Intercultural mediation in translation and interpreting studies

It is now taken for granted that translation and interpreting involve mediation not only between languages but also between cultures (i.e., people socialized in different cultural systems). Axiomatic as it is, however, the mediation inherently involved in translation and interpreting is far from being sharply defined. There are also differences between translation and interpreting, as mediation in the latter is between actual people who are physically or virtually participating in a communicative event (e.g., conference, interview, or negotiation). In this chapter, a brief review of relevant research is presented, together with a discussion of the nature of mediation required in translation and interpreting, and the role of translators and interpreters in terms of cultural mediation.