6 FAM 1500
LANGUAGE SERVICES
LANGUAGE SERVICES PROVIDED
(CT:GS-257; 04-04-2025)
(Office of Origin: A/PRI/LS)
6 FAM 1511 OFFICE OF LANGUAGE SERVICES (A/PRI/LS)
(CT:GS-257; 04-04-2025)
(State Only)
a. The Office of Language Services (A/PRI/LS) is the office responsible for providing official foreign language interpreting (spoken) and translating (written) support for the State Department, the White House, the National Security Council, and Cabinet-level officials from other federal agencies. Interpreting or translating services that may come from other bureaus or offices are not official U.S. government interpretations or translations, unless independent statutory authority exists.
b. The A/PRI/LS team of highly skilled professional interpreters and translators work in dozens of language combinations to support the conduct of diplomacy and foreign affairs – including foreign assistance, commerce, and exchange activities – by organizations throughout the Department and U.S. Government. In so doing, A/PRI/LS continues a tradition dating back to 1790, when Thomas Jefferson sought to hire a “Clerk for Foreign Languages” as one of the Department’s five employees during his tenure as the first U.S. Secretary of State. The office’s unique mission is reflected in its staffing and funding models, testing and oversight functions, and limited contracting authority.
6 FAM 1511.1 Definitions
(CT:GS-257; 04-04-2025)
(State Only)
a. Interpreting: Rendering a spoken or signed message into another spoken or signed language, preserving the register and meaning of the source language content. (A/PRI/LS interpreting support relates to spoken language; see 3 FAM 3676.2 for American Sign Language interpreting.)
b. Translating: Rendering a written message into another written language, preserving the register and meaning of the source language content.
c. Language services: Interpreting, translating, and related services involving rendering or comparing renditions of spoken or written content into one or more other languages, preserving the register and meaning of the source language content.
d. Language proficiency: Ability to function in an environment using spoken or written forms of a language (see 13 FAH-1 H-242). According to the Interagency Language Roundtable’s Skill Level Descriptions for Interpretation and Translation Performance, interpreting and translating require not only competence in a source and target language, but also the professional “congruity judgment” to bridge the two. The ability to provide foreign language interpreting and translating services at a high professional level is distinct from language proficiency (see also 6 FAM 1551).
e. Official services: High-level interpreting and LS-reviewed translation services are regarded as official. High-level support is defined as support provided to the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and other Cabinet level Secretaries and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Military. A/PRI/LS is the sole source for these services. Official translations may be certified as such (see also 6 FAM 1541).
f. Unofficial: Professional interpreting or translating services provided by LS below the official level, including, but not limited to, training courses and websites. Posts and GPA (for public diplomacy texts) may also provide unofficial translation services.
g. Informal: Interpreting or translating services provided by Department entities not mentioned in 6 FAM 1511.1f above are considered informal services, for limited internal office purposes.
h. Machine translation (MT): a translation produced by artificial intelligence (AI) through means including non-generative neural machine translation (NMT) platforms or generative AI platforms.
i. Machine translation post-editing (MTPE): the human review of a translation done with machine translation.
6 FAM 1511.2 Scope and Authorities
(CT:GS-257; 04-04-2025)
(State Only)
a. A/PRI/LS offers language services on a fee and cost-reimbursable basis to posts and bureaus of the State Department as well as other federal agencies, including commissions and corporations under White House jurisdiction, and international events or conferences in which such entities participate, on the basis of cost reimbursement and fees for service in accordance with 1 FAM 211.5 and 22 U.S.C. 2695a.
b. A/PRI/LS is responsible for providing and ensuring the quality of language services provided to the Department of State. See 14 FAM Exhibit 221.3 for clearance requirements related to requests for language services contracts.
c. All requests for interpreting and translating support related to official domestic or overseas high-level events and conferences and official travel of the Secretary, White House and National Security Council principals, and Cabinet-level federal officials, must be directed to A/PRI/LS. See 6 FAM 1530.
d. A/PRI/LS is the organization within the Department responsible for translating official diplomatic communications. See 5 FAM 212 as well as 6 FAM 1540. A/PRI/LS works with Bureaus and posts to provide a centralized point for the translation of demarches. A/PRI/LS also provides mutlilingual desktop publishing and multilingual file remediation for 508 compliance.
e. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 1104, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has delegated examining authority for evaluation of foreign language interpreting and translating skill within the Department to A/PRI/LS. See 6 FAM 1550.
f. All candidates for direct-hire or contract positions in domestic bureaus with significant interpreting or translating duties may be required at the discretion of the A/PRI/LS Office Director to pass the corresponding A/PRI/LS performance test to test their skills and qualify for further consideration. See 1 FAM 213.5.
g. A/PRI/LS takes the lead in the Department in setting policies for the use of artificial intelligence in translation and interpretation services, in consultation with the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions (M/SS). Foremost among these policies is the need for a human translator with translation experience to post-edit any machine translation produced in the Department—at the official and unofficial levels—for accuracy and completeness. Informal translations must also be post-edited, but the editor may be a qualified professional with proficiency in the source and target languages, and with access to relevant subject matter expertise. Prior to post-editing, all machine translations produced in the Department should be stamped with a disclaimer, in accordance with guidance issued by LS and M/SS. Likewise, use of artificial intelligence interpreting software or equipment requires human verification in all instances, to ensure accuracy . A/PRI/LS provides the necessary human review in line with its established professional linguistic standards.
6 FAM 1512 THROUGH 1519 UNASSIGNED
UNCLASSIFIED (U)