PROVO -- When a frightened young girl came into the Utah County Attorney's Office to speak with a prosecutor, Renee Sariff knew what to do.
Using sign language, she "talked" to the girl, explaining things and calming her fears.When Navajo parents bring babies to the clinic in the health department, Randy Jake, a health aide who was reared on a reservation in Arizona, can joke and chat in their native tongue.
And in the assessor's office, Tongans struggling to understand American tax laws can turn to Verna Bair for help. Bair is a native of the islands.
Sariff, Jake and Bair aren't translators, but they've used their language skills to help the public in their duties as Utah County government workers.
At last count, 23 different languages are spoken by various Utah County employees.
They're all listed in the employee phone directory and when a need arises, it is easy to find someone who speaks another language -- even Korean, Russian or Greek.
Take, for example, Gwen Priddis, who knows Japanese. Tony Peck can help German speakers. Grounds employee Kane Insixiengmay speaks Laotian. Andrea Szabo and Angie Taylor in the county health department both speak Hungarian.
The director of the health department, Joe Miner, speaks Portuguese, and deputy county attorney Kent Sundberg speaks Swedish.
More than 50 county employees are fluent in Spanish.
One employee in public works, Leila Hechtle, can communicate easily in German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and, of course, English.
She routinely converses in one or more of her tongues with other employees or customers who know she speaks several languages and just want to refresh their skills or hear the music of the words.
"I speak Danish at least twice a week to my children. I've taught them Danish and I have a girlfriend who calls me and we speak Norwegian," Hechtle said. "I was married to a German, and in Chicago I spoke a lot of German. I was born in Denmark where you hear just about every language so I've grown up with lots of language. They just kind of come to me and if a word escapes me, I sort of improvise."
"When I first came to America I could say a few things like 'This sky is blue.' It was a pain because my thoughts were in Danish. I know how it feels to not understand so I help."
Hechtle helped translate a letter in Swedish that played a critical role in a child custody case being handled by the county attorney's office. She's assisted German residents with questions about property.
Commissioner Jerry Grover can help out in Mandarin Chinese and Italian. He's a lot more comfortable with Italian, but it's the Mandarin Chinese that's been hauled out to assist those confused in commission meetings.
"You'll notice in the book, it says 'some' where it says I speak some Mandarin Chinese," Grover said. "I can do a little, but there are others who can do a lot better."
Bair, who has worked in the assessor's office for 16 years, said she uses her language skill "quite a lot here."
"We have a lot of mobile home owners who come in and Tongans who come in for help with taxes," she said. "They're confused, especially when we don't have taxes (written information or forms) in Tongan. I can help them."
Bair said there's a double benefit because she's reminded anew of the differences in the two cultures.
"I learn new things all the time so it's not just a benefit helping out my people but it keeps me on my toes."
Bair has also helped translate in court for Tongan-speaking residents.
All of the employees listed in the linguistic directory have volunteered their expertise.
"They don't have to put it down," said Julie Schofield, the commission office secretary responsible for compiling the annual source bank.
"I send out an e-mail and if they want to tell us what they can speak, they're invited to do so. It's entirely voluntary."
Grover said he isn't aware of any other county that keeps a language log of their employees, but he thinks it's a good idea for any business or governmental entity.
"I know it's been really helpful for us," he said.