A Gift of Tongues

Anyone who has ever tried to explain that he wants a thingamajig that goes on the end of a doohickey understands the problem of trying to get a whatchamacallit in a foreign language. So did the merchants of northern Chicago’s Lincoln Village Shopping Center. To fill the needs of customers who increasingly speak only such languages as Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew, French and Greek, Lincoln Village has opened Language Line, a linguistic service that can help locate gizmos for speakers of foreign tongues.

Each store in the shopping center has a telephone hot line and a poster showing ten Asian and European flags. Customers signal their languages by pointing to a flag, and the merchants dial a translation service. University students at the other end listen to the customer requests and translate them into English for sales clerks.

The new service cost an initial $25,000 plus monthly maintenance charges that the merchants are totting up, but they believe it is money well spent. Says Pharmacist Franklin Lee: “The response has been overwhelming.” Even tongue-tied doctors, policemen and school officials have expressed interest in the service, and Lincoln Village officials are considering adding more languages.