Translating languages of low diffusion: current and future avenues

ABSTRACT This article introduces a special issue of The Interpreter and Translator Trainer devoted to the much under-researched issue of translating languages of low diffusion (LLDs). Here we explore a plethora of aspects which have rarely been discussed in Translation Studies in general and, in particular, regarding translator training, such as linguistic diversity, variations in the terminology concerning LLDs, effects of unequal power relations between languages, language and translation policy, acute problems with language access in crisis situations and challenges for translator trainers. We present the contributions to this special issue, the first three of which focus on various directionality-related issues and the way they affect the information needs of translators, their stylistic choices and L2 phraseology. The remaining four articles focus on unique problem areas involving LLDs: International Sign (IS) interpreters, socialisation into the profession as an LLD translator, literary translators working with LLDs and the need to include indirect translation in translator education. We conclude with a call to legitimise indirect translation as a research topic in the context of LLDs, and we point to other unexplored aspects of translating LLDs and languages of low resources (LLRs) deserving further attention.