What languages are most frequently used?
By far the most often used language in the U.S. is Spanish, but the courts require dozens of other languages as well. Frequency of use of a given language in a given area naturally varies in proportion to the population that speaks that language. In population centers like New York City, interpreters of perhaps a dozen different languages are needed daily. In the federal court in Manhattan, where this writer works, Spanish accounts for about 70% of our case load. The remaining 30% is dominated by Asian languages, particularly Cantonese, Mandarin, and Foozhou. In total we use interpreters of about fifteen to twenty different languages per month. The collection and reporting of reliable statistics regarding interpreter usage is essential to the management of court interpreting services. Unfortunately, it is also a huge problem, because methods of defining and counting interpreter cases vary from court to court, and in some instances the record-keeping is sloppy or nonexistent.
