, Tacoma was listed as one of the “most walkable” cities in the country.
• Tacoma gained notoriety in 1940 for the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which earned the nickname “Galloping Gertie”.
• The city of Tacoma and surrounding areas were inhabited for thousands of years by American Indians, predominantly the Puyallup people, who lived in settlements on the delta.
• In 1852, a Swede named Nicolas Delin constructed a sawmill powered by water on a creek near the head of Commencement Bay, but the small settlement that grew up around it was abandoned during the Indian War of 1855–56. In 1864, pioneer and postmaster Job Carr, a Civil War veteran and land speculator who hoped to profit from the selection of Commencement Bay as the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, built a cabin (a replica of Job Carr’s cabin, which also served as Tacoma’s first post office, was erected in “Old Town” in 2000 near the original site), and later sold most of his claim to developer Morton M. McCarver (1807–1875), who named his project Tacoma City, derived from the indigenous name for the mountain.
• Tacoma was incorporated on November 12, 1875, following the merger of Old Tacoma and New Tacoma on January 7, 1884. Its hopes to be the “City of Destiny” were stimulated by selection in 1873 as the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, thanks to lobbying by McCarver, future mayor John Wilson Sprague, and others. The transcontinental link was effected in 1887, but the railroad built its depot on “New Tacoma”, two miles (3 km) south of the Carr-McCarver development. The two communities grew together and joined. The population grew from 1,098 in 1880 to 36,006 in 1890. Rudyard Kipling visited Tacoma in 1889 and said it was “literally staggering under a boom of the boomiest”.
• The Commencement Bay Land and Improvement Co. played a major role in the city’s early growth. George Francis Train was a resident for a few years in the late 19th century. In 1890, he staged a global circumnavigation starting and ending in Tacoma to promote the city. A plaque in downtown Tacoma marks the start and finish line.
• In November 1885, white citizens led by then-mayor Jacob Weisbach expelled several hundred Chinese residents peacefully living in the city. As described by the account prepared by the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation, on the morning of November 3, 1885, “several hundred men, led by the mayor and other city officials, evicted the Chinese from their homes, corralled them at 7th Street and Pacific Avenue, marched them to the railway station at Lakeview and forced them aboard the morning train to Portland, Oregon. The next day two Chinese settlements were burned to the ground.”
• The 1929 crash of the Stock Market, also known as the Great Depression, was only the first event in a series of bad misfortunes to hit Tacoma in the winter of 1929–30. One of the coldest winters on record, Tacoma experienced mass power outages and eventually the shutdown of major power supply dams, leaving the city without sufficient power and heat. During the 30-day power shortage in the winter of 1929 and 1930, Tacoma was provided with electricity from the engines of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington.
• A power grid failure paired with a newly rewritten city constitution put in to place in order to keep political power away from a single entity such as the railroad, created a standstill in the ability to further the local economy. Local businesses felt the pinch as the sudden stop of loans limited progression of expansion and renewal funds for maintenance leading to foreclosures. Families all over the city experience the fallout of economic depression growing the problem of “where” and “how” breadwinners were going to find the food that their families needed to survive. Local makeshift inner shanty town politics began to develop as the occupants needed some form of leadership to keep the peace.
• At the intersection of Dock Street EXD and East D Street in the train yard, a shantytown became the solution to the growing scar of the depression. Tacoma’s Hooverville grew in 1924 as the homeless community moved onto the waterfront as a place to settle. The population boomed in November 1930 through early 1931 as families from the neighboring McKinley and Hill Top areas fell victim to eviction notices and the inability to find steady work.
• Collecting scraps of metal and wood from local lumber stores and recycling centers, families began building shanties (shacks) in order to supply a roof over their heads. Alcohol became a common event in the Hooverville that eventually gave it its nickname of “Hollywood”, because of the Hollywood-style crimes and events taking place in the camp. It would not be until 1956 when the last occupant of “Hollywood” was evicted and the police used fire to level the grounds and make room for industrial growth.
• The discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1898 led Tacoma’s prominence in the region to be eclipsed by the booming development of Seattle.
• Tacoma is named from the Indian name for Mt. Rainier and the name Tacoma means Mother of the Waters. Tacoma adopted “city of destiny’ as its official slogan in 1873.
• The port of Tacoma covers more than 2,400 acres. It is the 6th largest port in North America. Two railroads and 15 steamship lines are serviced from this port.
• The related port activities in Tacoma generate an estimated seventy seven million dollars in revenue for the state of Washington.
• The port of Tacoma is responsible for more than 101,000 jobs in the state of Washington.
• The county of Tacoma-Pierce has been named as one of the most livable areas in America.
• Several movies have used Tacoma as there setting. Rose red was filmed here, and the High School was filmed in the movie “Ten Things I Hate about You”.
• The Stadium High School in Tacoma was originally designed to be a luxury hotel. In 1893 the depression stopped the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad hotel. Then a fire swept through the building leaving nothing more than an empty masonry shell. The shell was used to construct the high school in 1906 and still serves as the high school today.
• The city is the birthplace of Bing Crosby, famous American actor and singer who has more than half a billion records in circulation and is hailed as one of the best-selling artists.
• The city is home to the Museum of Glass, which displays different types of glass art from the region as well as from all over the world. The museum was established in the year 2002.
• A popular hangout in Tacoma with the locals and tourists alike is a coffee shop that is shaped like a teapot.

Reference Sources: 10-facts-about.com, Kiddle Encyclopedia

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

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 Tacoma

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