Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country that houses thousands of foreign citizens and does about $274 billion in foreign trade annually. On July 31, 2013, Mayor Annise Parker signed an executive order for the city to develop a language access plan for five different languages.
The executive order will be used to breakdown a language barrier that prevents many Houstonians that do not speak English from getting the services they need and to help them receive the essential information they need to survive in such a large city.
“This is not about going around re-doing signs around the city,” said Parker. “This is about different populations having access to information.”
The languages have not yet been chosen but they will look at large populations like the South Asian community that comprises of Indians, Pakistani, and Hindi.
The translations are critical especially during the hurricane seasons where danger can happen within a 24 hour span and communication is vital. There are over a 100 different languages spoken in Houston.
For the next six months research will ensue to identify the point of contacts that will do the translating and communicate with the target communities. The Office of International Communities (OIC), a division of the Department of Neighborhoods will spearhead this project and they have six months to come up with the language plan.
“It will be simple information such as how to pay a ticket, how to use the municipal courts or how to report an incident with the police,” said Mayor Parker.
The goal is to make city services more accessible and give the international community an easier way to connect to the community.
“The OIC will conduct a data-driven language needs assessment, work closely with the City departments, international community leaders and university- based experts to identify the five languages that will be adopted into the plan,” said the OIC representatives.
Mayor Parker sees this as a big move for Houston as it stakes its claim as a premiere international city.