Multilingualism is defined as “the co-presence of two or more languages (in a society, text or individual)” (Grutman 2009: 182). Today, there are many officially multilingual countries and regions with more than one official language, such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, Israel, Hong Kong, and the one with the most official languages, the European Union. In fact, whenever there is a larger number of minorities present, multilingualism and the need for translation are instant. Furthermore, with people moving and migrating all the time, there comes the increased need for understanding and communication. There are almost no countries in the world that have not dealt with certain kinds of linguistic diversity and linguistic justice.

This course aims to provide students with essential skills and knowledge enabling them to operate effectively and ethically in a multilingual society. Students will get a better understanding of the role of translation in multilingual settings. Translation, here, is used in a general sense, to cover the practice of both translation and interpreting, in all possible forms.