Non-professional translation in an Irish business setting: Considerations for global theory and national policy

This article aims to contribute to the growing body of non-professional translation and workplace studies by presenting a subset of preliminary findings from an exploratory qualitative case study on multilingual practices within an administrative unit of an Irish-based global IT enterprise. Data gathered from observations and interviews with managers and multilingual staff is analyzed thematically following an inductive approach to reveal how translation features in multiple forms, and to examine the underlying conceptions of language and competence that shape the phenomenon in this setting. A case is made for the explicitation of strategies in international business communication to facilitate both the deployment of effective and sustainable language management and education policies, and the development of theoretical understandings of translation and translating in an ever-evolving social and professional landscape.