Non-professional translators and interpreters

Non-professional Interpreters and Translators are bi/multilingual speakers who interpret and/or translate in a variety of formal and informal contexts and settings, who have received little or no formal education or training in translation or interpreting, and are often not remunerated for their work. Translation and interpreting are ancient practices, probably two of the oldest human activities. Ever since the need to overcome language barriers emerged, communities and peoples have had the need to rely on the skills of individuals able to speak two or more languages. Hence, throughout history the role they played contributed to facilitating cultural, economic and religious communication and contact. In the past seventy years, the onset and growth of globalization, mobility of people, trade, armed conflicts, and the IT revolution have triggered an exponential rise in the demand for linguistic mediation services in all areas of public and private life. The mismatch between this demand and the reality of the often insufficient provision of linguistic mediation services has resulted in the increase of the use of non-professionals in almost all the domains where professionals would normally be employed.