Call for papers Monographic issue

2024-07-03

Title: Training Non-Professional Interpreters and Translators in Public Services
Guest editor: Carmen Pena, University of Alcalá, Spain
Deadline: 15th January 2025

The deadline for the regular issue has been extended till October 30.

Considering the recent migration waves, translation and interpreting in public services and migration contexts are expanding research areas. By the end of the 20th century this topic had been hardly researched, but the volume of work on translation and interpreting in public services suggests that the phenomenon is here to stay and needs to be studied with due academic rigour.

In particular, communication in translation and interpreting in public services with languages of lesser diffusion is a trending topic, due to the different and numerous migratory crises and the communication needs that arise from them. In order to overcome the communication barriers of immigrants from countries with these languages for which there are no professional translators and interpreters, it is necessary to rely on the figure of the non-professional interpreter and translator (NPIT), either because of the urgency of the context, because there are no resources for professionals, or because they do not know how to access them or, most frequently, because there are no translators and interpreters in their language.

NPITs are usually bilingual or multilingual speakers who interpret and/or translate in a variety of formal and informal contexts and settings, have received little or no training in translation or interpreting, and are often unpaid for their work (Vitalaru 2014). In many cases, they are young people (even minors) who find themselves doing this work due to family circumstances, while in others they are volunteers who carry out social tasks altruistically. At present, they cover a large part of the language needs arising in public services (Gómez and Ivy 2011; Abril Martí and Martín 2011; Burdeos 2015).

In this context, there is a need for materials for migrants with bilingual and bicultural competences in less widely spoken languages so that they can be trained in translation and interpreting for public services (Zhao 2023). This volume proposes to contribute in that perspective: the training of non-professional interpreters and translators.

Based on the premise that translating and interpreting are being carried out by individuals with no instruction, there is a need for debate and rigorous publications that investigating NPIT training. In particular, it will describe the actual situation for volunteers and NPIT in Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, constant gateways of migration flows to Europe, where, despite offering formal and
academic training in the most spoken Western languages, there is no such a thing for speakers of less widely spoken languages (LLD) who do not study translation and interpreting and who need to be instructed urgently and effectively to be able to perform the tasks they already de facto perform address this issue. This collection of articles will be one of the first academic proposals investigating NPIT training. In particular, it will describe the actual situation for volunteers and NPIT in Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, constant gateways of migration flows to Europe, where, despite offering formal and academic training in the most spoken Western languages, there is no such a thing for speakers of less widely spoken languages (LLD) who do not study translation and interpreting and who need to be instructed urgently and effectively to be able to perform the tasks they already de facto perform.

Thematic lines:

  • Translation and interpreting in public services
  • Non-professional translation and interpreting
  • Translation and interpreting of Languages of Lesser Diffusion (LMD)
  • Translation and interpreting in migration contexts
  • Language brokering


Bibliography cited:
Abril Martí, A. (2022). "La barrera de la comunicación como obstáculo en el acceso a la salud de los inmigrantes". Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Migrations in Andalusia.

Bordeaux, N. (2015). Interpreting in public services in the health sector. A comparative study of the cities of Barcelona and Montreal. Doctoral thesis. Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona.

Gómez Moreno, P. and Ivy, C. (2011). Training proposal: justice and interpretation personnel. Pages 171-179. In: Translation and Interpreting in Public Services in an Interconnected World. Ed. 1. Alcalá de Henares, Spain. UAH.

Montalt Resurrecció, Zethsen, K. and Karwacka, W. (2018). MonTI, 10: Current challenges and emerging trends in medical translation.

Tolosa Igualada, M. and Echeverri, A. (2019). MonTI, 11: Because something has to change. The training of translators and interpreters: present & future.

Vitalaru, B. et al. (2014). "Interpreter-mediator performance in the healthcare setting in problematic communicative situations and cultural conflicts: analysis and comparison between interpreters with and without training in different language pairs (Spanish-Arabic, French, English and Romanian)." Panace @, 15(40): 218-234.

Zhao, X. (2023). “Challenges and barriers in intercultural communication between patients with immigrant backgrounds and health professionals: a systematic literature review”. Health communication, 38(4): 824-833.

Timetable and deadlines:
Estudios de Traducción welcomes the submission of papers for a monographic issue on non-professional interpreting and translation in public services. To submit your work, please send the full text of the article in one of the official languages of the journal to carmen.pena@uah.es by 15th January 2025. Guidelines for the submission of articles can be found at https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESTR/about/submissions. The
expected publication date of the monograph is September 2025.