Climate Justice > Language Justice
Language Justice
More than 1 out of 3 people in the counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara are part of a household that speaks a language other than English at home. In the cities of Guadalupe, Santa Maria, Oxnard, and Santa Paula, more than 60 percent of all people speak a language other than English at home.
Multilingual events and materials are critical to building a more equitable and inclusive climate action movement that advances social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. There is a long history of underrepresentation and marginalization for non-English speakers in the U.S. This has contributed to a lack of reliable information about climate change that is available in Spanish and indigenous languages and dialects, such as Mixtec, that are spoken by a large population of migrant workers in our region.
Language Access
The use of language assistance (i.e., interpretation and translation) so that people who speak non-dominant languages can have access to information, public services, and civic engagement.
Language Justice
The just systematic treatment of people from all linguistic communities and respect for the fundamental language rights of all people.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
Participate
Help us deliver high-quality interpretation at events by following these best practices:
Speak slowly to allow interpreters to follow along
Please try to use only one language when speaking so we can have consistent interpretation
Develop relationships
Help us reach more diverse audiences by introducing CEC and our work to the communities and networks you belong to. Here are a few resources that share about CEC’s work:
WHAT CEC IS DOING
Expanding Language Access
In order to build a climate-resilient future, we must involve everyone who is impacted, including frontline communities that speak many languages. One way CEC is working to ensure all stakeholders are involved is by deepening our partnership with Rooted Language Justice (RLJ), an immigrant women-led enterprise that provides Spanish-English language interpretation and translation services. RLJ provides hundreds of hours of language services each year to facilitate live interpretation at CEC events, translation for educational materials, and consultation and training on best practices for integrating language justice in multilingual spaces. As a result, CEC has been able to more deeply engage Spanish-speaking communities in climate action — and inspire our partners to make language access a priority.
