It is important to provide materials in the language used by your participants or offer a live human language translator so that they may fully experience the event or program.

Language Interpretation and Translation

Ask Yourself

• Do you have multiple languages represented throughout your event?

Recommended Practices

Live Human Language Translator/Interpreter

Offer a live human to translate in the language used by our participants and the community. The University of Iowa has used Hands Up Communication out of Cedar Rapids for translation services.

Materials Provided in the Language Used by Your Participants

Be sure you have created multilingual signage for services provided at your event – university rooms, breastfeeding, child minding, Sign Language, captioning, interpreters, caterings, language translation, etc.

Zoom Language Interpretation Set up

The Language interpretation feature on Zoom allows the interpreters to provide their own audio channels for the language they are translating to and for Sign Language an separate window so the participate can see both the interpreter and the Zoom meeting session. Attendees can then select the audio channel to hear the translated audio in their language of choice, as well as the option to mute the original audio instead of hearing it at a lower volume in their chosen language.

Zoom’s guide to using language interpretation 

Microsoft Word Language Translation

• Translate text into a different language (microsoft.com)
• Language support – Translator – Azure Cognitive Services | Microsoft Docs
• Check spelling and grammar in a different language (microsoft.com)

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