Milton Keynes needs more interpreters

2.24.00pm GMT Sun 10th Dec 2006

TWI or not to twi that is the question for the Milton Keynes Community Language Service on the hunt for interpreters to deal with the influx of new cultures to the town.

The service helps newcomers to Milton Keynes deal with everyday needs from housing to medical and legal issues but since 1999 has expanded rapidly from offering 35 languages and dialects to more than 66 today.

Now the Milton Keynes council-run service is keen to recruit new interpreters in key languages including Twi (a Ghanian dialect), Japanese, Polish, German, Thai, Kurdish, Latvian, Lingala, Pushtu, Tamil, Somali and Vietnamese..

Demand for East European languages is the fastest growing area with interpreters needed to meet demand next year in Bulgarian, Lithuanian, and Polish - the most in demand.

Gloria Drew, MKCLS co-ordinator and Spanish speaker, has just completed training 22 new interpreters in languages ranging from Bengali to Polish and Lingala. She said: "The biggest change we have seen recently is the need to offer our services to people form the East European Countries.

"Our services are in great demand and we often are needed to help at doctor's surgeries and at Milton Keynes Hospital as well as in the courts."

Cllr Euan Henderson, council cabinet member responsible for community services, said: "Can you imagine how frightening it must be if you are in a foreign land and are ill but cannot tell anyone what is wrong. That is one reason why the language service is important to help us fulfil our role of making sure we have a truly inclusive community that is fair to all."

The most regularly used foreign languages in Milton Keynes according to latest service usage figures are Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Somali, Swahili, Tamil and Urdu. In addition, the service also offers sign language services.