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Latinos lament language lapse in New Jersey
© Copyright Gabe Bokor 1997
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URL:http://accurapid.com/journal/02onion.htm
Updated 09/22/97
Spanish-speaking community groups in New Jersey were up in arms at a letter explaining new welfare rules to recipients in early February. The incident arosefrom the state Human Services agency’s apparent failure to observe the most basic translation policy guidelines.
   Critics said the letter, dated January 28, was written in grammatically incorrectSpanish, with errors in virtually every sentence. According to the Newark Star Ledger (6 February 1997), it “created confusion among recipients already having trouble understanding the tougher newrules, some of which took effect Feb. 1.”
   Parts of the missive bordered on the comical, including a warning that parole violators would be kicked off welfare: in the Spanish version, parole violatorwas rendered word-for-word as “violador bajo palabra” or “rapist under oath.” According to press sources, it had cost the agency $18,000 to send letters to the 100,000 households on public assistance.Acknowledging an “inexcusable error,” Human Services Commissioner William Waldman announced that an apology would be included in a corrected version of the faulty Spanish-language letter.
   Signsthat trouble was brewing were apparent well before the incident hit the press: the wording of the original letter is said to have undergone multiple revisions and “tinkering” from a host ofcontributors. Last-minute changes were made, and there was a rush to get the document out as the new provisions took effect.
   The text was translated by in-house staff, triggering calls from some Latinocommunity leaders for privatization of translation services. But for Walter Bacak, executive director of the American Translators Association, the incident was another reminder of the importance of...