Arben Shala
Translation has been widely used as an intermedium to implement and promote linguistic policies in Kosovo throughout the period of international administration and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo (PISG) (1999–2008), as well as in the years after Kosovo’s declaration of independence (2008). The presentation discusses translation and interpreting activity in Kosovo in terms of the legal framework governing multilingualism in administration and legal proceedings, the difficulties and challenges inherent in implementing linguistic rights, and the impact of multilingualism on fostering trust in administration, particularly in the security sector.
Kosovo’s population, which was largely bilingual or even trilingual in the 1970s (Vickers, 1998, p. 171), is now almost monolingual; as a result, the language gap between Albanians, the Serbian minority, and other ethnic groups has continuously increased, while English has become the dominant ethnically neutral medium of communication. Thus, translation and interpreting contribute to the alleviation of ethnic tensions and the development of trust in local institutions. The latter encountered quality challenges, partly as a result of international organisations absorbing all skilled interpreters and translators, and partly due to a lack of translators and interpreters with experience in legal texts and terminology. Following the reduction in size and revision of the mandates of the missions (UNMIK and EULEX), the local government and judiciary institutions have steadily increased their language staffing.
The analysis of documents revealed that despite repeated funding and staffing constraints, recommendations made by experts from international and independent organisations and institutions (OSCE, IOM, OIK, etc.) have been appropriately addressed or have been or are currently being implemented at the local and central levels. Substantial efforts, however, are required to implement multilingualism, particularly in monoethnic municipalities (with either an Albanian or Serbian majority), to improve the quality of translations and to increase the number of translators and interpreters.
Keywords: multilingualism, linguistic rights, translation quality, trust, neutral language.