Languages and translation in the context of intercultural communication

Abstract

We are living in times of great change. As we prepare teachers or students, we are aware of many changes taking place at the global level. Population shifting continues to happen all over the world, bringing in contact intercultural dialogue between groups who speak different languages and carry different cultures. This change does not affect only sectors of society, industry, health, politics or business, but also education. In different parts of Europe just like anywhere else in the world, school curriculum designers include intercultural objectives in school curricula and teachers find themselves facing the challenge of promoting and supporting the acquisition of intercultural competence through teaching. This is true for subject teachers but mostly for those of foreign languages. Foreign Language Teaching is intercultural in essence. Teaching a foreign language in a classroom means connecting students with a world that is different from their own. Thus, nowadays it is expected that all foreign language teachers encourage and empower intercultural competence among their students. Through my presentation I will discuss what is meant with the term intercultural communication and why it has become vital in a variety of fields like scientific domain, academic research, business, management, education, health, culture, politics, diplomacy, development etc. With the help of travel, international media and internet, communication among people becomes easy. In order not to isolate the rest of the world and to survive in such a kind of environment everybody needs to interact with each other. Therefore, intercultural communication has become a must for most people. Another very important notion that will be discussed is that of translation. The world has become increasingly interlinked and translation fulfils a role by breaking down language barriers. From the professional point of view, translators play a role as intercultural communication experts, mediators, and the bridge between people, cultures, and opinions. And in order to understand the role of translating or interpreting as a profession, I will start by trying to find an exact definition of the profession and subsequently discuss issues, challenges and problems faced by such important professionals.