Translating for minorities in Wales: a look at translation policies

In many parts of the world, state languages come in contact with a number of regional languages and with many immigrant languages. In such complex, multilingual societies, language policies play an important role. And such language policies must, of necessity, include translation policies, either to integrate or exclude speakers of regional and/or immigrant languages. In the studies that have been made by political philosophers about language policy or by translation scholars about translation itself, translation policy remains somewhat of a blind spot. This paper attempts to address this under-researched area. Specifically, this paper will address translation policy in Wales. In so doing, it will consider the use of translation as a tool for granting access to three important areas of a democratic society: courts, healthcare and local government