Americans Against Language Barriers

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Americans Against Language Barriers

AALB is a nonprofit dedicated towards improving the quality of life of those with language barriers. Learn more by visiting the our website at www.AALB.org.

Americans Against Language Barriers (AALB) is a charity that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of deaf and limited English populations. We help address the shortage of professional interpreters by training medical interpreters with an extremely high degree of efficacy; our medical interpreter training course is accepted by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. AALB works to connect trained interpreters to volunteer their time in an effort to help other charities, such as free health clinics, provide free services reach those with language barriers. Through these efforts, we hope to improve both the quality of healthcare and healthcare access for patients with barriers to care. In addition, we are working to help protect the civil rights of those with language barriers by defending the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Nondiscrimination Provision of the Affordable Care Act; AALB is facilitating systematic change to work towards greater equality of access to essential services for deaf and limited English populations.

09/04/2025

Attention dog lovers and language enthusiasts! Our ‘Pet of the Month’ series is back. This time, Byron brings us a German lesson straight from his roots.

👉 Swipe to learn more.

Drop a photo of your ‘hound’ in the comments and join Byron in spreading the love for languages.

Let’s celebrate connection: human, animal, and everything in between.

Source: Kluge, F. (1891). Hund. In J. F. Davis (Trans.), An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.Wikisource. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

08/27/2025

Your bilingual skills can open doors and change lives. Train with AALB.

Join us this Wednesday, September 3rd. by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio.

08/22/2025

Do you know which foreign languages are most spoken in the United States?
Swipe to discover them and understand why medical interpreting is essential.

Imagine millions of patients needing care but unable to explain their symptoms. Clear communication can be the difference between misdiagnosis and lifesaving care.

Healthcare should always speak your language.

Sources:
Millennial Cities – Most Spoken Languages in the U.S.
Visual Capitalist – The Most Spoken Language in Every U.S. State (Besides English and Spanish)

08/15/2025

Your bilingual skills can open doors and change lives. Train with AALB.

Join us this Sunday, August 17th by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio (3 seats remaining).

08/08/2025

Some languages use fewer letters than others.
Swipe to learn which letters from the English alphabet aren’t part of Italian.

Drop your language in the comments and we’ll tell you a fun fact about it.

Sources: Treccani. (n.d.). Alphabet. Italian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 4, 2025, from https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/alfabeto/
Accademia della Crusca. (n.d.). The letters of the Italian alphabet. Retrieved August 4, 2025, from https://accademiadellacrusca.it

07/29/2025

Your bilingual skills can open doors and change lives. Train with AALB.

Join us this Thursday, July 31st by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio (2 seats remaining).

07/25/2025

Today, we're diving into the story behind a word you use in Spanish, but that actually came from English.

The word “bistec” started showing up in Spanish-speaking communities around the 18th century, when contact with the English-speaking world began to grow. Back then, it was very common to phonetically adapt foreign words into Spanish.

It became so widely used that the Real Academia Española (RAE) officially added “bistec” to the Diccionario de la lengua española in 1884 and it’s been a staple in homes, restaurants, and everyday language ever since.

If you’re curious about another word, drop it in the comments!

Source: Real Academia Española. (s.f.). Bistec. In Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts. Retrieved July 22, 2025, from https://www.rae.es/dpd/bistec

07/20/2025

It’s World Dog Day and to celebrate, we're excited to launch our new Pet of the Month series!

Our honorary ambassador for this kick-off is none other than Patas, our grumpy, wise, and deeply lovable ‘Pet of the Month’, and loyal friend to our Teaching Assistant, Iris Laffitte.

Today, Patas is giving us a quick language lesson… in barks!

Fun fact: It's been widely agreed that when a dog barks, it usually does it twice.

Swipe to see how dogs “speak” in different parts of the world. The best part? No matter the language, dogs always understand each other just fine. No barriers, no interpreters needed, just pure canine connection.

We want to hear from you! Drop a pic of your pet in the comments and tell us what they sound like in your native tongue (all species welcome!).

Let’s celebrate connection: human, animal, and everything in between.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/es/blog/como-ladran-los-perros-en-diferentes-idiomas

07/18/2025

Rights written in ink are silent until living voices give them sound. Laws lie dormant until human resolve sets them in motion.

For the tens of millions in the United States who speak another language at home, the power to awaken those rights rests in their own hands.

On Saturday, September 27th, 2025, in the Chicago area, join AALB for Voices in Every Language, a free outdoor educational picnic that turns paper rights into personal power. In one shared space we will briefly teach the federal and state language access protections that already belong to you, then help you act on them before you leave. During the closing hour we will sit with you to schedule meetings with your state and federal representatives and make sure a qualified interpreter is arranged if you need one. Come to learn, speak, and move agencies to honor the law.

Details:

• Date and time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 27th, 2025

• Location: Final park site in the Chicago metro area. Confirmed site sent by August 25th to all who RSVP.

• Cost: Free. RSVP helps us plan food and interpretation.

• Interpretation: Spanish provided. Additional languages added based on RSVP requests.

• Register: www.AALB.org/picnic

07/10/2025

Did you know there’s no exact translation for the word “apapacho” in English? It comes from Náhuatl and means something like “a warm embrace for the soul.” It’s deeply rooted and widely used in Mexico and some Central American countries, and slowly becoming more familiar in other parts of Latin America.

These kinds of words remind us that language isn’t just about communication, it’s about connection, care, and culture.

As interpreters and language professionals, we carry these meanings across every barrier. Even when there’s no perfect word, there’s always a way to honor the message.

Do you want to learn more untranslatable words that make our work so powerful?
Hit that ❤️, follow for more, and share your favorite untranslatable word with us.

07/07/2025

Choose your session and register here: www.AALB.org/register

04/20/2025

SANTA FE — In a direct response to a new federal executive order declaring English the official language of the United States, the New Mexico Supreme Court has reaffirmed the state judiciary’s constitutional commitment to providing language services for non-English speakers.

Address

1 East Erie Street
Chicago, IL
60611

Website

http://aalb.org/

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