BILINGUALISM, TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING: THE PERCEPTION OF CLIENTS REGARDING THE PROFESSIONALS THEY HIRE

Abstract The purpose of this article is to investigate the perception of clients regarding the translation and/or interpreting professionals they hire. For such clients, is being bilingual enough to be a good translator and/or interpreter? The first part of this paper provides a theoretical overview of some studies on the concepts of bilingualism and others that compare the skills of professional translators and interpreters with those of untrained and/or inexperienced bilinguals, while also briefly discussing the differences between translation and interpreting. The second part describes the methodology, which involved preparing a questionnaire and sending it to companies and institutions in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and analyzing the data obtained.