The following languages are proposed for certification:

• Spanish
• Vietnamese
• Russian
• Arabic
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Cantonese
• Portuguese
• Polish
• French

Other languages will be added as needs arise.

NOTE: There will be an IMIA Certification Qualification Process for languages for which certification is not yet available.

The proposed languages are based on the following criteria:

• Languages requested from language service providers
• Languages of national telephonic agencies
• IMIA Membership linguistic demographics
• 60 Hospitals participating in the Joint Commissions Hospital, Language and Culture Program
• 10 Hospitals participating in the Speaking Together Program
• Languages for which CCHCP has developed a glossary for medical interpreters
• US Census Data on languages spoken at home
• Immigration data on country of origin

The selection of languages is mostly based on demand specifically in the health care field, taking into primary consideration the needs of linguistically diverse patients in this country.

Please send comments to IMIACertification@gmail.com This is an important part of our transparent and inclusive process.