Education and state authorization of Spanish-Swedish public service interpreters in Sweden

Training and state authorization of public service interpreters have been available in Sweden since the 1970s, and yet training and state authorization is insufficient. Previous research has primarily been dedicated to interpreters in general and therefore the aim of the present study is to gain demographic knowledge of the Spanish-Swedish interpreter population in Sweden. This study reports findings from a questionnaire that was conducted to investigate interpreter training and state authorization of Spanish-Swedish public service interpreters in Sweden. A total of 118 Spanish-Swedish interpreters answered the questionnaire. Results show that the age distribution of Spanish-Swedish state authorized interpreters is skewed and that a majority of the Spanish-Swedish interpreter population has interpreter training. Conclusions suggest that there is a need for further studies on the demographic background of public service interpreters in Sweden and internationally