COMMUNICATION IN PUBLIC SERVICE INTERPRETING AND TRANSLATING WITH LANGUAGES OF LESSER DIFFUSION

The project was designed to respond to the persistent communication barriers encountered by migrants, especially those originating from countries whose languages are of lesser diffusion (LLD). In these contexts, the shortage of qualified interpreters and translators severely hinders access to essential public services. To address this gap, the consortium developed specialised training modules and pedagogical materials aimed at heritage and bilingual migrant speakers of LLDs, with the ultimate goal of enabling them to become professional Public Service Interpreters and Translators (PSIT).

The project pursued four main objectives: 1. To map the presence of LLDs across the partner countries. 2. To identify the most pressing communication needs in public service contexts. 3. To design and produce innovative materials and resources that bridge communication gaps between migrants and institutions. 4. To develop and pilot a comprehensive training course for bilingual and bicultural speakers of LLDs, drawing on the evaluation of a previous pilot module, and preparing them to be recruited as qualified PSIT professionals. DIALOGOS, the transnational consortium established under this Erasmus+ initiative, reflects this vision of dialogue and cooperation. More than an acronym, DIALOGOS symbolises a European network and platform for research, training, and open-access dissemination of resources in the field of PSIT for LLDs.

The consortium conducted a structured mapping of LLDs and PSIT training options in the partner countries. This mapping was complemented by a series of interviews and surveys aimed at identifying LLD communication needs in public services, specifically in the healthcare and legal-administrative fields. Based on the results, we designed and produced training materials and resources to address the identified gaps. We subsequently developed and implemented a pilot training course for native and migrant bilingual LLD speakers, ensuring that participants could acquire the bilingual and bicultural skills necessary to qualify as PSIT professionals. The pilot course informed the development of our final material: an interactive online training course in the consortium languages ​​(English and Spanish): https://dialogoserasmus.eu/es/curso-de-formacion/. Special attention was paid to adapting and localizing the course to the context of each country (IT, GR, and ES), since one of the essential competencies for practicing as a PSIT is understanding the national systems in which one's professional activity takes place.

The project achieved all its expected results: • A state-of-the-art review and mapping of existing training programs and available materials on LMD. • A detailed analysis of pilot training modules, with corresponding reports and materials. • The design and implementation of a pilot training course. • The development of multilingual training resources tailored to the identified needs. • A freely accessible, blended training module in Spanish, as well as an English version adaptable to any language in the future. Special attention was paid to adapting and localizing the course to each country's context, as one of the essential competencies for practicing as a PSIT is knowledge of national systems, such as the healthcare system or the legal system. However, for greater impact and dissemination, a simplified general English version was also created, which will be used as a basis for any country and language. We continue to work on translation and localization into Italian and Greek, and, in the future, other languages ​​(Arabic and French). These results, consolidated on the DIALOGOS platform (www.dialogoserasmus.eu)