Should our building codes and construction documents be published in other languages?

[Yikes]

My co-workers are noticing that the majority of our Southern California labor force speaks English as a second language.
We recently had a project where the superintendent did not understand subtleties of ‘min’, ‘max’, and other words that define tolerances and ranges in the CBC 11B accessibility code, and as a result had many punch list items that caused financial hardship for them.

I see that the IBC is available in a Spanish language edition. Not sure if the CBC adopted modifications are also in Spanish. Does anyone know if this has been a topic in the industry, or have firsthand experience if it has made a difference in assisting ESL people with code compliance?

 

[mark handler]

It is hard enough when dealing with the nuances of the code in English,,,, to native speakers.

 

[arwat23]

"Should" they? Yes, especially in areas where there's a large non-English speaking population. The easier it is for people who speak other languages to understand codes, the better.

Is it feasible? Depends, at least for construction documents. I work at a small firm and there's no way we'd have the budget to translate our drawings to another language and verify it's accurate. Even if we did it's possible that, depending on the language, the translation could mean something slightly different in another language. Could just cause more confusion than what already exists.

Personally, I've never had much issue with people who don't even speak English getting jobs done as shown on the plans. Usually the issues come up from people flat out ignoring the plans or trying to cut corners, or clients making last minute changes.

I saw one firm I worked with recently run into some issues though. They rely heavily on 3-part specs and those caused some issues with accessible door hardware. The firm I work for currently work for has never, at least in the past decade, written specs for a project. Seems to always work out for them when detailing almost everything on plans instead of trying to spell things out in specs. Or maybe they just get lucky.

 

[jar546]

It is hard enough when dealing with the nuances of the code in English,,,, to native speakers.

You're right—since even the English version of the code is hard to interpret and code officials often disagree on its meaning, relying on a Spanish translation that might not be accurate adds another layer of complexity; at a board hearing, if the code official makes their case in English and the contractor bases their argument on a potentially flawed Spanish version, the contractor's position could be weakened, emphasizing the risks of using translations in technical matters where precise language is crucial.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

In my opinion it would be a SERIOUS mistake for any state to adopt a Spanish (or any other) language version alongside of the English edition. The problem is that there may be errors in translation, or nuances of meaning, and if there are two versions that are both legally adopted, it's impossible to determine which version takes precedence.

Years ago I saw this in action between English editions. I wrote a report on something. My boss reviewed the draft, and he said I had quoted the code incorrectly. I said I hadn't. He opened up his code book and showed me. I opened up my code book and showed him

Turns out, he had the first printing and I had the second printing. The second printing had corrected an error that appeared in the first printing -- but there was nothing to indicate that this had been corrected. To make things worse, our legislature had specifically adopted the first printing, so the incorrect language was adopted by law. To get around it, we had to submit a formal request for modification.

Imagine trying to do that for an English language code book versus a Spanish language code book.

 

[Sifu]

Why worry about languages when so few will read it?

 

[Mr. Inspector]

If there were different language editions of the codes, I wonder what they would say where the code requires the words "EXIT". All the other required signs and brille do not seem to require a certain language.
Funny that ICC/ANSI A117 section 703.4.2 tells you when you can use uppercase braille letters. There are no uppercase braille letters.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Why worry about languages when so few will read it?

Too true. (Unfortunately.)