The 9 Most In-Demand Languages for Medical Interpreters in Massachusetts
According to U.S. Census Bureau, over 65 million people in the U.S. speak another language besides English at home. This number has been growing since the 1970s. However, the statistic only accounts for 20.7% of the entire population. In fact, only a fraction of these people know their second languages well enough to actually use them in their everyday lives. This means that the majority of Americans remain monolingual! In a largely monolingual country, there’s a great demand for at least 9 languages in medical interpreting—especially in diverse states like Massachusetts. Read on to find out which languages are most in demand for Medical Interpreting Certification in Massachusetts.
Trained Medical interpreters with medical interpreter certificates help avoid dangerous outcomes
Per the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2015 report, there is an emerging consensus among leaders in business, scientists and other community members that some level of proficiency in other world languages is critical to success in the 21st century. Additionally, The Commission on Language Learning reported that the U.S. needs more people to speak languages other than English to provide social and legal services for a changing population. What happens if there is a shortage of medical interpreters? Since it's difficult to communicate well and thoroughly when there is a language barrier, the patient’s symptoms could be misunderstood or not even discussed. This could ultimately lead to erroneous medical prescriptions, poor treatments, or bad diagnoses. (For example: a Spanish speaking patient might read “once” in her prescription as “11,” and take her medication 11 times a day!) Information that is provided by the caregiver and patient is crucial and must be interpreted accurately to provide the right treatment.
Medical interpreters with medical interpreter certificates are helpful in facilitating the process of this exchange. They help avoid dangerous outcomes. If you’re bilingual or multilingual, then you may want to take advantage of these circumstances and consider becoming a medical interpreter (with medical interpreting certification). This is particularly true in Massachusetts, where there are huge pockets of immigrant communities.
Medical Interpreting Certification Helps Meet Demands in a Multilingual World
As globalization becomes more common, so does learning language skills through various means, such as interpreter training programs and interpreter courses. According to the BRA Research Division Analysis, Boston ranks 6th among the 25 largest cities with the most diverse population. Due to the increase in population and rise in non-native speakers in the U.S, the need for medical interpreters has increased proportionally. There are more than 50 million people in the U.S. who are Spanish speakers, and over 10 million people speak Chinese, French, Vietnamese, German, Korean, Tagalog and Arabic. On a more regional level, Massachusetts is home to over 6.8 million people. Immigrants with backgrounds in other languages and who need medical care create a huge demand for more medical interpreters, especially those with interpreter certifications. So which languages should you focus if you’re going for Medical Interpreting Certification in Massachusetts?
Popular Languages for Medical Interpreting Certification in MA
All areas in Boston, Framingham and Winthrop are considered places with highly diverse populations . Interpreting certificates for Spanish, Arabic and Haitian Creole are the most popular among medical interpreter certification programs in MA.
The 9 Most In-Demand Languages for Medical Interpreting Certification in Massachusetts are: Spanish, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese and Vietnamese.
Spanish
- Lawrence - 68% - 48.6k
- Chelsea - 56.9% - 18.4k
- Holyoke - 41% - 15.1k
Arabic
- Revere - 3.3% - 1623
- Malden - 2.6% - 1480
- Norwood - 2.2% - 593
Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole is only spoken by about 1% of the population in the US. However, the concentration of Haitian Creole speakers in MA is higher than in the whole country. As Haitian Creole language is rare, it’s still an important part of the MA and you can find a lot of medical translation programs with that language.
Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole
- Fall River - 24% - 20k
- New Bedford - 20.3% - 18k
- Everett - 15.1% - 5944
Russian
- Newton - 4.2% - 3417
- Brookline - 3.6% - 2014
- Westfield - 3.2% - 1238
Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese Chinese
- Quincy - 14.9% - 13.1k
- Malden - 13.1% - 7370
- Lexington - 10% - 3028
Vietnamese
- Randolph - 7% - 2171
- Worcester - 2.9% - 4879
- Malden - 2.8% - 1562
Get the necessary, in person training in order to become a competent professional interpreter. Register now for one of our interpreter training programs: Medical Interpreter Training, Legal Interpreter Training or Community & Business Interpreter Training.
See the course schedule here: Schedule >>>
Contact us for more information:
Phone: (617) 277-1990
Email: support@languageconnections.com