Croatian interpreters and translators: profiles and reported behaviour in professional settings

This paper focuses on the profiles and reported behaviour of interpreters and translators for the Croatian language in professional settings in Australia and in Europe. This paper first describes the circumstances of translation and interpreting (hereafter: ‘T&I’) in predominantly Anglophone countries, as well as the norms (professional and ethical) that pertain to the interpreters and translators. The sample of respondents consists of 31 interpreters and translators, of which 16 have accreditation for Croatian only, while fifteen have accreditation with Bosnian and/or Serbian, in addition to Croatian. Data were elicited on the following: reported behaviour in professional and non-professional situations; unanticipated differences in the language for which an assignment was accepted and its actual form; attitudes on assignments with unofficial or unclear designations; others’ assumptions of respondents’ native speaker competency and ethnicity; attitudes towards the distinctness of the three languages. Research results show that there are differences between the two groups in regard to verbal accommodation and readiness to consider interpreting or translation assignments with outdated or unofficial language designations.