Three Life-Saving Uses of Phone Interpreters

If you or someone you know will be in a country where you aren't fluent in the native language, consider bringing along a prepaid interpreter card from OneTranslator.com. These cards provide pay-as-you-go interpretation between English and a number of other languages, and keeping one in your wallet might just save your life.

Use #1: Medical Emergencies
If you are sick or injured in a foreign country (including America, if you don't speak much English), you need to make sure you get the right treatment. If your illness or injury is critical, every second can count! Bringing a prepaid interpreter card with you is a good way to make sure that you will understand what's going on, and that your doctors and nurses will be able to understand you. Cards work from any phone, so you can use a hospital phone or a cell phone to connect to an interpreter.

Use #2: Transportation and Taxis
Airplanes, trains, buses, and taxis can be difficult enough to navigate without a language barrier, but what happens when you need to change a flight and you don't share a language with the service agent? Or if your luggage is lost in a foreign country? What if you need an emergency taxi but don't speak fluently enough to tell the driver where to go? OneTranslator's services are perfect for any of these situations; once you get an interpreter on the phone, you'll be back on the road in no time.

Use #3: Public Emergencies, Disasters, and Other Unforeseen Events
Even something as small as a power outage can be frightening if you don't speak the language well enough to know what's going on. What about a flood, fire, or earthquake? What if a political rally is taking place and you are questioned by the police -- in a foreign language? Just connect to a OneTranslator interpreter and communicate with confidence. Once when I was traveling, I encountered a complete transportation strike; bus and taxi services were shut down, but I was 3 miles from my hotel in an unfamiliar city, late at night. If I had been carrying a OneTranslator card, it might not have taken me 3 hours to find my way back to my hotel with bits of misunderstood directions from helpful strangers!

OneTranslator outshines pocket translation tools or books in emergency situations because it provides you with instant access to a fluent speaker of your needed language. You don't have to worry about your accent or vocabulary, and you definitely don't have to hunt for the words you need (or try to talk through hand gestures). If you will be in a situation where a language barrier could arise, bring a OneTranslator card along to keep your travel worry-free.

New! OneTranslator.com Prepaid Interpreter Service

I'm excited to present the newest member of the Universal Calling family: OneTranslator.com. OneTranslator is a prepaid, on-demand service that provides over-the-phone interpretation for Arabic, Bengali (Bangla), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

OneTranslator is ideal for anyone with international clients or business partners since all calls are secure and private, and the team of interpreters are familiar with terminology for most industries. It's also a great way for travelers and exchange students to build their confidence (and avoid emergencies). Anyone with limited English knowledge can benefit from OneTranslator, especially in medical emergencies and other situations when clear communication is critical. I know that my circle of international friends and business associates has expanded greatly over the past few years, and I'm sure it will continue to grow - a tool like OneTranslator is a great weapon against the language barrier.

OneTranslator is quick and simple to use. Just dial your OneTranslator access number, enter your PIN, and choose the language for which you need interpretation. Your interpreter will be connected to your call within seconds. You can even set up PINless dialing on your account to shorten your dialing time! You can call from any phone, even a cell phone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rates start at just $2.49 a minute, with no connection fees or other additional charges (except maybe payphone or carrie charges, but hey, we can't control those).

Here are some quick tips for getting the most out of your OneTranslator interpreter:

• Once you are connected, give the interpreter your name and the non-English speakers name. The interpreter is only allowed to give you their name.
• Tell the interpreter whether or not the non-English speaker is already on the phone line, or if you will need to dial their number to add them to a three-way conference call. The interpreters can't place connecting calls for you.
• If the non-English speaker is with you but you are not using a speakerphone, tell the interpreter that you will be passing the phone back and forth.
  
• Speak clearly in short phrases, pausing to allow for the interpretation.
• Ask one question at a time.
• Use simple language to express your meaning. Remember - slang does not translate.
• Explain any terms you believe may be unclear.
• Allow the interpreter to stop you and seek an explanation when necessary and to repeat back to you any critical information that requires clarification.
• Don't say anything that you do not want interpreted.

Let us know what uses you find for OneTranslator's language services! We'll be sharing lots more stories soon.