Sergio Viaggio

A General Theory of Interlingual Mediation (Sprachwissenschaft) Sergio Viaggio

The author has more than 30 years experience in literary and pragmatic translation and in conference interpreting. His is the most ambitious attempt at unifying every aspect of translational and other connected activities under one overarching general theory. A most specific theory, at that, that conceptualises and explains what translators and interpreters actually do in real life and, at the same time, offers objective quality criteria. The book has many practical examples, from public announcements and owner's manuals for videocameras to poems by Pushkin and Shakespeare. Sergio Viaggio, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1945. MA in Russian Language and Literature, Moscow's Peoples' Friendship University, 1971. UN translator in 1974, interpreter in 1975, and, between 1991 and 2005 Chief Interpreter with the UN Office at Vienna. He has widely lectured and written on the practice and theory of translation and interpretation.