MeritBadge.Net

Let's take an obscure language like, oh, I dunno..... Armenian! Who signs the boy off as meeting the requirements? As there are very few Armenian speakers around here (but we have Russian, Tagalog, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Swahili, Romanian and who knows how many others) do I allow mom and dad to say he did everything, or should we wait until their Armenian-speaking acquaintance comes for a visit? I really do not have any reason to believe his parents would fudge the requirements - I worked with dad (Russian and Armenian) at the hospital, and mom (more than a couple languages herself) is a professor of languages at the local CC with 2 Masters degrees.

The boy is new to the troop but impressing me with his integrity to this point. He readily admits that he doesn't know enough Russian to pass the requirements, or at least not easily. He's first generation American, BTW, with a babushka who spends the winters here rather than in Moscow.

RR

This is an award not related to advancement. I don't know that it really matters who signes it off as long as its someone who will ensure he meets the requirements. I can see no reason why the parents couldn't verify he completed the requirements - after all parents can sign their sons off for advancement and MB requirements.

Technically, the Interpreter Strip is not an award... it is classified as optional insignia, not temporary insignia.

Its sole purpose is to serve as an immediate, visual cue to others that you are able to perform as an interpreter, when needed... not to award your ability to converse in another language. (This is also why its placement on your uniform is near your nameplate.)

Interpreter Strips are not restricted items; there is no form to fill out and turn in to the council (or anybody else for that matter). So...

• For Scouters: Perform the requirements; wear the strip. (A Scouter is Trustworthy.)
• For Youth: IMO, as long as any adult who is capable of ensuring the the Scout has met the requirements informs the SM (or UL) that the Scout has done so, that's all it takes. (A Scout is Trustworthy, too. But, whenever it comes to meeting any kind of requirements, even if it's not advancement-related, then an adult needs to verify.)

See also:

• http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Interpreter Strip, and
• http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Talk:Interpreter Strip

I appreciate it, fellows.

I talked to Council today and learned that Armenian is not exactly a stock language as far as "I" strips. Just in case anyone else needs the info here is what I learned: the strips are ordered from National via the Council Scout shop. They want me to have the family write out the word "Armenian" in their native language and then have me forward it to them (Scout shop) so it can be forwarded to National for the strip. Minimum order is two strips, custom-made as needed. The cost just under $5/each, so basically $10.

In case anyone is interested here is a link that illustrates the Armenian alphabet:

https://us2.ixquick-proxy.com/do/show_p ... fn=armenia

I thought Fraktur (German) or Cyrillic (Russian) was bad but this one takes the cake. Bet it draws a lot of attention at summer camp though.

I had dad write out the phrase tonight and will have it at the shop Saturday. To his credit the Scout says "But I haven't passed it yet." I told him I knew that but also that I had confidence that he would soon enough and I wanted to have it available to present when he did.

RR

I called it an award because it is on the BSA Awards Web Page:

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Awards_Central.aspx

Yeah, I know... that's why I said, "technically".

I mean, there's certainly nothing wrong with calling it an award. It's just important to let the Scout(er)s know that its true purpose is not to serve as a reward/award for accomplishing some requirements, but rather (as I noted above) to serve as an immediate, visual cue to others that you are able to perform as an interpreter, when needed.

I introduced it to the boy and his parents as a "recognition" of a skill that others do not have. That he comes by it basically as a birth right doesn't matter to me, as any boy who grows up speaking Spanish at home and English in school would still deserve the same recognition. That it serves as an immediate recognition goes without saying, i.e. "Hey, maybe he can help us, he speaks....."

RR