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.

04/07/2026

Health begins with clear communication.

There is nothing more reassuring than being heard and understood when health is at stake. This April we celebrate the human connection that makes medicine possible.

AALB is proud to serve as the voice and ear of those seeking healing and care, regardless of the language they speak.

03/31/2026

Can you see the future? Swipe to find out why that question makes perfect sense in some languages… and none at all in others.

When an Aymara speaker gestures about the future, they literally point over their shoulder. When they talk about the past, they reach forward. Researchers captured this on video. It's not just vocabulary, it's embodied. The body moves differently because the mind maps time differently.

Now imagine an Aymara speaker in a medical appointment, being told to "look ahead to recovery" or "put this behind you." An interpreter who understands only the words, but not how that culture inherently experiences time, is missing half the conversation.

How does time move in your language? Tell us in the comments.

Núñez & Sweetser (2006) in Cognitive Science/ Boroditsky & Gaby (2010) in Psychological Science.

03/19/2026

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

Join us this Wednesday, March 25th by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio.

03/14/2026

Meet Sanskaari, our Pet of the Month and our Executive Director’s very dedicated (and very fluffy) supervisor.

She has quietly overseen more than 130 training sessions, adding up to over 7,800 hours of interpreter training. From keyboard inspections to strategic naps during lectures, Sanskaari takes her supervisory duties very seriously.

If Sanskaari suddenly appears in one of your training sessions, don’t be alarmed. She’s probably just making sure the interpretation is accurate, complete, and, of course, ethically sound. After all, she has a reputation to maintain.

Rumor has it she has excellent listening skills, but she strongly prefers consecutive over simultaneous, mostly because it allows more time for naps between segments.

And speaking of languages… Sanskaari is here to share a fun fact for language enthusiasts.

03/06/2026

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

Join us this Sunday, March 8th by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio.

02/26/2026

Did you know there’s no exact translation for the Russian word “bespredel” in English?
Born in the Russian language, bespredel emerged to describe the atmosphere of lawlessness and moral collapse that followed the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s.

Common approximations like “absolute impunity” or “arbitrariness” are only partial echoes, close, yet not quite enough. But they don’t fully convey the complete weight of ideas embedded in bespredel: unchecked power, moral collapse, boundless chaos, and the absence of limits.

This struggle to carry the full weight of meaning across languages is both the magic and the challenge of what we do.

Special thanks to Irina Fleming for sharing this powerful word with us and sparking today’s reflection.

Want to explore more untranslatable words that remind us why our work matters so much?
Like, follow for more, and share your favorite untranslatable word with us.

02/18/2026

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

Join us this Thursday, February 19th by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio.

02/13/2026

Save the date!
We’re excited to announce our 2nd Joint Lurie Children’s & AALB Conference, the 2026 edition is here!
A transformative event exploring:

True Language Access: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow https://aalb.org/conference-2026

An engaging journey that explores the roots, the present, and the future of language access in healthcare.

Designed for emerging and experienced professionals alike, this conference brings together medical interpreters, healthcare providers, advocates, and language access professionals to learn, connect, and shape the future of language access.

02/10/2026

The knock sounds the same, but the world hears it differently. Same door. Different languages.
Onomatopoeias change across languages.

How do you knock in your language?

01/30/2026

Today we decided to explore phrases that, when translated from their original language, either make absolutely no sense or sound incredibly funny.

It's a perfect reminder that true communication is about capturing meaning, not just swapping words.

What's a phrase that only makes sense in your language and you always find yourself explaining? Drop it in the comments!

01/23/2026

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

Join us this Monday, January 26th by registering now at www.AALB.org/register or through the link in our bio.

01/20/2026

Did you know there’s no exact translation for the word “apapacho” in English?
This word has a very visual origin, linked to the banana and the shape of its leaf.

Banana leaves are large and heavy. When they don't have enough water or it's very hot, they bend and droop languidly to the ground. This is where the analogy with a person who lacks the strength to stand upright or be active comes from.

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

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

Address

1 East Erie Street
Chicago, IL
60611

Website

http://aalb.org/

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