The Brazilian constitution has gained its first ever official translation into an Indigenous language, in what has been hailed as a historic moment for the country and its native populations.
The translation into Nheengatu was unveiled on Wednesday in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a town deep in the Amazon, in a ceremony attended by Brazilian authorities and Indigenous leaders.
“Today is a milestone in our country’s constitutional history,” said Rosa Weber, the chief justice of the supreme court, which acts as the guardian of the constitution.
Brazil’s Indigenous movement played an active role in enshrining the recognition and protection of their culture and way of life in the 1988 constitution, which was drafted by an elected constituent assembly as the country emerged from a two-decades-long military dictatorship.
But until now, Indigenous Brazilians have never been able to read up on their constitutional rights in a language of their own. Also known as the Amazonian general language, Nheengatu is the only living modern version of Tupi and a lingua franca used to communicate between different groups in the Amazon.
Brazil’s national justice council coordinated the work of translation, which was carried out by a group of 15 bilingual Indigenous people from the Alto Río Negro and Médio Tapajós regions.
“We are in a country of immense diversity, and I don’t hear our languages [spoken] in our spaces. We need to be involved. Before being Indigenous, we are people who have a right to respect,” said Inory Kamari, one of the translators.
Brazil’s more than 305 ethnic groups speak 274 Indigenous languages, but only Portuguese is considered an official language.
Judicial authorities present in São Gabriel da Cachoeira welcomed the publication of the translated constitution as an important step towards preserving Brazil’s cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as raising awareness around Indigenous rights and guaranteeing a fairer state.
“It’s a sign of esteem and respect for Indigenous language and culture,” said Weber.
“It’s progress from the judiciary, a recognition of our characteristics … It’s a way of guaranteeing access to information and justice,” said Dinamam Tuxá, an executive coordinator of the Indigenous umbrella movement Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. “We hope that one day all [Indigenous] languages will get a translation.”
Advocates noted, however, that the Indigenous translation of the magna carta will mean nothing without the application of the principles laid out in it.
Indigenous rights remain under constant assault in Brazil despite constitutional protections, a situation that worsened under former president Jair Bolsonaro and which the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration is struggling to reverse amid opposition from a conservative congress.
“Let the constitution not just be written, but put into practice,” said Joênia Wapichana, the first native Brazilian to head the country’s Indigenous affairs agency Funai.
"That said, the cost of living is getting pretty outrageous at the moment and here at The Deni D we hate fancy food, so we're just trying to remind Aussies that a humble devon sambo on white bread with lots of marge, beats some grilled halloumi with pickled sprouts and fermented zucchini on rye sourdough sandwich, any day of the week."
I live in a small college town in central Vermont, where during a normal academic year, the college provides ample opportunities for cultural enrichment: concerts, plays, films, lectures, and so on. But then came the pandemic: the students had been sent home, the library was closed (books could still be fetched for faculty, but there was no browsing or schmoozing). I found myself in need of a project.
After having translated over twenty Russian novels into English, including three major works by Dostoevsky (Notes from Underground, Devils, and Crime and Punishment), I decided to tackle Dostoevsky’s crowning achievement, his last and best novel, and one of the undisputed classics of world literature, The Brothers Karamazov. Who knew how long it would take or how long the pandemic would last?
I first read Brothers when I was a high school student, puzzling over profound, religious questions: is there a God? if so, why does evil exist? And if not, how should we live our lives? I was studying the Russian language and had begun reading the great works of its literature in translation.
Karamazov was an ambitious choice for a fifteen-year-old, but one that spoke directly to the questions that mattered to me. As a non-observant Jew, I was overwhelmed by the Devil’s temptation of Christ in the wilderness, imagined anew in the famous scene with the Grand Inquisitor (Book Five).
Now, after many years of thinking, writing, and teaching about Dostoevsky’s final novel to many different audiences, I find myself just as awed by that section, and quite taken by the entire book. It speaks to me and deals with the questions that I wrestle with in my profession and in my own life. Dostoevsky once wrote that his faith was “tempered in the furnace of doubt.” So was (is?) mine!
Of course, the novel had been translated previously, once by the indefatigable Constance Garnett, who translated more than seventy works of Russian literature into serviceable English, beginning in the early 1910s; and by the popular Anglo-Russian pair, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, who had been translating many Russian novels since the early 1990s. But I planned to do my best.
I chose not to follow the translations of my predecessors; however, on occasion I did engage with them critically, especially in the particularly complex passages.
I chose not to follow the translations of my predecessors; however, on occasion I did engage with them critically, especially in the particularly complex passages, believing that literary translation is in reality an enterprise in which a translator builds on the work of his/her predecessors. If Garnett could come up with the perfect English counterpart, who was I to reject it and use a less appropriate phrase?
In my translations, I try to achieve an evenhanded position on the continuum of accuracy/accessibility, somewhat closer to my readers—namely, the general public and students in high schools and colleges. What elements have I tried to highlight in my own version of Dostoevsky’s masterpiece?
First of all, I try to do justice to the author’s dark sense of humor. The narrator himself maintains an ironic stance to the action of the novel, right from its very first lines. He uses impudent wit and sarcasm to paint a portrait of the “nice little family” living in the provincial town of Skotoprigonevsk (literally, a “stockyard.”)
In addition, the brothers’ dissolute father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, is an authentic buffoon. Each scene in which he plays a role winds up being a “skandal” (just what it sounds like), and undercuts the seriousness of the action.
Secondly, contemporary Russian draws upon two sources for its diction and syntax: so-called “Old Russian,” the spoken language of the East Slavs, and Old Church Slavic (or Slavonic), the language of the Orthodox Church, similar in a way to Latin and modern Italian. When Alyosha presents us with Zosima’s life and works in Book Six, or when he sees his miraculous dream during Father Zosima’s funeral in Book Seven, I tried to be mindful of this rich high-style source and render it with my own elevated language.
Translating Dostoevsky is different from rendering other authors into English. His prose is impassioned, fiery, and intense. Nothing in his novels ever happens “gradually” or “slowly.”
Finally, I have tried to distinguish between two kinds of repetition. It seems to me that the Russian ear is much more tolerant of repeated words and phrases than the Anglo-American ear. A literal translation of all the author’s repetitions would be too tedious.
I eliminated what I considered unnecessary repetition of words, including Russian names (first names, patronymics, and diminutive forms), and rely on pronouns, synonyms, and other devices to vary the word choice. On the other hand, I do retain essential repetitions, those that have semantic importance, such as the heart-rending “lacerations” (nadryvy), which comprise most of Book Four in the novel.
Translating Dostoevsky is different from rendering other authors into English. His prose is impassioned, fiery, and intense. Nothing in his novels ever happens “gradually” or “slowly.” His favorite adverb, frequently repeated in consecutive phrases, is “suddenly.” Similarly, his favorite adjective is “strange”: when he says something is strange, it is out of this world, beyond the range of common experience. These two examples provide quite a challenge for the faithful translator.
Although some translations can have a limited shelf life because their vocabulary grows obsolete and their syntax seems unnecessarily complex, I hope to have produced a version of The Brothers Karamazov that will engage the general public and students for some time to come.
May this new version last a good long time, and bring pleasure and usefulness (Horace’s dolce et utile) to its readers, and some genuine insight into the splendid culture of nineteenth-century Russia that produced it. As Dostoevsky himself added somewhat immodestly in the penultimate sentence (which I have taken out of context) of this magnificent novel: “Hurray for Karamazov!”
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The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoevsky as translated by Michael R. Katz is available via Liveright.
Debesjums, Edvīns Struka’s translation of The Welkin, at the Latvian National Theatre. Photo: Kristaps Kalns
Natasha Tripney talks to some of the continent’s leading translators about having creative and artistic latitude when translating work from one language to another while also retaining the meaning of the original text as closely as possible
Prof. Menahem Milson's New Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary was released digitally eight years ago and in print in Spring 2023 by the Hebrew University's Magnes Press. The dictionary, which is constantly updated, contains 45,000 entries, including words from the Quran, hadith, and other traditional Islamic sources, as well as words from contemporary Arabic. The dictionary has become the main Arabic dictionary used in universities and research centers throughout Israel. Leading Arabic experts have praised the dictionary for its comprehensiveness and its quality. Prof. Milson is emeritus professor of Arabic at the Hebrew University and has been MEMRI's academic adviser since its inception. MEMRI has been co-sponsoring the dictionary in partnership with the Hebrew University.
Today, Prof. Milson and a team from MEMRI and from the Hebrew University are working to transform the dictionary into an English-Arabic dictionary. In a recent review of Prof. Milson's dictionary, Tel Aviv University Professor Amir Lerner writes: "The dictionary is extremely accurate, at once scientific and user-friendly, up-to-date and generous to an extent that it approaches the dimensions of an Arabic encyclopedia. The vast knowledge accumulated in the dictionary is a treasure for the scholar as well as for the student of the language."
Below is a full translation of Prof. Lerner's review, titled "May God Curse the Cat[1]":
The New Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary By Menahem Milson, Magnes Press, Jerusalem, Israel, 2023
The 11th-century Muslim writer Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani cites a joke founded on admiration for the richness of the Arabic language, an erudite joke about the many words for "cat": "It is said that a son of the desert once caught a cat [sinawr in Arabic, similar to the noun shunra in Aramaic], but he did not know what it was. A man accosted him and asked: 'What is this sinawr?' And another man asked: 'What is this hirr?' [another word in Arabic for "cat"]. Someone else asked: 'What is this dhaiwan [as above]?' And another asked: 'What is this kitt [as above]?' The son of the desert said: 'I shall take it and sell it, and Allah will reward me generously.' And when he took it to the market, he was asked, 'How much?' and he replied 'A hundred'. And he was told, 'It is worth but half a dirham!' He immediately threw it away and said: 'May God curse the cat, how many are its names and how little is its usefulness.'"
This story belongs to a branch of ancient Arabic literature known as adab, belles lettres in high Arabic, where a curious person thirsty for knowledge could find a broad general education with plenty of entertaining interludes. Alongside it grew the branch of Arabic lexicography, which began its written path at the same time as the beginning of written prose, in the eighth century, and flourished throughout the Middle Ages. One of the prominent principles of medieval Arabic lexicography is the principle of the accumulation of knowledge. A sage cites sages before him and adds his own ideas, and thus, over the ages, layer upon layer of knowledge is piled up.
Outside of the Islamic and Arabic worlds, and mainly in Europe, a new methodology was developed for Arabic lexicography, whose humble beginnings date back to the Middle Ages, but mostly originated from the 19th century onwards, when many dictionaries of Arabic were compiled in European languages. At times they were summaries of a sort of ancient dictionaries compiled in the East, and I may mention in this regard the great lexicon compiled by the important Orientalist Edward William Lane.
But there were also those who charted new directions, such as the Dutch scholar of French origin, Reinhart Dozy, who focused on a relatively remote vocabulary, which was mostly excluded from early and late Arabic lexicography. Unlike the Muslim lexicographers of the Middle Ages, who were mainly interested in standard Arabic, fusha, and who made relatively rare comments on this or that word and the ways it was used among simple people in their living language, there were Western scholars who incorporated a large vocabulary of words from the spoken language into their dictionaries, for example the Algerian and the Moroccan in the dictionary of the French Arabicist of Polish origin Albert Kazimirski. There were also those who devoted entire dictionaries to presenting the vocabulary of spoken Arabic dialects, such as Socrates Spiro's dictionary of Egyptian Arabic, and later Adrien Barthelemy and his successor Claude Denizeau who preserved the Arabic spoken in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
As for Arabic lexicography in Israel, quite a few Arabic-Hebrew and Hebrew-Arabic dictionaries have been compiled here, but a dictionary reflects the life of a language, and Arabic is a living language that is developing at a dizzying pace, so a dictionary of contemporary Arabic compiled half a century ago will not include the developments in language that occurred after its publication. Today is therefore a day of rejoicing in Israel for lovers of Arabic and students of Islam, because a new, comprehensive Arabic-Hebrew dictionary has just been published.
The Dictionary Is Accurate, Scientific And User-Friendly, Up-To-Date And Generous To The Extent That It Approaches The Dimensions Of An Arabic Encyclopedia
On my desk lies a new thick and exquisite volume, The New Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary by Menahem Milson. This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary that anyone interested in the Arabic language here in Israel can use. It has approximately 45,000 entries, intelligently and meticulously arranged according to the Arabic alphabet of word roots, first their derivatives from the verb and then from the noun. These entries are accompanied by illuminating comments and expansions, examples and quotations from the Qur'an and ancient Arabic poetry, countless proverbs, explanations of the etymology and formation of words and the sources of phrases and idioms. The dictionary is extremely accurate, at once scientific and user-friendly, up-to-date and generous to an extent that it approaches the dimensions of an Arabic encyclopedia (which, in my opinion, is why this project should be continued). The vast knowledge accumulated in the dictionary is a treasure for the scholar as well as for the student of the language.
Along with its focus on the fresh vocabulary of modern Arabic, as used today in the media, press and literature, and even its frequent reference to words from the spoken Arabic language, attention is given to the Arabic layers of classical literature and early Islamic literature. In this way, an impressive panorama of the riches of Arabic unfolds before the user, in the manner delineated by the famous dictionary compiled by professors David Ayalon and Pesach Shinar (Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary of the New Arabic Language), which was the starting point of the present dictionary. Their work, first published by Magnes Press in 1947 and never out of print since then, has been used by generations upon generations of Arabic learners, but despite good intentions and various attempts it has never been updated. And indeed, at the start, Prof. Milson's intention was mainly to update it (with his partner at the beginning of the journey, the late Prof. Aryeh Levin, who retired from the project at an early stage).
Thus, an online dictionary was founded and the entries from the Ayalon-Shinar dictionary were typed into it, but in the process it became clear that the task of updating was impossible. The decades that passed since it was first printed and the developments in both Arabic and Hebrew, as well as in the world in general, in science, technology, etc. left the Ayalon-Shinar dictionary too outdated. Therefore, the intention to reissue it in an updated edition was finally abandoned and a new dictionary was decided upon. Since then, Menahem Milson and his team have been updating and expanding the online dictionary regularly, with dedication and professionalism, and now the new Arabic-Hebrew dictionary has finally been printed, a summation of everything that has been done so far on the online platform. It is to be hoped that unlike in the case of the Ayalon-Shinar dictionary, Magnes Press will consider printing an updated edition of Milson's dictionary every few years.
The Arabic language of the Middle Ages is a vast ocean that no one has fully encompassed, and it still has large undiscovered reaches. As knowledge about Arabic accumulates, there is sufficient justification for printing a new dictionary from time to time. This is all the more so when the events and processes that have affected Islam in the last decades and brought to life many words and expressions from early Islam are taken into account, to the point that there is a pressing need to present the layers of meaning of this old-new vocabulary. Moreover, contemporary Arabic continues to develop every moment, changing and diversifying with hundreds of millions of writers and speakers, and this must be accurately reflected in an up-to-date dictionary.
These are the challenges that Milson's dictionary faces, whose innovation lies in part in the way the material is collected, in that the members of the dictionary team knew how to climb onto the technology bandwagon and move steadily forward with it. The "digital humanities" allow a permanent and broad observation of contemporary Arabic and the collection and in-depth examination of the most up-to-date vocabulary. And as mentioned, Milson's online dictionary is constantly updated.
The new dictionary holds almost double the number of entries of the core Ayalon-Shinar dictionary. It is richer in every respect, and even its routine reference to the vocabulary of the spoken language (an important layer in the annals of a language) is an important, refreshing and useful addition. It is updated and immeasurably broader in this respect as well than Avraham Sharoni's comprehensive Arabic-Hebrew dictionary published in 1987, and from David Sagiv's dictionary of 2008.
"This is the way of all dictionaries. And no lexicographer may disregard his predecessors," wrote Prof. Moshe Goshen-Gottstein in the introduction to his dictionary (A New Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary) which was published (but not completed) in the 1970s. And so Menahem Milson's dictionary, as it paves new and important paths in the lexicography of Arabic in Hebrew and beyond, is deeply rooted in the great lexicographic work from the heyday of Arabic and Islam, and at its foundation, therefore, lies the genetic code of the essence of wisdom and of the principles of scholarship in language.
[1]Ha'aretz – Culture and Literature, June 30, 2023.
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In our six-part series on doping in triathlon, we examine every aspect of anti-drug efforts in our sport. For more in this series, read:
In our six-part series on doping in triathlon, we cover a lot of ground, from how anti-doping efforts work in triathlon to what those efforts might be missing. As you progress through our series, you might find yourself encountering new organizations or terminology for the first time. As such, we’ve put together your primer on the people, terms, and rules of triathlon’s anti-doping efforts.
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The major players
WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency, established in 1999 as an international independent agency leading cooperative efforts for drug-free sport across all nations.
NADO: National Anti-Doping Organization, a catchall term for the individual nations’ agencies designated as the primary organization for carrying out anti-doping efforts. Most countries have their own NADO – for example, the United States’s NADO is the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, or USADA.
Signatory: Any organization that signs the WADA code, agreeing to comply with the rules and procedures of anti-doping enforcement. This may be a NADO, a sport’s global or national federation (like World Triathlon or USA Triathlon) or a race organization, such as Ironman. However, not all races are WADA signatories – for example, the PTO or Super League Triathlon. For a list of all WADA signatories, see here.
ITA: International Testing Agency, an independent non-profit organization that can be contracted to carry out drug testing and results management – used by triathlon organizations like Ironman and World Triathlon.
Sporting Integrity, Ltd.: An independent consulting firm specializing in advising sporting organizations on anti-drug policies and procedures; utilized by the PTO.
Global DRO: Global Drug Reference Online, an online database of prohibited substances and administration methods used as a reference by athletes, coaches, and support staff.
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The lingo
Adverse Analytical Finding: One or more prohibited substances detected in a sample.
Athlete Biological Passport: A collection of blood and urine markers over time, analyzed through a mathematical model to discern patterns and variations that may indicate the use of illicit substances or methods.
Code: Shorthand for the WADA Code, a set of rules, regulations, and policies adopted in 2003 and designed to standardize anti-doping efforts across nations and organizations.
Chaperone: A person trained to assist a DCO (see below, doping control officer) with sample collection, whether through notifying an athlete, observing the sample collection process, or monitoring an athlete until they are able to provide a sample.
DBS: Dried Blood Spot testing, a blood-collection process involving a small puncture on a finger, heel or toe to obtain a small amount of blood, which is blotted and dried on paper. Is less invasive and more cost-effective than traditional venipuncture (collecting blood through a vein in the arm).
DCO: Doping control officer, or the person who notifies athletes of testing and carries out in- and out-of-competition sample collection.
Declaration of Use Documentation: A set of forms completed with every sample collection, in which the athlete must declare any and all medications, methods or supplements used in a specific time frame.
In-competition testing: A blood or urine sample collected between 11:59 p.m. on the day before a competition in which an athlete is scheduled to participate, through the end of the competition and the sample collection process related to the competition.
Out-of-competition testing: Testing at any time outside of the in-competition window.
RTP: Registered Testing Pool, or a list of high-priority athletes within an organization, such as World Triathlon or Ironman, who are subject to in-competition and out-of-competition drug testing.
SAFESystem: A sample collection kit used by USADA, with locking mechanisms, anonymous alphanumeric codes, security tags, and partial sample vaults to ensure the integrity of the sample until it is ready for processing.
Sample: Blood or urine collected for the purpose of testing for banned substances. The “A” sample is the first small volume extracted from the blood or urine for analysis; the rest, used for further testing (or “B” samples) is stored securely by the testing laboratory for a minimum of three months and up to ten years.
TUE: Therapeutic Use Exemption, an official document issued by WADA that allows an athlete to utilize a banned substance or prohibited method of administration for verified medical reasons (i.e., a prescription asthma inhaler).
Whereabouts: A set of rules for out-of-competition testing, in which athletes of a registered testing pool must provide anti-doping organizations with details of where they can be found for drug testing.
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Banned substances in triathlon
WADA’s Prohibited Substances and Methods List is used by signatories to indicate what substances and/or methods are prohibited in the sport, at what levels, and whether they are banned in competition only, or out of competition as well.
A substance or method is added to the WADA Prohibited List if the substance or method meets any two of the following three criteria:
It has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance
It represents an actual or potential health risk to the athlete
It violates the spirit of sport
S1: Anabolic Agents: Includes anabolic androgenic steroids (synthetic hormones similar to testosterone), prescribed medications like testosterone gels, and other anabolic agents such as Clenbuterol or selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) like Ostarine. Prohibited at all times.
S2: Peptides and Growth Factors: A category of substances that include Erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates the development of red blood cells; peptide hormones, or amino acids that stimulate growth and the release of specific hormones; and growth factors, which stimulate the growth of tissues. Prohibited at all times.
S3: Beta-2 Agonists: Medications – particularly, asthma medications (Ventolin, Albuterol) – which mimic epinephrine and norepinephrine. Some medications are allowed under certain dosage thresholds (athletes can check specific medications on Global DRO); the rest are prohibited at all times.
S4: Hormone and Metabolic Modulators: Synthetic compounds often found in medications to treat hormone conditions such as menopause, though also found in supplements designed to stimulate muscle growth. Prohibited at all times.
S5: Diuretics and Masking Agents: Substances used to dilute urine, either for medical reasons (such as reducing blood pressure) or to make banned substances harder to detect in a drug-testing urine sample. Prohibited at all times.
S6: Stimulants: Substances used to stimulate the central nervous system. May include prescription medications to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine, or illicit drugs like cocaine. Prohibited in competition only, though some exemptions are made for emergency medications like Epi-Pens (used for severe allergic reactions).
S7: Narcotics: Substances used to block or manage pain, including prescription medications such as morphine or oxycodone or illicit drugs such as heroin. Prohibited in competition only.
S8: Cannabinoids: Substances that contain THC, CBN, CBG, and other cannabinoids extracted from the cannabis plant (also known as marijuana). Does not include CBD, a specific cannabinoid extracted from hemp. Prohibited in competition only.
S9: Glucocorticoids: A class of medications used to suppress inflammation, such as prescription cortisone to treat joint inflammation and prednisone for asthma flare-ups, or over-the-counter drugs like hydrocortisone to treat skin irritation. Prohibited in competition only.
S0: Non-Approved Substances: Substances that are not already on the list and have not been approved by a regulatory body (such as the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA) for therapeutic use. May include nutrition supplements, designer drugs, discontinued drugs, or medications designated for animals.
M1: Manipulation of Blood and Blood Components: Altering one’s blood or blood components through red blood cell transfusion, plasma donation, or the addition of substances like EPO (see above, “peptides and growth factors”). Prohibited at all times.
M2: Chemical and Physical Manipulation: Tampering with a blood or urine sample by adding masking agents or using urine collected from another person; also can refer to injections or intravenous infusions (IV fluids) which can alter the accuracy of a drug test. Prohibited at all times
M3: Gene and Cell Doping: A procedure involving gene modification to change the way cells function in the body or alter gene expression.
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Anti-Doping Rule Violations
The presence of a prohibited substance is a major violation of the WADA Code, but it’s not the only anti-doping rule that can be broken. Athletes can run afoul of the Code in multiple ways, specifically:
Presence of a prohibited substance in blood or urine samples
Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method
Possessing prohibited substances or methods
Trafficking or attempted trafficking of prohibited substances or methods
Administration or attempted administration of prohibited substances or methods
Refusing or failing to submit to testing, without justification
Missing three drug tests in a 12-month period
Tampering (or attempting to tamper) with a sample, testing paperwork, or an investigation
Complicity (assisting, encouraging, or otherwise conspiring to violate an anti-doping rule or cover up illicit behavior)
Working with a support person who is serving a sanction for a doping violation or has been criminally convicted of or professionally disciplined for doping violations
Discouraging or retaliating against someone for reporting doping violations
It is not necessary to show that an athlete had intent, was at fault, or knowingly used a substance. A positive test or presence of a prohibited substance/method is enough to be sanctioned under anti-doping rules. An athlete may also be found in violation without a positive sample if admissions, witness statements, or other evidence is strong enough to show use or attempted use.
Immigrant-rights groups have filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging that the Nassau County Police Department has failed to provide proper translation services for Latinos and other groups.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern Region, states that Nassau has failed to comply with federal civil rights laws along with 2013 Nassau County executive orders requiring language access at county agencies.
“We are outraged that limited English proficient individuals in our communities are being denied language assistance at times when they need it the most and feel most vulnerable and afraid,” said Lourdes M. Rosado, president and general counsel at Manhattan-based LatinoJustice PRLDEF, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit.
“This pattern of intentional discrimination of non-English speakers is a complete disregard of their welfare and is putting the lives of Nassau County residents in danger while also negating them access to justice,” she said in statement.
WHAT TO KNOW
Immigrant-rights groups have filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging that the Nassau County Police Department has failed to provide proper translation services for Latinos and other groups.
The police department uses Language Line — a phone-based service with interpreters available in over 250 languages. Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said he hasn't been made aware of an issue with the line.
The county is home to more than 418,000 residents over 5 years old who speak a language other than English at home, the lawsuit states, citing census data.
The police department currently uses Language Line — a phone-based service with interpreters available in over 250 languages — and collects data on its usage by department personnel.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that from Jan. 1 to Tuesday, the line "successfully interacted with over 6,997 individuals for a total of over 41,439 minutes."
"I have personally advised the members of the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition that if there is an issue with any of the components of the Language Line, I be contacted immediately ... ," Ryder said, adding that he has not been contacted in that regard.
The lawsuit describes two alleged cases where immigrants were denied access to translation services during encounters with police. In one in July 2020, according to court papers, when an immigrant asked for a translator, the officer allegedly responded, “No, this is the United States of America, we speak English in the United States.”
SERVICES CITED AS INCREASINGLY ESSENTIAL
The groups suing, including the Hempstead-based Central American Refugee Center, known as CARECEN, contend in the lawsuit that translation services are increasingly essential in rapidly changing Nassau.
The county is home to more than 418,000 residents over 5 years old who speak a language other than English at home, the lawsuit states, citing census data. That accounts for nearly one in every three residents. More than 1 in 5 Nassau residents is foreign-born.
But Nassau’s police department, one of the largest in the nation, does not reflect the county’s growing diversity, the lawsuit states. “While over 40% of Nassau County identifies as non-White, only 13.2% of NCPD’s police force identifies as either Black, Latino, Asian, or ‘other,’” the lawsuit states.
At a news conference Tuesday outside police headquarters in Mineola, Elise de Castillo, executive director of CARECEN, denounced the department’s practices.
“Nassau County Police Department’s mission statement begins with the words ‘To serve the people of Nassau County.’ Their practice, however, suggests that this service is reserved only for those residents of Nassau County who speak English,” she said.
2013 LANGUAGE ACCESS ORDERS IN EFFECT
In 2013, Edward Mangano, then county executive, issued two executive orders on language access that are still in effect. The first mandates that county agencies provide translations of “vital documents,” in the county’s six most common non-English languages, on the county website.
It also requires the development of a language access plan and the appointment of a language access coordinator for each agency.
The second order mandates that county agencies providing public services offer translation and interpretation services, keep a list of bilingual employees, conduct employee training on the language access plan, and issue a public notice about language access services.
The county police department’s language access plan designates domestic liaison officer Det. Sgt. Sabrina Gregg, a defendant in the lawsuit, as the department’s language access coordinator.
The lawsuit states that “failure to provide timely interpretation and translation services … can prevent individuals from receiving emergency assistance, obtaining an order of protection, reporting a crime, and effectively communicating with police in a range of circumstances. Denials of language assistance by law enforcement agencies also have a traumatizing effect, for instance, where children are used as translators.”
The most common languages spoken at home in Nassau County by people ages 5 and older who speak English “less than very well” are Spanish, Chinese (including Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Haitian Creole, Italian and Hindi, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2021.
