Intermediation in intercultural communication: “A necessary evil” or a normal thing?

Abstract

Among the factors that have a decisive impact on the processes of intercultural communication, an important role belongs to translation. At the same time, in many cases, direct transmission from the original is absent or difficult, as a result of which there is a need for one or another kind of interlingual mediation. The purpose of our article is to consider one of the ways of such mediation — the so-called “second-hand translation” and those situations in which its use is the only possible. Examples of such translation, significant for the national culture, are considered, a detailed classification of the varieties of translation through an intermediary language is proposed. It is concluded that the traditional attitude towards them as a deliberately inferior kind of cultural interaction in some cases simplifies the real state of things. The study uses the method of philological analysis. The results of the work can be used in the further development of translation studies, as well as in teaching courses in translation theory and intercultural communication in higher education.