Abstract

The rise of globalization, the strengthening of multicultural societies, changing borders as a result of war, conflicts or natural disasters, the continuous advances of technology and social networks as well as the increasing political power of economic forces are all key themes of the twenty-first century. Within this panorama, intercultural communication necessarily takes place. Guaranteeing this communication requires the presence of linguistic and cultural intermediaries or ‘translators’ to provide support through the services they offer in a such a diverse world with a large variety of languages and cultures and unprecedented levels of mobility. These intermediaries, also known as the ‘third link’, that enable communication between two speakers who do not share a common language and/or culture have historically been given different names such as cultural mediator, enabler, gatekeeper, committed bilingual, or professional interpreter and/or translator (Davidson 2000, 379). Generally speaking this third link can be described as a sort of intermediary capable of conveying a text from one language into another in various registers and in different contexts.