Company Offers the Only Spanish Video Relay Service with Professionally Rated Spanish-Speaking Interpreters
Salt Lake City, UT-- March 26, 2007—Sorenson Communications(TM), the nation's leading provider of video relay services (VRS) for the deaf and hard-of-hearing who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate, today announced that it is offering Sorenson VRS(R) Espanol 24/7. Sorenson is the industry's only service that offers trilingual interpreters fluent in English, ASL, and Berlitz professionally-rated spoken Spanish. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals can now use Sorenson VRS Espanol to place the equivalent of a phone call to any hearing individual who speaks Spanish.
The company's landmark offering, Sorenson VRS Espanol, allows deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to conduct free video relay calls through a qualified ASL interpreter using a Sorenson videophone, television, and high-speed Internet connection. The new service offers qualified ASL interpreters who are fluent in spoken Spanish and have been evaluated by Berlitz for their spoken Spanish proficiency. When placing a call with the new service, a deaf or hard-of-hearing user sees the interpreter on a TV screen and communicates in sign language with him or her while the interpreter contacts the Spanish-speaking hearing user via a standard telephone. A trilingual interpreter relays the conversation between the two parties. Sorenson VRS Espanol is available in the United States and its territories. ASL interpretation is provided with this new service; however, Spanish Sign Language interpretation is not provided.
Leonel F., from Austin, TX, notes, "I am deaf so I use American Sign Language to communicate. When I moved in 1990, I did not have much contact with my family because they all live in other cities, are not fluent in ASL, and are all Spanish-speaking. Now, with Sorenson VRS Espanol, I am able to sign ASL to a trilingual interpreter who then communicates my message in spoken Spanish to my family. Now I can call my brother in Las Vegas or my sister in New York any time and have a conversation. This is a wonderful service!"
"Sorenson Communications' mission is to provide the highest quality video relay services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community," says Chris Wakeland, vice president of interpreting for Sorenson Communications. "Now we offer Sorenson VRS Espanol to our customers 24/7.
"Berlitz Languages, Inc. provides oral testing to assess the Spanish language comprehension and speaking skills of all Sorenson VRS Espanol interpreters. By using the Berlitz test, we are able to effectively rate the proficiency level of our Sorenson VRS Espanol interpreters, resulting in an optimal experience," adds Wakeland. "Since Berlitz is the foremost expert on language aptitude, they were our first choice for implementing our rating system to meet the high standards required to be a Sorenson VRS Espanol interpreter."
Click here to download the Sorenson VRS data sheet: www.sorenson.com/press/docs/VRS_DATASHEET.pdf
Click here to download the Sorenson VRS equipment application: www.sorensonvrs.com/media/VRS_Application.pdf
About Berlitz, Inc.
Berlitz Languages, Inc., headquartered in Princeton, N.J., is the world's premier language services firm. Founded by Maximilian D. Berlitz in 1878, Berlitz has been helping people learn languages for over 125 years. Berlitz has millions of successful alumni, and offers language and cultural programs for adults and children as well as corporate training programs, which can be customized toward training goals.
The time-proven principles of the Berlitz Method(R), a unique conversational "direct method," are constantly supplemented with new and updated information and the latest multimedia and technology-enhanced methodologies, providing expertise in language training, cultural consulting, testing and proficiency assessment services, which are available face-to-face or live online. For more information visit www.berlitz.us.
About Sorenson Communications
Sorenson Communications(TM) (www.sorenson.com) is a provider of industry-leading communication offerings including Sorenson Video Relay Service (Sorenson VRS(R)), the company's line of videophones, Sorenson IP Relay(TM) (siprelay), and Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting(TM) (VRI). Sorenson VRS (www.sorensonvrs.com) enables deaf and hard-of-hearing callers who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate, to conduct video relay conversations with hearing friends, business colleagues, and family members through a qualified ASL interpreter. Sorenson Communications was the first company to offer a videophone appliance specifically designed for deaf individuals. Sorenson IP Relay (www.siprelay.com) allows deaf and hard-of-hearing users to place instant text-based relay calls from a PC or mobile device to any telephone user. Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting(TM) (www.sorensonvri.com) is a fee-based video interpreting service ideal for use in situations where an interpreter cannot be physically present to interpret between hearing and deaf individuals who are at the same location.
(C) 2007 Sorenson Communications. All products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
