Public service translation : critical issues and future directions

In this information-dependent age, public service translation (PST) is a key facilitator of communication strategies between public services and people who do not share the same language. It carries public messaging across language boundaries within the same society and contributes to engagement with speakers of minority or minoritised languages. In this chapter, I outline and discuss some of the main issues in PST as a professional activity and as a social service. The chapter covers the social role of PST, the special agency and role of PS translators, translation accessibility and plain language, dissemination methods, and quality requirements" including, among other aspects, training, a functional understanding of translation, and collaboration between translators and other stakeholders. The chapter concludes by pointing out future directions, stressing the need for interdisciplinary research with investigators from relevant areas such as social marketing, mass communication, and healthcare communication.