American Sign Language (ASL) & CART Services In San Antonio

Contact us by email at interpreting@alsglobal.net or via phone at 1-800-951-5020 for a free estimate on our ASL and CART services.

Trusted CART & ASL Services in San Antonio, TX

American Language Services has been helping businesses and other entities reach the deaf and hard of hearing community for more than 35 years. While in-person interpreting, at one time, was the only option, recent technological advances opened the door to other options. Since we offer full-service Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), this article will be comparing Virtual American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting with Communication Access Real-Time Translation (AKA- Closed Captioning & Real Time Subtitling) known as CART.

 Please note that according to the American Disability Act (ADA) that deaf and hard of hearing community have the legal right to receive full access through the use of ASL and or CART services. The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and providing ASL interpreters for deaf individuals complies with federal law and promotes equal accessibility.

Some interesting Facts About the City of San Antonio

  • Amazon named San Antonio the “Most Romantic City in the U.S.” based on the number of purchases of romance books, movies, and… other products. Then again, it’s illegal to flirt or respond to flirtation using the eyes and/or hands in San Antonio.
  • After relieving himself on the Alamo Cenotaph, Ozzy Osbourne was banned from playing city owned venues for ten years.
  • The one billionth Netflix DVD rental—”Babel,” if you were curious—was rented out to a film lover in a San Antonio suburb.
  • It’s no “Winona Forever” tattoo, but when Johnny Cash met his first wife in San Antonio, he carved “Johnny Loves Vivian” on a public bench near the river.
  • San Antonio has been keeping it cool since 1928, with the first air-conditioned office building in the country, the Milam Building. The first air-conditioned bank, hotel, and Catholic Church followed.
  • One San Antonio native, Robert Cade, knew exactly how to beat the Texas heat and stay hydrated—by inventing Gatorade.
  • San Antonio is the only city in Texas with a knife ban on those with a locking blade.
  • Charles Lindbergh, famous for making the world’s first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, received training at Brooks and Kelly fields in San Antonio.
  • Church’s Chicken, the fourth largest chicken restaurant in the U.S., first opened for business in San Antonio as Church’s Fried Chicken To Go.
  • Mark Twain, one of America’s most famous literary icons, once said, “There are only four unique cities in the United States. New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, and San Francisco.”
  • President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird got hitched in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
  • King of the Delta Blues, AKA Robert Johnson, recorded many of his legendary songs in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio.
  • Every wonder where Shaquille O’Neal learned to play ball? That’d be at San Antonio’s Cole High School.
  • Theodore Roosevelt recruited his famous Rough Riders in the Menger Hotel, still located in downtown San Antonio.
  • The first commercial Local Area Network (LAN) was invented in San Antonio.
  • Contrary to the popular myth that San Antonio gets 300 days of sun per year, the city is only sunny 60% of the time, or 219 days.
  • Sandra Cisneros, author of the acclaimed novel “The House on Mango Street,” lives in San Antonio’s King William District.
  • Pope John Paul II declared San Antonio as “the most Catholic city in the United States.” Not hard to believe considering the city’s history.
  • A spring of the San Antonio River bubbles out crystal clear drinking water, and once upon a time provided water to Native Americans and early Texas settlers.
  • At 750 feet, San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas is taller than the famous Seattle Space Needle, making it the perfect place to get a panoramic view of the city.
  • Shelly Duvall, best known for her Earth-shaking screams in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” lives in nearby Hill Country.
  • San Antonio’s Stock Show & Rodeo is one of the biggest rodeos in the nation. Yeehaw!
  • The wheels of a Wright Brothers airplane were installed in 1910 at Fort Sam Huston in San Antonio.
  • Actress Summer Glau of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Firefly” fame was born in San Antonio.
  • One of the oldest German singing societies in the U.S., the Beethoven Maennerchor, is based in San Antonio.
  • The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum is rumored to be the bar where Pancho Villa planned the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
  • San Pedro Springs Park was founded in the 18th Century, making it the second oldest park in the nation.
  • Bexer County’s Bibliotech is the first library in the country without a single physical book—the collection is completely digital.
  • Tommy Lee Jones resides in the suburbs of San Antonio, where he owns two ranches—one of which served as a set for his film “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.”
  • The Charline McCombs Empire Theater, in operation since 1879, once hosted vaudeville acts and silent pictures, and now hosts concerts, comedians, and performing arts events.
  • Contrary to what you may have learned from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” the Alamo does indeed have a basement.
  • Scenes showing the Alamo and the River Walk in “Miss Congeniality” were filmed on location.
  • Ann B. Davis, beloved for her role as Alice on “The Brady Bunch,” lived in and recently passed away in San Antonio.
  • San Antonio draws in 30 million visitors per year, most coming to see the Alamo mission. But it’s not all about the Alamo. San Antonio’s second largest attraction, the River Walk, attracts over five million visitors each year.
  • The bell at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, forged by Samuel Maverick, is made of iron scrap from cannons used during the Battle of the Alamo.
  • The Battle of Flowers Parade, first held in 1891 to honor those who fought in the Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, is the only parade in the U.S. that’s planned and directed exclusively by women.
  • San Antonio was the birthplace of legendary Emmy-award winning actress and comedienne, Carol Burnett.
  • The annual Fiesta San Antonio (once The Battle of Flowers parade) is one of the largest parades in the nation, second only to Mardi Gras.
  • In order to ward off bad weather, a Rain Rock is displayed before and during each Fiesta.
  • SeaWorld San Antonio isn’t just the largest SeaWorld chain—it’s the largest marine-life theme park in the entire world.
  • The Payaya, San Antonio’s indigenous people, were required to become Catholic to receive Spanish citizenship, so five Spanish missions were built in larger towns.
  • Four of the five original Spanish missions, excluding the Alamo, are still active Catholic parishes.
  • Joan Crawford, one of the brightest stars in the history of American cinema, was born in San Antonio.
  • The longhorn cattle Texas is so famous for can be traced back to San Antonio’s Spanish mission settlers who brought the cattle with them in 1690.
  • The San Antonio Zoo was one of the first “cageless” zoos in the U.S, has one of the largest bird collections, and was the first in the country to breed endangered whooping cranes.
  • The San Antonio Spurs are the only ABA team (absorbed into the NBA in 1976) to win an NBA championship.
  • The San Antonio Museum of Art houses one of the best collections of Asian art in the United States.

San Antonio ASL & CART Language Interpreters

American Language Services is known for our high-quality, In-person and Virtual interpreters, as well as the outstanding client services we provide. We work in 200+ languages including Legal and Medical Certified and Qualified.  ASL and CART are the fastest growing languages in San Antonio today a language interpreter can be a very underestimated professional in the world today. There are over 100 languages spoken in the San Antonio Metro area alone. Many of us know one language, and we specialize in one field of study. Our San Antonio Interpreters are fluent in English and at least one other language, and they are knowledgeable in a wide range of specialized fields including legal, medical, technical, manufacturing, and engineering.

A brief history of ASL Interpreting in San Antonio

Most people know that ASL stands for American Sign Language. But not everyone knows that it is a distinct language—not simply an offshoot of American English. Though its beginnings are murky, many believe that ASL originated from a merger of French Sign Language (SLF) and local U.S. sign languages. While ASL and SLF are distinct languages, there are still some similarities between their signs.

What actually is ASL?   ASL a complete, natural language that has the same linguistic properties as spoken languages with grammar however that differs from English. ASL is expressed by movements of the hands and face.  ASL is a language completely separate and distinct from English. It contains all the fundamental features of language, with its own rules for pronunciation, word formation, and word order.  Because of the physical nature of ASL, a two-person team of ASL interpreters is required for assignments longer than 1 hour in duration.

The National Center for Health Statistics claims that 28 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, though only between two and eight percent of them are natural ASL speakers.  Helping these select individuals translate the audible into the understandable is the job of an ASL interpreter.  If you have ever been to a play, a concert or watched a government briefing, you have probably seen an ASL interpreter signing just out of view.  An interesting side note is that Statista estimates that there are currently around 60,000 active ASL interpreters in the USA.

The Benefits of ASL Interpreting in San Antonio

When it comes to communicating with hard-of-hearing or deaf audiences, there are a few reasons you might want to opt for a San Antonio ASL interpreter over CART services. These include:

  • A More Personal Connection: A real person has several advantages over a computer screen. First, human interpreters have an easier time conveying emotion. Second, they are better equipped to point out speakers and assist with pronunciation issues. Finally, an interpreter gives a deaf or hard of hearing person a chance to bond with another person.
  • Enhanced Speed: Skilled interpreters can hold pace with even the fastest speakers. Lack of delay makes it easier for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to keep up with the conversation.
  • Cost Effective:  While costs range by the type of ASL you need (Legal, medical, business, etc.) and when the assignment is scheduled, the cost off ASL, across the board, is less money than CART.

What Is CART?

While the majority of people know what American Sign Language is, the same cannot be said for Communication Access Real-Time Translation. Often referred to as CART, this communication method for the deaf and hard of hearing is best described as subtitling for live discussions. Unlike ASL, which relies on a professional interpreter, CART services are provided by a well-trained stenographer or transcriptionist. They transcribe anything said and then broadcast the resulting text to a phone, computer, or TV screen.

CART is often seen as a cost-effective and efficient way to ensure everybody can follow along. While often used to help deaf students in the classroom, CART captioning benefits anyone that can read.  Much like ASL interpreting, it can be done both onsite with a physical transcriptionist or remotely with an offsite one.

Why You Should Consider CART for the San Antonio Market

Communication Access Real-Time Translation is growing in popularity due to the following characteristics:

  • It Serves a Wider Array of Deaf People: If you do a little math, you will realize that 65 percent of hard-of-hearing people in the USA do not speak ASL fluently. CART makes it so these people can join in on the conversation as well.
  • CART Makes It Scalable: While people in the front rows can easily make out what an interpreter is signing, it gets harder as the distance increases. Since captions can be beamed to multiple screens simultaneously, they do not have to factor speaker distance into the equation.
  • The Text Provides a Written Record: Having a transcript of everything your professor said would be a godsend come finals. Having a record of a meeting can also provide clarity to all those involved as well. The physical nature of CART recording makes that possible. This ability is one reason so many college students opt for CART over traditional ASL interpreting. 

About American Language Services

Founded in 1985, American Language Services was there to help pioneer the rise in remote ASL interpreting options. Our dedication to quality and client satisfaction in interpreting allowed us to shift from a one-woman agency into one of the most successful language agencies in the world. Our language experts provide ASL & CART interpreting services to people all around the world. Because of our 24/7 availability, you’ll never have to worry about us not being available, on off times, for an assignment.

AML-Global has some of the most impressive linguistic talents in the world. These highly skilled language professionals are recruited, screened, and tested to ensure high-quality work.

Contact us by email at interpreting@alsglobal.net or via phone at 1-800-951-5020 for a free estimate on our ASL and CART services.

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