Photo: BBC
By: Brianna Quinonez Being fluent in multiple languages can open many doors for the dedicated speaker. It can range from advancement in their careers to simply helping another person who is in need of a translator. Translators help the world go round—especially when the person in need of linguistic help speaks a language few in the world can understand. It is well known that many people from around the world, and especially in Latin America, risk their lives daily so that they can achieve their dream of spending their lives in the United States of America. Those who wish to enter illegally, or in a non-approved way, are detained in immigration centers with lawyers that are most commonly fluent in English and Spanish. For those who speak indigenous languages, help must be derived from the origins of those languages themselves, like Guatemala. According to BBC, Ericka Guadalupe Vásquez Flores is a translator that assists lawyers in the United States so that they can understand what the immigrants are trying to say. A group of translators quickly sprung up for those who were detained for months since they couldn’t even communicate basic statements or requests. Some of the most common indigenous languages dealt with in the detention centers are Mam & Quiché—those of which are derived from the Mayan language. According to Ominigolot, the two languages are spoken by Guatemalans in the highlands, but range up to 890,000 speakers in the world which are all based in the region. According to Mayan Families, indigenous people from Guatemala are discriminated against when it comes to their work life and yearly income as they are “making on average about half of what non-indigenous workers earn.” With this said, it’s no wonder why many risk it all to come to a country where all cultures and shades of skin work under the same sun with equal opportunity for success. While there is no definite answer as to how to deal with the overflowing of the detention centers with people eager to reach American soil, it can definitely be said that a bond is created when the voice of someone in need of help is finally heard and understood.
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