The status of the translation profession in the European Union

A research project for the Directorate General for Translation of the European Commission, carried out by the Intercultural Studies Group, the European Society for Translation Studies, and the Observatoire Économies Langues Formation of the Université de Genève.

The project brought together and harmonized the available information on the status of non-literary written translators in the European Union.

It presents information on the legal status of translators and the professional translator organizations in all EU Member States, with special attention to the status of sworn translators.

Further, it studies the status of translators as actors on a specific market, the market for translation services, first at a general theoretical level, and second in the specific context of the labour markets of six EU countries, allowing us to explore the correlations between status, professional certification, academic qualifications, and membership of professional associations.

Additional attention is paid to the possible deprofessionalization resulting from new translation technologies, the growth of volunteer translation networks, and the proliferation of new modes of certification.

The study aims to present data and models appropriate for policy decisions able to promote the status of translators in such a way as to ensure the high-quality communication required by the EU institutions.

Intercultural Studies Group: The Status of the Translation Profession in the European Union, 2012 http://isg.urv.es/publicity/isg/projects/2011_DGT/tst.html

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