Nordisk tidsskrift for oversettelses- og tolkeforskning (NTOT)
The Nordic Journal of Translation and Interpreting Studies is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to disseminating knowledge relevant to researchers, translator and interpreter educators, students, professional translators and interpreters, as well as others engaged in translation and interpreting. The journal was established by the Norwegian Association for Translation and Interpreting Studies. We publish theoretical, methodological, and empirical research articles focusing on various forms of translation (e.g. literary translation, non-fiction translation, audiovisual translation, machine translation) and interpreting (e.g. between spoken languages, between signed languages, between spoken and signed languages, consecutive and simultaneous interpreting). We also publish reviews of scholarly works within these fields. While we especially encourage contributions that explore translation and interpreting within a Nordic context, we also warmly welcome submissions rooted in other geographical settings. The journal seeks to strengthen Nordic terminology in the field and publishes articles in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. Submissions in other Nordic languages, including minority languages, will also be considered.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
«Det går på opplæringen av tolkebrukerne» Fagpersoners forventninger til forsvarlig tolking – tolkers erfaringer fra fjerntolking
The article draws on interpreting students’ reflections over their experiences in complying with the Interpreting Act’s mandate for responsible interpreting in institutional settings, particularly during remote interpreting—i.e., interpretation via telephone or video (UDI, 1998; NOU, 2014:8). The students, who already practice as interpreters, critically examine their experiences from the Norwegian public sector in online chat groups as part of learning activities in the online course Remote Interpreting (cf. Skaaden, 2016). What characterizes the interpreters’ experiences in complying with the Interpreting Act’s regulations about responsible interpretation? The qualitative analysis of the chat logs reveals an emerging sense of professional identity among the students. At the same time, the student interpreters describe working conditions that may impede the “responsible execution of interpreting assignments” in accordance with the Interpreting Act’s regulations and their professional standards. Reported challenges with alerting the professionals in charge of the encounter about inadequate working conditions – as required by the Interpreting Act – are indirectly linked to the interpreter profession’s status. The thematic analysis underscores the need to contextualize concepts such as responsible interpreting and interpreting quality. As suggested by the quote in the article’s title, the students’ reflections illustrate that quality in interpreting cannot be attributed to the interpreter’s skills and qualifications alone. Consistent with theoretical models of interpreting quality, the interpreters’ accounts demonstrate how their performance is shaped by contextual factors, including working conditions and the parties’ actions and expectations. The findings highlight the need for raised awareness about the complexity of the interpreter’s task among professionals in charge of interpreted institutional encounters.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hanne Skaaden https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ämnesintegrerad introduktion till akademisk litteracitet och Chat GPT – Reflektioner från pågående utvecklingsarbete på en tolkutbildning
When students enter higher education, they are expected to learn how to articulate their disciplinary knowledge and communicate effectively within the academic discourse community. This includes developing the ability to use AI tools in an ethical, critical, and reflective way to support their academic learning. This article presents a discipline-integrated teaching module in an introductory course in which the development of academic literacies and AI literacy is addressed as an integrated whole. The module forms part of a pedagogical development initiative within the course Public Sector Interpreting 1 (30 ECTS) at Stockholm University. Drawing on sociocultural theory, the article describes how the module was designed and implemented across several course components through coordinated scaffolding at the organizational, group, and individual levels. Particular attention is paid to progression, expectations, and adaptation to a heterogeneous student group in which the majority of students study in a language other than their first language. The aim of the article is to present a concrete example of how students can be introduced to academic literacies and to the AI tool Chat GPT within a disciplinary context. It also seeks to invite collegial discussion on the implementation of this approach in higher education
content and language integrated learning
Copyright (c) 2026 Helena Bani-Shoraka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Retrospektion – Ett didaktiskt verktyg i tolkutbildning
This article discusses how retrospection can be employed as a didactic tool in interpreter education. Traditionally, practical skills have been the primary focus in interpreter education and retrospection is therefore presented as a teaching method that engages students in learning of theoretical aspects. The article describes retrospection as a skill development-focused practice in which an adapted model of Kolb’s experiential learning is proposed. This model is expanded from four to six steps to facilitate the learning process of interpreting students when acquiring theoretical knowledge. Skill development-focused practice is considered a key component since it integrates both theory and practice in the classroom. Moreover, it offers the flexibility to practice specific threshold concepts when necessary and thereby facilitates deeper conceptual understanding in interpreter training.
Copyright (c) 2026 Thomas Thomsen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Multimodal språktesting for bruk i tolkeutdanning: Utvikling og implementering av språkprøven for punjabitalende tolker i gresk offentlig sektor
This article documents the design and implementation of Greece’s first multimodal, language proficiency test for Punjabi public service interpreters, developed in response to the March 2024 launch of the Public Service Interpreter Register. The test, which was partially developed with the help of AI, addresses the complex sociolinguistic and logistical realities faced in the Greek asylum and migration context. The paper reviews current frameworks for interpreter competence and language proficiency—drawing on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) standards—and critiques the limitations of traditional assessment models. The Punjabi test integrates audio-based tasks and visual cues, leveraging AI-generated prompts to accommodate dialectal and literacy variation, prioritizing fairness and scalability, thus offering a replicable model for rare and minority languages where written resources, local expertise, and institutional infrastructure are lacking. The paper concludes by evaluating initial implementation outcomes, highlights both the potential and limitations of multimodal and AI-assisted testing approaches in assessing language proficiency among public service interpreters.
Copyright (c) 2026 Effrossyni Fragkou https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Tolkning på distans – en komplex emergens
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, interpreting between Swedish and Swedish Sign Language has increasingly been conducted remotely. This shift challenges the traditional understanding of interpreting as a co-present, embodied practice and transforms both the experience of interaction and the dynamics of interpreted events. Drawing on Rolshoven’s spatial triad as a theoretical framework, this study examines remote interpreting through built space, experienced space and representation space. The analysis identifies an emergent phenomenon within remote encounters that influences the development of new interpreting conventions, highlights the disjunction between body and mind, and presents distinct challenges in hybrid interpreting settings. The analysis shows how Rolshoven’s spatial triad can be used as an analytical tool, which may benefit interpreters, interpreting students, and interpreter training programs.
Copyright (c) 2026 Camilla Warnicke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Användningen av och efterfrågan på AI-baserade tolkverktyg i Sverige
This interview study examines how some representatives of the Swedish interpreting industry view AI-based tools for interpreting in the public sector in Sweden. Seven people working in the interpreting industry were interviewed at the beginning of 2024 and the interview material has been analysed thematically. The results show, among other things, that the interviewees believe that there are quite a lot of AI-based interpretation tools on the market, but that these probably are not used to any great extent. Some of them believe that AI-based machine interpreting will eventually replace human interpreters, while others believe that human interpreters will remain to a significant extent.
Copyright (c) 2026 Magnus Dahnberg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Faktorer för samhällstolkarnas arbetsvälmående i Finland med fokus på distanstolkning och teknologi
This study examines the factors influencing the occupational well-being of public service interpreters in Finland, with particular attention to remote interpreting and the technological transformations that have reshaped the field. Drawing on a well-being model specifically developed for the public service interpreting context, the study analyses how physiological, social, psychological, and self-actualisation needs are met in both remote and on‑site interpreting. The findings demonstrate that remote interpreting offers certain advantages, including time savings, reduced exposure to infections, and increased control over the physical workspace. However, significant challenges emerge. Poor sound quality, technical disruptions, lack of visual cues, and increased cognitive load undermine interpreting accuracy and diminish interpreters’ sense of competence, appreciation, and control over their work. Social needs are more effectively fulfilled in on‑site interpreting, while remote work is frequently experienced as isolating. Feelings of insecurity are further exacerbated by unstable working conditions, an unregulated market structure, economic unpredictability, and the requirement to remain constantly alert to multiple digital booking systems. Telephone interpreting is identified as the most demanding and least satisfactory mode, as it restricts access to essential contextual information. Overall, the results indicate that interpreters’ opportunities for professional fulfilment are limited by structural conditions, despite their high level of expertise. The study recommends regulatory reforms, improved public procurement practices, mandatory training for users of interpreting services, and a clear prioritisation of video and on‑site interpreting over telephone-based solutions to enhance interpreters’ occupational well-being.
Copyright (c) 2026 Lena Segler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digitale tolkebestillingssystemer og deres innflytelse på autonomi i tolkeyrket og tilgang til kvalifiserte tolker
This article examines interpreters’ professional autonomy in the public sector in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden an whether it is affected by the usage of digital interpreter booking systems. The analysis draws on Freidson’s tripartite concept of autonomy: economic, political, and administrative monopoly, and is inspired by Ragin’s comparative method. The empirical material combines document analysis, interviews, and the authors’ professional experience. The findings show that interpreters have limited control over access to the profession, remuneration, work standards, and evaluation. Control is primarily exercised by public purchasers and private intermediaries. Norway stands out through a combination of a statutory requirement to use qualified interpreters, authorization, a national register, education, and, in some sectors, fixed rates and direct booking, which increases the use of qualified interpreters without conferring genuine professional self-governance. Digital interpreter booking systems reinforce existing governance logics, including response pressure, low algorithmic transparency, and weak prioritization of qualifications where institutional requirements are lacking. Platforms support quality only when embedded in frameworks that explicitly prioritize qualifications and transparent allocation rules.
Copyright (c) 2026 Urszula Srebowska, Magnus Dahnberg, Marta Kirilova, Lena Segler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Tolkundervisning och tolkprofessioner i Norden i den nya (tekniska) eran
The covid pandemic introduced remote interpreting on a broad scale. Through AI and machine translation solutions interpreters and interpreter teachers and students have been introduced to a range of new tools, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Interpreting agencies have access to tools and algorithms for booking interpreters. All these changes, each one of them disrupting, has given us a whole new landscape. In this issue contributors take different approaches to the new era.
Copyright (c) 2026 Elisabet Tiselius, Magnus Dahnberg, Helena Bani Shoraka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Inger Hesjevoll Schmidt-Melbye https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Norwegian reality shows feature extensive spontaneous speech, often incorporating a significant number of Anglicisms. In this study I investigate how these Anglicisms appear in intralingual subtitling for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) on NRK and TV 2. Are the Anglicisms are directly transferred, interlingually translated into Norwegian, or omitted? As a ‘state broadcaster’ [statskanal], NRK bears a unique responsibility for promoting the Norwegian language. TV 2’s licensing conditions outline a similar responsibility. This makes it interesting to investigate whether and/or to what extent NRK and TV 2 employ linguistic protectionist strategies such as interlingual translation or omission. A quantitative analysis of corpora from both NRK and TV 2 reveals a strong preference for the non-protectionist strategy of direct transfer across both channels. The analysis also shows that NRK employs fewer of the protectionist strategies than TV 2. The reason for this may be that NRK’s internal subtitling guidelines, which specify that the standard should be direct reproduction of Anglicisms. TV 2 does not have corresponding guidelines for handling Anglicisms, and thus may allow for more individual approaches, where some subtitlers more often choose to translate them than others. The differences in the way some of TV 2’s subtitlers approach the task may be due to differences in language attitudes, fluctuating language norms caused by intensive language contact, and differing views on the target audience for SDH (whether exclusively the hearing impaired, or a broader group). Regardless, the use of strategies like interlingual translation highlights the potential for SDH to support the Norwegian language, although it should be considered to what extent interlingual translation distracts hearing viewers from on-screen events, and whether participants’ identities are adequately represented when subtitles deviate too much from their actual speech.
subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Copyright (c) 2025 Annjo Klungervik Greenall https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In this article, we explore how interdisciplinary digital humanities cooperation can provide answers to previously unanswered questions within translation studies and lay the foundation for new research on translation in Norway. With our project, we aim to help strengthen the links between translation studies, digital humanities (DH) and the library sector. At this intersection of disciplines, there is significant unexplored potential in terms of methods, theory and object of study. In this article, we aim to fill these gaps by describing our methodology and reflecting on our interdisciplinary collaboration. The project focuses on the import of fiction to Norway over the past 200 years, and one of its goals is to create a digital map of translated books.
Copyright (c) 2025 Siri Fürst Skogmo, Marcus Axelsson, Inger Hesjevoll Schmidt-Melbye, Lars Magne Tungland https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Japanske fortællinger i det norske 1800-talsarkiv
Searching the Norwegian National Library archives, this article examines the first Japanese literature that was translated into Norwegian in the 19th century. With the help of digital analyses, the article first investigates the mentioning of Japanese literature in the written sources, before it proceeds to identifying and analysing examples of translations in the digitised archive. As Ika Kaminka has argued, the earliest translations are from 1885 by the explorer Carl Bock. In 1890, the Japan-correspondent Dorthea Bassøe then sent home tales from Japanese buddhist sermons to newspapers in Norway. Later, she republished these moral tales together with her translations of folk tales and a historical legend that reflects the underlying moral of its portrayed heroes. The article argues that the genre choices of both of these early translators reflect a long philological tradition in collecting old tales and folk literature from the Orient as well as the Occident.
Copyright (c) 2025 Annette Thorsen Vilslev https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
En kort, historisk oversikt over nynorske poet-oversettere, fra Aasen til Hauge
This article provides a short history of literary translations into Norwegian Nynorsk, from Ivar Aasen (1813-1896) to Olav H. Hauge (1908-1994). From its very beginnings, a dichotomy appears: the distinctiveness of Nynorsk and its historical significance as a ‘special’ language in a national romantic context, and the universality of literature and language, which has led many of Nynorsk literature's most important writers to gravitate towards translation. This dichotomy did not stop in Aasen's time but grew as Nynorsk literature grew. This article examines this diachronic process and highlights the importance of international literature in the process of laying a foundation for Nynorsk literature. To contribute to the field of Translation Studies via an interdisciplinary approach, the author wishes to examine the history of Nynorsk translation in light of critical theory, particularly Hegelian philosophy.
Copyright (c) 2025 John David Crosby https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The so-called Sister Bells Trilogy, consisting of Søsterklokkene [The Bell in the Lake], Hekneveven [The Reindeer Hunters] and Skråpånatta [The Night of the Scourge] (published in 2018, 2020 and 2023 in Norway) became a large commercial success and has, at the time of writing, been translated into 17 languages. But how do you translate a trilogy under construction, and what happens when a large group of translators collaborates with an author who is notorious for his efforts to guide the translation process with comments, suggestions, and explanations? This article aims to examine the translation of the trilogy from an empirical, autoethnographic perspective (since I myself am a literary translator from Norwegian to Polish and have translated the Sister Bells Trilogy as well as collaborated with Mytting in the process of translating his previous novel, Svøm med dem som drukner [The Sixteen Trees of the Somme] (2014)), while also reflecting on the translation process in light of the collaboration between the author and a group of translators. Some of the main questions addressed here include: How are power and agency distributed between the author and the translators in this process? And can we speak of a distinct, emerging, translator habitus?
Copyright (c) 2025 Karolina Drozdowska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Translation Studies is highly relevant for a series of current societal challenges and debates in areas such as migration, the environment and generative AI. Research carried out by translation scholars is nevertheless almost completely absent in the Scandinavian public sphere. The aim of the article is to discuss why translations studies and translation scholars are underrepresented in current debates. It is suggested that Translation Studies has the potential to contribute substantially to effectuating societal change, and that this would require scholars to communicate knowledge and insights from the discipline, as well as results from their own studies, in more and broader contexts.
practitioner-oriented translation studies
Copyright (c) 2025 Cecilia Alvstad https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Gro Hege Saltnes Urdal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Interprofessionella rollspelsövningar i utbildningen
This article describes the digital interprofessional role-play exercises that have been developed and are now regularly conducted within the Public Service Interpreting Program at Stockholm University and Lund University, together with students from three different education programs: Social work studies, medicine, and police. Students from these programs are given the opportunity to conduct interpreter- mediated professional conversations in a safe and positive learning environment and jointly reflect on their experiences. The article outlines the structure of the interpreter training and where the interprofessional role-play exercises fit into various course modules. These role-play exercises are discussed from a pedagogical perspective using the concept of learning spaces, but also from an organizational perspective, addressing the different requirements and needs that arise during the exercises. The key success factors identified in the development and establishment of this interprofessional training concept include the digital format, the formalization of this educational element by integrating it into the existing curriculum, and the creation of specific teacher groups responsible for planning, adaptation, and implementation. By sharing our experiences from this educational collaboration, we hope to inspire others to initiate interprofessional educational elements. Keywords: interprofessional role-plays, interpreter-mediated professional encounter, public service interpreting education, learningspaces, educational collaboration
interpreter-mediated professional encounter
Copyright (c) 2025 Helena Bani Shoraka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The establishment of the National Register of Interpreters and the introduction of the Interpreting Act have been crucial steps in the professionalization of spoken language interpreters in Norway. While the services provided by the interpreting profession can now be said to largely meet the criteria for professional status, they fall short in organizational aspects such as monopoly and jurisdiction. This article presents the findings of a survey conducted among newly trained spoken language interpreters. Using a structured questionnaire and follow-up qualitative interviews with interpreters who have recently completed the basic course in interpreting in the public sector, we examine what they find challenging in the current interpreting market. The study reveals that the interpreters experience unpredictable working conditions and a lack of understanding and respect for their role in encounters with interpreter agencies and users of interpreting services. Furthermore, internal rivalry undermines the profession's collective cohesion. The study concludes that educating interpreting services users, establishing more permanent positions, and enforcing stricter compliance with the Interpreters Act's requirements for the use of qualified interpreters can help mitigate these challenges.
spoken language interpreters, interpreters’ market, professionalization, qualified interpreters, working conditions
Copyright (c) 2025 Gro Hege Saltnes Urdal, Åse Johnsen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Risiko i tolkemediert interaksjon – tolken tolker (ikke) alt
This article examines the risks associated with interpreter mediated interaction in the public sector when the interpreter and service provider lack a shared understanding of the interpreting process and its implications. Communicative practices are understood to be semiotic in nature, shaped by cultural and social factors, and inherently influenced by the process of interpreting. We view this in the light of a potentially simplified understanding of the interpreters’ Code of Ethics, especially the following guideline: “The interpreter should interpret exactly what is said in the conversation, without changing, withholding or adding content”. This formulation may create the impression that full textual similarity is possible. To shed light on the communicative risk involved when the point of departure is an expectation of textual similarity, we present an analysis of interpreting students’ written notes on their understanding of the language situation in Romania, Pakistan and Vietnam, as well as transcriptions of the students’ assessments of challenges in two specific texts. The data were collected through learning activities associated with the course Sight Translation (Tolking fra skrift til tale) in the Bachelor’s programme in Public Sector Interpreting at Oslo Metropolitan University. We discuss the findings from the study in light of existing knowledge about competence among practicing interpreters and interpreter users. The article concludes that if a simplified understanding of interpreting is the foundation for professional practice, this could have real-world consequences for individuals. Enhancing professional competence is necessary to reduce such risks. Keywords: the interpreting act, interpreter mediated interaction, professional cooperation, communicative risk
the interpreting act, interpreter mediated interaction, professional cooperation, communicative risk
Copyright (c) 2025 Randi Havnen, Tonje Raddum Hitching https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sammensatte uttrykk i konsekutiv frammøtetolking
This article examines the interaction between primary participants and the interpreter in interpreted conversations. It focuses on how meaning-carrying elements that are not expressed verbally but acquire meaning at the intersection between bodily action, artefacts and speech, are used to negotiate meaning. The article demonstrates the significance of such composite utterances in meaning-making and shows how the interpreter reproduces the interaction between the agents' bodily actions and the verbal dimension. The study presented here is based on observations of authentic institutional conversations with interpreters. The findings suggest that the interpreter often resorts to clarifications and referential specification in composite utterances. Keywords: interpreted conversations, meaning-making, composite utterances, multimodality, coherence, references
Copyright (c) 2025 Silje Ohren Strand https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Det epistemologiske grunnlaget for tolking
In the past thirty years, the dialogical perspective on language in interaction has been dominant within research on interpreter-mediated conversations. In this article, I point to some overlapping features between dialogism, phenomenology and hermeneutics in issues of meaning and terms of understanding. I argue that phenomenological concepts, such as intentionality and intersubjectivity, and hermeneutical concepts, such as horizon of understanding, the hermeneutic circle and pre-understanding, may provide further insight into interpreted conversations. The purpose of the article is to show that the idea of an interplay between the subject and the world, which is central to phenomenological and hermeneutical thinking, may hold the key to a more holistic understanding of what happens between the interlocutors when the ‘miracle of understanding’, as Gadamer puts it, takes place. Simultaneously, this perspective helps elevate the discussion of meaning and understanding from the specific conversational context to a more general and abstract philosophical level. Keywords: interpreting, translation, meaning, understanding, hermeneutics, phenomenology
tolking, oversettelse, mening, forståelse, hermeneutikk, fenomenologi
Copyright (c) 2025 Aleksandra Thy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
På olika platser i professionaliseringsprocessen
This article takes as its point of departure Ozolin's (2000; 2010) survey and framework for different countries’ approaches to meeting interpreting needs. Within this framework, Sweden is placed among countries with significant state involvement. This involvement is evident through inclusive legislation and state-funded training to meet the need for interpreting services. In this article, we describe why the Swedish interpreter professions have reached different stages in the professionalization process. We also show that the professionalization process is not linear, but rather a fluctuating one influenced by contextual factors. Ozolin’s framework is used as a starting point in describing the Swedish context. However, in our description, we differentiate between the three most common interpreting professions in Sweden, conference interpreting, sign language interpreting and public sector interpreting. The different historical factors impacting the professionalization processes of the three professions are important for understanding the interpreting field in Sweden today. The differentiation of interpreting professions also allows us to provide a more fine-grained description of the factors which have affected, and still affect, the development of the three professions. Some factors of particular importance that dominate the current discourse about interpreting are changing political opinions and technological developments. These are examples of factors that, despite state involvement and affirmative legislation, can contribute to slowing down, and in some cases even eroding, the ongoing professionalization processes of the interpreting professions. Keywords: Interpreting professions, professionalization processes, interpreting services
Copyright (c) 2025 Elisabet Tiselius , Helena Bani-Shoraka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0