At-Tibyan fi al-Farqi bayna al-Wasiti a-Thaqafi wa at-Turjuman

Whether autochthonous or arising from migration and humanitarian or political asylum, multilingualism and multiculturalism have triggered different responses in different countries. Some countries have neglected the communicative needs of multilingual communities and left them to ad hoc measures, others have responded by creating interpreting and translation services, while a third group have focused more on cultural differences between mainstream and minority groups in the community and, accordingly, opted for services referred to as cultural or intercultural mediation. This has resulted in overlapping concepts in the literature, with considerable confusion between roles such as "community interpreter" and "intercultural mediator". This paper compares and contrasts the nature and roles of these professional figures and provides a critical analysis of common discourse in both areas of communication facilitation.