Jeenie Obliterates The Language Barrier

If you’ve lived anywhere outside of rural, isolated places, you’ve probably encountered a language barrier of some kind. It can be frustrating, to say the least, when you’re trying to communicate and you can’t understand one another. Thankfully, many of us have a smartphone in our pockets that will translate for us. No, I’m not talking about Google Translate. I’m talking about Jeenie. 

Jeenie is an on-demand live, human interpreter service you can access from your mobile or desktop device. In less than one minute, you can have an interpreter right there to help you translate any situation you may be in. 

“We have over 250 languages and we’re very proud that we have interpreters in one hundred and forty countries.

“One of our greatest sources of pride is the fact that we have upwards of 10,000 interpreters in our database who give their time to Jeenie. 

“We’ve got longstanding partnerships in the language field. Everything from government programs that help people learn new languages to university and graduate school programs, translation and interpretation associations, as well as social media.”

Kirsten Baker, founder and CEO of Jeenie, was immersed in language from a young age. She traveled the world and, many times, felt like the odd one out. It wasn’t until she got lost in Japan that she realized what she needed. 

“I just thought, there’s got [to be] some list where you pick your crowd-sourced gig economy models for interpreters [and] you can have live people basically at the tap of a button any time, anywhere.” 

That idea evolved into what is now Jeenie.

How Does It Work?

How it works is super simple. You can set up a regular subscription service for when you believe you’ll need interpreters. Like in the medical, legal, or immigration fields. Those are environments that require interpreters so that details aren’t missed. A missed translation can be the decider in someone’s freedom or life. 

Or, you can set Jeenie up as needed. Like 911, but for an interpreter. You never know when you’ll need someone to translate something accurately. What if you meet the person of your dreams and they only speak Italian? You’re going to wish you had Jeenie. Better believe that interpreter is going to be invited to the wedding. 

Jeenie is a gig-economy model, like Uber or Lyft. You are given an interpreter that fits your situation and you rate them on a five-star rating system after each call. This allows Jeenie to maintain the quality of their interpreters so that no, or very few, mistakes are made. 

A Trip To The 医者

Where Jeenie is shining in particular is in the medical field. Being unable to properly communicate between doctors and patients is a serious issue. Some of the issues that come up are inabilities to understand symptoms or properly prescribe treatment. 

“75 percent of malpractice suits come from miscommunication between caregiver and patient. So, we saw a huge opportunity for us health care.”

American hospitals, in general, lack interpreters. In Europe, they have doctors that speak any given language for any given patient. A Japanese tourist in Paris can find a doctor that speaks Japanese. If that very same tourist visits New York City, and they will have a tougher time finding a doctor that speaks Japanese. 

Despite this fact, United States federal law requires that hospitals accommodate people who cannot speak English or Spanish. It’s not just required by the Affordable Care Act, but the Americans with Disabilities Act requires it as well.  

American hospitals do have means for providing interpreters to patients who are unable to speak proficient English or Spanish. But those resources are often scattered and an afterthought. Time spent organizing and setting up an interpreter for a patient is better spent treating them. 

Lost In Medical Translation

There’s a lot that goes into medical interpretation. It’s not enough to simply translate the words back and forth. You have to understand the medical terms so you can explain them to the patient. You also have to understand symptoms and translate them in a way that the doctor, nurse, or nurse practitioner can understand. 

“[Jeenie’s] average response time [for medical interpreters] right now is about 12 seconds.“

Jeenie’s medical interpreters are all HIPAA certified and maintain a minimum four-star rating. They go through a detailed interview process that not only covers their language skills but their medical knowledge as well. People can die over mistranslations, so it is imperative that these interpreters are qualified. 

“Our interpreters are trained to solve problems. So, for them, they’ll be listening to our conversation. They would only be interpreting what we’re saying. But if they can tell — based on the answers that you’re giving me — that you’ve misunderstood what I’m saying entirely. They’re actually going to dive in and say, ‘Let me tell you again what they said. We want to be sure you understand what she’s really saying.’ 

“I think that’s really critical.” 

Communication At The Border

“We have had interpreters interpreting while people are standing at a fence, at a wall on the border, having a conversation – who are you? Where did you come from? What is your name?”

Jeenie also naturally fits into the immigration world. With issues at the border continuously dominating the news – no matter who is in office – it is so important that interpreters be made available. 

“You can imagine how much you know how tense these situations can be and how important it is to diffuse [the situation] so that things don’t get out of control.”

As desperate Haitians and Afghanis make it to the border, speaking a wide variety of languages from Haitian Creole to Arabic to Urdu to indigenous languages, combined with the tension that comes from American politics as of late, it’s more important than ever to have a qualified interpreter. 

Times are tough right now. Jeenie is doing critical work to help people in the midst of a pandemic and increasing refugee migration. However, it doesn’t have to be all heavy and serious. 

“One of the things we really want to do at some point, especially when the world kind of starts to open up again and we’re in front of individuals — not just businesses — is to encourage people, as they’re traveling around the world or just in their own country, [to use Jeenie].” 

“[We want] to show how [Jeenie] is bringing people together — showing fun experiences that they’re having. [We want to hear] that you got married because you met somebody in a bar and had a conversation in Italian, whatever it was, you know? 

“We want those stories to surface.”

This author will most certainly be turning to Jeenie when he meets that handsome Italian in a bar.