Interpreting Conflict

The story of this book started at the end of last century and the beginning of this one when I was working as a Field Clerk for UNHCR, part of the team at the Blace border-crossing between Macedonia and Kosovo. This experience was the reason I got a PhD in Peace and Development Studies doing research on the role of interpreters in conflicts and crises, focussing on assisting refugees and victims of war.

I first met Lucia Ruiz Rosendo while she was a guest editor of Linguistica Antverpiensia where I published my first paper on this topic in 2016. Since than Lucia and I worked on many joint initiatives on the topic of interpreting in conflict. This book is the result of our collaboration.

The books has 16 chapters, and apart from the Introduction and Conclusion, the other chapters cover issues related to conflict interpreting from different countries around the world, including both academic and practitioner perspectives. The chapters are divided into two broad parts of interpreting for the military and humanitarian interpreting.

The conclusions from this volume have identified a gap in training for interpreters who work in conflict related situations, so Lucia and I planned a follow up with a volume focusing on interpreters training. The proposal was positively evaluated and we have recently signed a contract with Routhledge. You can expect the new book in 2023.