¿HABLAS ESPAÑOL? Officers practicing Spanish to improve communication with Hispanic residents

The language barrier in St. Joseph between English- and Spanish-speaking communities is being broken down in small steps.

St. Joseph Police Department training officer Marla Wilson said in an effort to bridge the cultural gap, 15 officers, as well as other officials and members of the community, recently participated in a three-day Spanish language training course at the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center.

Ms. Wilson said she brought the class to the LEC after seeing an increasing need for police officers to become more familiar with the language. It worked out so well, she said, that she’s looking into booking a second, advanced-language course.

“It was a very, very good class. I’m sure all of the (police officers) got a lot out of it,” she said.

Ron Strader, a warrant officer, said not being familiar with the language in his job is quite a challenge.

“If I run into a home where no one can speak English, I can’t do my job effectively,” he said.

Even though the department has one officer fluent in Spanish, as well as a list of translators on call, it’s more effective to cut out the middle man.

“We do have the resources,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not practical in the heat of it to say, ‘Hold on, I’m going to need to call my translator while you’re holding that gun.’”

Rachel McCoy, director of communications for Community Action Partnership, which works with Spanish-speaking individuals and families in St. Joseph, said the class is a positive action in bridging the cultural gap.

“We’re very encouraged they would be so progressive to put law enforcement in classes that teach Spanish,” she said.

Classes such as the one at the LEC are vital to St. Joseph’s community growth, Ms. McCoy said. Beyond just practicing a language course such as Rosetta Stone, she also reminds people that nothing is more useful than human interaction.

“There has to be a passion for the language. Without direct communication, so much is lost in the meaning of what people are saying,” she said.

Currently, Mr. Strader said police officers have been practicing courtesy phrases, as well as commands such as “let me see your license and insurance” and “I need you to stop.” Beyond the class, learning Spanish isn’t mandated by the department, but Mr. Strader said it’s something he realizes he needs to stay sharp on.

“It’s not something where we have to sit down every day and do. But I do practice the words because it’s one of those … perishable languages. If you don’t use it, you lose it,” he said.

Ms. McCoy said Community Action Partnership is looking into future programs to help English- and Spanish-speaking people meet and have a better understanding of each other’s cultures. She said she hopes the Police Department will be involved as well.

“So many other communities have come out and welcomed this culture,” she said. “St. Joseph is capable of giving, like so many other cities have.”

Source: http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2009/aug/23/hablas-espaol/?local

Police receptionist in Anderson helps break Spanish language barrier

ANDERSON — Nora Punales was happy to get a job at the Anderson Police Department as a receptionist.

Turns out, the police department got a bargain; Punales speaks fluent English and Spanish. Those skills have helped the department and Hispanic visitors or prisoners cross the language barrier nearly every day.

It’s not that she’s not needed as a receptionist – she does “a little bit of everything” in that job. But beyond some police officers with limited Spanish skills, she’s the only person staff members can call on to help translate.

Anderson, like most Southern towns, has seen the growth of its Hispanic population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s three-year estimates for 2005-2007, about 2 percent, or 3,200, of Anderson County residents are Hispanic. But officials have long said the Census underestimates the number of Hispanics because they are reluctant to be counted.

The Pew Hispanic Center put the Anderson County number at 3,531 in 2007. The center reported that 2,500 Hispanics were living in Oconee County in 2007, about 4 percent of the population. In Greenville County, the number was more than 29,000 in 2007.

Punales, 53, was hired in November on a temporary basis, but officials have been able to find enough money to continue her job for another year. She moved here after her husband began a job as a welder.

Her daily duties involve answering the phones, filing, helping people with questions and other duties. But her translation skills now are put to use in “a good 40 to 45 percent” of the job, she said.

It may be helping someone who speaks little English who needs to know about visitation for an inmate, or translating an officer’s explanation of the charges against someone brought to the station. Or it could be simply giving someone directions to another government agency, such as Department of Motor Vehicles or to Social Security offices.

Punales, who moved to Anderson about a year ago, was not expecting to need her language skills much when she took the job. But that quickly changed.

“I was very surprised when I moved here there were so many Spanish-speaking people,” she said.

The three dialects she’s heard are from Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, she said.

She discovered there were a number of people coming to the police department front desk unable to explain what they needed.

“Some come in, and I notice they have a problem speaking,” she said. “When I talk to them, they say, ‘Oh God, thank you for having someone who speaks Spanish.’”

Some people bring their children to translate, but children may not know how to explain some words appropriately, Punales said.

Angela White, a medical assistant at the department, said Punales is able to put Spanish-speaking visitors or inmates at ease.

“Once she opens her mouth, and they realize someone understands what they are saying, they calm down,” White said. “That fear is gone.”

When a Spanish-speaking inmate needs medical help, Punales is called to translate for the inmate and the nurse.

Punales’ supervisor, Amy Sexton, said the staff members have done the best they could in the past, trying to write down information or find some common connection.

“We tried to talk ourselves, but usually they don’t understand,” Sexton said. “It’s made a great difference in being able to communicate.”

Now, people who know Punales can help them will seek her out at the station.

“We have Spanish-speaking people call and ask for her,” said Sue Miller, a detention officer.

Punales, who is originally from Cuba, said her family spoke Spanish at home, and she spoke English at school. She believes people who come to the United States should adapt to the culture.

“You are coming to a place that’s not your place, so you have to learn … the culture,” she said.

The police department is a good place to work, she said.

“Ever since I started working here, I have really enjoyed it,” she said. “It is a very nice atmosphere.”

Source: http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/aug/01/police-receptionst-anderson-helps-break-spanish-la/

Delicate work in translation

A letter to the New York Times Book Review complained that Gerald Martin, the biographer of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, had not given due respect to Marquez’s translators. Martin raves about Marquez’s “gorgeous sentences,” but the letter writer complains that he “neglects to mention whether he read those sentences in Spanish or English.” I have often wondered as I am reading a translation how much I am indebted to the original author, how much to the translator.

I’ve heard that the Prendergast translation of Proust’s Remembrances of Things Past is better than the old Moncrieff version, the one I own. When I finally get around to reading the novel, would my experience be heightened if I bought the new one?

I don’t know any language well enough to translate, but I did have a glimmer of the practice when I studied Russian for four years. Professor Pastuhova told me that I spoke Russian with a Boston accent and hinted that the only reason I passed her courses was that I could translate the literature into good English. She had been the tutor of Tolstoi’s grandchildren – her passion was Russian literature. I had to go word by word, using my Russian-English dictionary, but I found that I was reading the work with wonderful concentration. I fancied that I got further into its soul.

I inherited my grandfather’s interlinear New Testament and was so enthralled with it that I bought myself an interlinear Old Testament. Reynolds Price, in his book of essays, A Palpable God, explained why, as a novelist, he decided to translate some parts of the Bible, knowing no Greek or Hebrew. He convinced me to do the same. Scholars have suggested that some of the psalms might have been written by a woman in King David’s court. I looked for one that seemed to be from a woman’s point of view, chose 139, and using my interlinear Old Testament and, aided by commentaries, I translated it. Even though I was faithful to the text, I could give it a spin, emphasizing what a woman thinks of her body. I better understood the rhythm, form and certainly the meaning of the psalm.

My friend Jo-Anne Elder has published a book of short stories as well as poetry and essays, but she is better known as a translator. Two of her translations of Acadian literature have been nominated for Governor General’s Awards. How do juries choose between translations of very different kinds of books? Do they look for those that are unusually faithful to the original or for those that read as though they were originally written in the new language?

Herménégilde Chiasson invented a brilliant poetic form in his Beatitudes, hundreds of lines beginning “those who;” the reader supplies the “blessed are.” Elder translates one as “those who sing at the top of their lungs during storms.” Is the rhythm of the line as good in French, presenting the same vivid picture?

Elder at first translated Acadian poetry in collaboration with the poet Fred Cogswell. Cogswell told me that translating was like doing a crossword puzzle, a good activity while he was watching a baseball game. I’m sure it’s not that easy.

For my The Writing on the Wall project at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Nela Rio’s Spanish poem was translated into French by Elder and poet Rose Després and into English by Hugh Hazelton. Elder wrote me, “I noticed (I think!) that Hugh took a couple of liberties, so I did, too, for the rhythm, which was so strong in the poem. I’ve tried to make it contemplative, because that’s how I heard it.”

The NotaBle Acts theatre festival of New Brunswick plays opened with On and Off the Shelf, an Acadian play by Marcel-Romain Thériault translated by Elder. Translating plays must present a different set of problems from translating poetry. The dialogue has to sound authentic and yet has to convey more meaning than real speech does. The original title is Disponibles en librairie – “available at bookstores.” Why the change? The question is often asked: “What got lost in translation?” Even if you’ve learned another language so well you can translate it into your mother language, can you ever know the nuances and the emotions associated with words and phrases that a child learns instinctively? I frequently weep in church when we sing a hymn that was part of my childhood but never weep when we sing those I’ve been singing at Wilmot United for 44 years.

When I read Marquez, I am getting plot and characterization but not his actual words. We say that Shakespeare is all about language, but his plays have always been revered in other tongues. I think it must be that languages other than our own, although incomprehensible to us when spoken, have an essence we recognize.

Nancy Bauer is an arts columnist who lives in Fredericton. She can be reached at wbauer@nbnet.nb.ca.

Source: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/salon/article/747157

LACMA learns to tweet en Español

Today, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art officially went bilingual on Twitter.

The museum launched a Twitter account, @enLACMA, that will provide Spanish-language tweets to online users. “We were looking for new ways for Spanish speakers to engage in the museum, and this is the next natural step,” said museum spokeswoman Allison Agsten.

LACMA’s tweets will be written in English for its original Twitter account, @LACMA, then will be translated into Spanish. The translation will be overseen by Marietta Torriente de León, a special-event planner at the museum, who also will monitor the account throughout the day. “Twitter is a conversation, so it’s critical that a staff member is there to respond,” Agsten said.

The museum said it tweets an average of three or four times a day and has been on Twitter since January.

So far, Culture Monster hasn’t found any other U.S. museums tweeting in Spanish. We talked to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, which tweets only in English. MOLAA said most of its online followers are bilingual and prefer to receive communication in English.

Let us know if you come across any U.S. museums that have gone bilingual on Twitter. And while you’re at it, follow us on Twitter: @culturemonster.

— David Ng

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/07/lacma-learns-to-tweet-en-espa%C3%B1ol.html

3 more schools add bilingual immersion programs

The popularity of dual-language classes in Ventura County schools continues to grow, with three schools starting programs this fall.

Ventura Unified School District started a two-way immersion kindergarten class at Montalvo School about a decade ago. Five more dual-language programs have since come online at elementary and middle schools in Camarillo, Rio, Hueneme and Ventura.

In the fall, three more campuses are expected to be added to the list. Classes are set to start at Tierra Vista in the Ocean View School District; Juan Soria, a new campus in the Oxnard School District, and at Will Rogers in Ventura, which will start the district’s first schoolwide program.

“I think parents throughout the state recognize the value of having their kids be bilingual and biliterate. It’s a huge advantage,” said Associate Superintendent Roger Rice of the Ventura County Office of Education.

The county office plans to start regular meetings in the fall, bringing educators in the dual-language programs together to share best practices, Rice said.

All the local programs are offered in Spanish and English, and in most cases, classes are split evenly between native English and native Spanish speakers. The schools differ, however, in some aspects, including the amount of time students in the programs spend learning in each language.

“We’re really excited,” said Ocean View Assistant Superintendent Marcia Turner. Tierra Vista will have two dual-immersion kindergarten classes this fall, Turner said. Classes will have about one-third Spanish-speakers, one-third English-speakers and one-third bilingual students.
May attract students, funding

District and school officials had planned to reach out to the community with an information campaign to fill the available spots. But after announcing the move at the spring open house, families signed up, filling every seat.

In Ventura, the first class of two-way immersion students at Montalvo will move to high school this fall, having finished immersion classes at Anacapa Middle School. Many already have met college entrance requirements for foreign language studies.

“We knew there was plenty of interest to have a second program,” said Jennifer Robles, a bilingual education director for Ventura schools. This year, about 20 families were on a waiting list at Montalvo School.

Those students were offered a spot at Will Rogers, which will have dual-immersion in all four of its kindergarten classes this August.

Each year, as students move up a class, a grade level will be added to the program.

With the state’s fiscal crisis prompting layoffs and other cuts at local districts, officials said some might question why schools would start new programs. Dual-immersion doesn’t cost the district more money to run than current programs, Robles said, and it benefits students.

Turner said Ocean View officials think it might eventually bring more funding to the district by attracting more students.

Teaching students in Spanish began to disappear in California public schools after voters approved Proposition 227 in 1998, which banned bilingual education unless parents of English learners sign a yearly waiver consenting to the class.
Families see benefit

In two-way or dual-immersion programs, English learners and speakers learn two languages, unlike some bilingual programs in which native Spanish speakers learn in Spanish only until they master English.

Families want their kids to learn a second language while keeping their first language, Robles said, and the dual-immersion programs allow that to happen.

Carlos Avila’s daughter Penelope, 5, will start kindergarten at Will Rogers in August.

“I want her to know that it’s OK to speak a different language,” Avila said. His parents were fluent in English and Spanish, but he learned Spanish only by taking classes in school.

He took part in a student exchange program in Spain. There, he said, children are encouraged to learn multiple languages, unlike the culture he has experienced in the United States.

Because of his family’s Spanish-speaking history, Avila loves that his daughter will learn Spanish and English. But, he added, “I would love to see (programs) not just in Spanish but other languages, too.”

Source: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jul/15/3-more-schools-add-bilingual-immersion-programs/

Hispanics have a wild card to play

Did you know that Hispanics are less impacted by the recession, and their overall outlook about the condition of our economy is more optimistic? They are also more avid shoppers and have a tendency to react better to TV advertising than the general population. The Hispanic consumer is able to rebound quicker to trends than their non-Hispanic counterparts. In other words, they are prime prospects in today’s troubled marketplace.

Years ago in junk mail, we discovered that many Spanish-speaking potential customers wanted to be contacted in their native language, so linguists were hired in the copy-writing field to translate junk mail offers into Spanish. It worked gangbusters, and the concept has once again been confirmed by a study done on Hispanics for Univision Communications, the premier Spanish-language media company in the U.S.

Here are some figures you probably did not know. Just 45 percent of Hispanics carry credit cards compared to 71 percent for non-Hispanics. And even a lesser amount take out loans, only 34 percent versus 53 percent for non-Hispanics. They shop more frequently than non-Hispanics, take more brand prescriptions, and pay more attention to advertising. Univision says that marketers have determined recently that Hispanic sales have outdone non-Hispanic sales.

The buying power of the Hispanic community is growing at a rate 50 percent faster than non-Hispanic, and Univision predicts it will hit $1 trillion by 2010. Some of the reasons might be that Hispanics are more optimistic about their finances by almost 10 percentage points, the same margin being optimistic about the economy. About twice as many Hispanics rent their home compared to non-Hispanic, therefore, less are affected by the wave of foreclosures.

On the surface, it looks like Hispanics are better able to manage their finances, and more prominent in the marketplace as shoppers than non-Hispanics. So why isn’t the Hispanic community using this buying power to negotiate better rights for their families and friends? They made a good start in the 2008 Presidential election as they got out the vote that gave Barack Obama a margin of 56 percent over John McCain’s 41 percent in Arizona. Nationwide it was 67 percent Obama, 31 percent McCain.

Hispanics cast 9.7 million votes in 2008 (7.3%) out of 132.6 million voters nationally. There were 19.5 million eligible Hispanic voters in 2008, and less than 50 percent of those registered to vote actually went to the polls. You’ll have to do better than that, even though the total turnout was only 56.8 percent. You’ll have to beat the general population if you want to make your point and convince this Congress that you are serious about your rights. In Arizona, Hispanics represent 13 percent of the vote.

On July 2, I did an article on why Republican dominance is on its way out in Arizona, “The elephant has left the room Arizona so you’d better get used to it,” that emphasized the new Independent voter impact—more Democrat, more moderate—as well as the increase in the Hispanic vote. Washington, D.C. think Tank, NDN, believes Hispanic voters could turn Arizona into a Blue state.

A comment from the above article asked me to define a “fair” immigration law, and inquired why I skirted the word amnesty. Maybe the day has come for Hispanic activists to join together and “define” exactly what they would consider a “fair” immigration bill and take their thoughts to Congress as a unified group that represents all Hispanics. The current situation is not one we will be able to contain much longer.

By: Jack Dunning

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-7834-Phoenix-News-You-Can-Use-Examiner~y2009m7d6-Hispanics-have-a-wild-card-to-play

Translators Wanted at LinkedIn. The Pay? $0 an Hour.

About half of the 42 million members of LinkedIn, the online professional networking Web site, are outside the United States, and to further expand internationally, the company hopes to be translated into more than its current four languages — English, Spanish, French and German. But when LinkedIn asked thousands of its translator members to complete a survey this month that asked whether they would consider volunteering to translate the site into other languages, many said “nyet.”

Chris Irwin, who lives outside London, was irked by the third multiple-choice question, which asked what “incentive” translators would prefer, with five nonmonetary choices including an upgraded LinkedIn account and none (“because it’s fun”). Mr. Irwin checked a sixth choice, “Other,” typing in that he would prefer cash. In a phone interview, Mr. Irwin said he was surprised that LinkedIn “would have the effrontery to ask for a professional service for free.”

Another translator, Matthew Bennett, who is based in Murcia in Spain, started a group on LinkedIn for those annoyed by the survey, and it swelled to about 300.

Some translators are upset because LinkedIn showed “an enormous amount of disrespect towards them and their work from a networking site for professionals where ‘relationships matter,’ ” wrote Mr. Bennett on his personal blog, referring to one of LinkedIn’s marketing slogans.

But LinkedIn insists that the interpreters are, well, misinterpreting.

Nico Posner, the LinkedIn product manager who circulated the survey, declined to be interviewed but in a post to Mr. Bennett’s group wrote that the survey was not asking translators to volunteer per se. He said he was trying to find out whether they would consider “crowd sourcing,” borrowing the term applied to companies like Wikipedia that rely on volunteers’ collective wisdom.

“While I realize that many professionals in the translation and localization field will not be interested in participating in a crowd sourcing opportunity on LinkedIn,” Mr. Posner wrote, others “would welcome an opportunity to volunteer some of their time and skills towards translating the LinkedIn site and highlight their professional work on their LinkedIn profile, not only for pride and glory, but hopefully to land more paid work.”

In a post on LinkedIn’s company blog, Mr. Posner added that thousands of respondents said they would volunteer, especially if credited on the site.

“I didn’t feel cheapened or exploited at all when they asked,” said Erika Baker, of North Somerset, England. “I just thought, ‘Wow what an opportunity.’ ” A translator for more than 15 years, Ms. Baker said that she had rarely been credited as she would be on the LinkedIn project and that she was certain it would bring in paying work.

“These are new ways of marketing, and the Internet is really the way to go,” Ms. Baker said.

Recently a group of illustrators took umbrage when Google asked them to provide free artwork to feature on its Chrome browser; Google countered that it was offering free exposure and that dozens of other artists had signed on.

In 2007, Facebook asked volunteers to offer translations of the standard explanatory language throughout the site into more than 20 languages, with translators voting among themselves for preferred verbiage. Some faulted the company, saying it was shortchanging translators.

But Nataly Kelly, a former Spanish translator who is an analyst at Common Sense Advisory, a research firm that studies how companies translate, said that Facebook’s critics had missed the big picture.

“It would have been far cheaper for Facebook to pay translators 10 cents a word to translate material than to build a community and pay engineers to set up all this infrastructure,” said Ms. Kelly, who volunteered on the Facebook project herself, casting a vote on such head-scratchers as what to call the Facebook profile “wall,” since in Spanish there are different words for interior and exterior walls.

Web sites may expand using volunteer translators, but they often also pay for work, not only in editing and proofreading the volunteers’ efforts, but also in translating content that requires less local flavor and more legal precision, like privacy policies, Ms. Kelly said.

But Ms. Kelly is sympathetic to translators, who “are often taken advantage of and paid late if at all,” and said LinkedIn had acted undiplomatically.

“It might have been more appropriate for LinkedIn to make it very clear what kind of process this was, and the fact that they employ full-time translators, to appease the fears of translators,” Ms. Kelly said. “That would have prevented a lot of the backlash.”

By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/technology/start-ups/29linkedin.html?ref=business

Lost in translation: Latinos and the bilingual divide

What’s best for Latino students who struggle with English? Should they be taught through bilingual education or are English-only programs the way to go? The answer for a school district in Charlotte, N.C., seems to be a strong combination of both.

At the Collinswood Language Academy (kindergarten through sixth grade) students spend half their day learning subjects like math and science in Spanish and the other half being taught history and social studies in English. The program has been around for a decade and in Charlotte, home to a huge influx of Latinos, it is in great demand.

Experts with opposing views will point you to separate research and data that argue whether English-only or bilingual education is the way to go. Although they may never agree, what’s clear is that Latino students continue to struggle to even graduate from high school. And while educators continue the debate over English only, Latino numbers in higher education remain dismal.

From NBC correspondent Miguel Almaguer

Source: http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/17/1968748.aspx

White House Preparing To Launch Web Site In Spanish

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The White House is preparing to launch a Spanish-language version of its Web site, Whitehouse.gov, by the end of the year, according to the company doing its recruiting.

Earlier this week, Rock Creek Strategic Marketing sent out four job postings that, when filled, will expand the first White House Office of New Media by almost 50%. In addition to a video editor, Web writer and designer, the White House is looking for a Spanish-language writer and producer, according to the ads.

“They’re hoping that by the end of the year – if not sooner – they can have a Spanish-language version of Whitehouse.gov launched,” said Scott Johnson, co-owner of Rock Creek Strategic Marketing, a Washington-area communications firm.

The White House authorized his company to begin gathering candidates to help expand the new-media office from its current size of roughly 10 employees, he said.

“These people for the most part have been on the campaign trail with Obama for up to two years,” Johnson said. “They eat poorly and sleep intermittently. These guys are not just in there punching the clock – they are passionate about what they’re doing.”

Would-be hires should be prepared, the ad warns: “Long work hours and short deadlines will be the norm.”

The White House hasn’t made an official announcement about a Spanish-language edition of the White House Web site. Currently, the site has only biographies of the president, vice-president and their wives translated into Spanish.

“The president and the administration use new Web-based tools to keep the public updated on important issues, promote transparency, and provide opportunities for meaningful engagement,” an administration official said. “We are constantly looking at ways we can strengthen and expand the White House’s online program.”

In late February, Obama appointed Macon Phillips as his director of new media. Previously Phillips supervised online communications during the transition and developed Change.gov, according to a White House statement.

Appointed at the same time, Deputy New Media Director Cammie Croft also worked in both the transition and campaign, where she managed the Web sites FighttheSmears.com and UndertheRadar.com. And the White House recently borrowed Bev Godwin, now director of online resources, from the U.S. General Services Administration, where she runs the Web site USA.gov.

“Did you know your government may be cooler and more approachable than you think?” Godwin wrote May 21 on the White House’s blog, The Briefing Room. “It really is. I know. I work here.”

-By Kristina Peterson, Dow Jones Newswires

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090611-715461.html

Credit union staff learning to speak Spanish

In the basement below United Educational Credit Union’s lobby on Riverside Drive, nine employees commit to memory the phrases, “This is a deposit slip,” and, “How can I help you?” in Spanish.

Some of its credit union tellers, asset managers and maintenance staff were learning a few banking-related phrases to help bridge language and cultural barriers for potential clients who do not speak English fluently.

“It won’t be perfect, but we are definitely making an effort,” said Joan Miller, an executive assistant who presented the 2009 marketing plan to her employers. “We think it will be a mutual benefit to both.”

Most Spanish-speaking residents in Battle Creek are from Mexico, where personal banking is not as common or accessible as it is in the United States, said Yolanda Campos, who is leading the eight-week language course.

Instead of opening a savings account where their money can earn interest, many people chose to carry their money with them or keep it at home. They tend to turn to predatory lenders offering high-interest-rate loans and check service centers that charge exorbitant fees, said Kate Kennedy, Latino/Hispanic Community Project director.

“They are very unbanked for the most part and use a cash economy,” Kennedy said. “They’ll pay $30,000 down for a house — in cash.”

About five or six years ago, local banks started to realize the potential for new business in the Mexican-American community and began hiring bilingual staff who could help people apply for tax identification numbers. The nine-digit number acts like a social security number for non-citizens who want to open a savings account, Kennedy explained.

“Still a lot of people are tending to use cash,” she said.

Kennedy said United Educational has done more than any other credit union in Battle Creek to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community. It is promoting a bilingual staff member, Elizabeth Hurtado, from part-time to full-time and it is planning to hire another part-time, bilingual staff member as well, Miller said.

“Quite honestly that’s what’s going to attract people,” said Kennedy, who has worked with Hurtado on the Latino/Hispanic Community Project. “They’ll seek Elizabeth out.”

But often the first contact potential clients have is with a teller, so it is prudent that the member services representative at least know how to say in Spanish, “Wait, I’ll get a translator.”

The students joke that after six classes the only phrases they know by heart are “nada” and “no comprendo,” but they say learning about Mexican culture has proven to be an enlightening experience. They won’t make the mistake of forming an “OK” symbol with their thumb and forefinger touching with fingers extended, they said, because they learned that the gesture can be offensive.

They also have learned that the husband typically handles finances for the family. They have become familiar with geographic names of states in Mexico and their proper pronunciation.

“You’re eventually going to see people from all of these states,” Campos told the class.

They certainly hope so.

Source: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040320/1002/NEWS01/Credit+union+staff+learning+to+speak+Spanish