Antonini, Rachele, Cirillo, Letizia, Rossao, Linda and Torresi, Ira, eds. (2017): Non-professional Interpreting and Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 415 p.

At the time of publication of this book, the Benjamins Translation Library series was under the editing supervision of Yves Gambier of the University of Turku and Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. Gambier is now an honorary editor, and Robert A. Valdeón has taken the reins. The first volume was published in 1994, and this book represents its 129^th publication. With a stated goal of stimulating research and training in both Translation and Interpreting Studies, the series has accelerated its rhythm in recent years, with nine more books following this one in 2017 alone. While some volumes focus solely on either translation or interpreting, many address research efforts from a combined perspective. Three of the four editors of Non-professional Interpreting and Translation, namely Antonini, Rossato and Torresi, are from the University of Bologna, while Cirillo is associated with the University of Siena. The editors were the founding members of a research project called In MedIO PUER(I) and were responsible for organizing the First International Conference on Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation (NPIT1) in 2012. The book also refers to the second conference in 2014 but does not address the third one which occurred in 2016. The University of Bologna sponsored the In MedIO PUER(I) project to facilitate research about child language brokering in Italy. Despite the general title of this volume, it is heavily weighted to research conducted in Italy, and over one-third focuses on child language brokering. Also, it is somewhat ironic that very little is said about written translation. This is consistent with the speaker lineup for the three NPIT conferences, which concentrate almost exclusively on interpretation. However, a wide variety of interesting articles are presented, and they serve to validate the practice of non-professional interpreting and translation (hereinafter called NPIT). The Introduction by the editors points out that it is high time for academia to acknowledge and research NPIT, a long-standing practice that was not even mentioned in translation handbooks until a few years ago. A recurrent theme throughout the book is that immigration has accelerated the incidence of NPIT, and it will only increase in the future. It meets a demand, and translation scholars should be ready to provide guidance to this interdisciplinary activity, just as other disciplines are doing in their interactions with non-professionals. NPIT research basically has two branches: children (language brokering) and adults. This volume highlights NPIT that takes place in institutional settings. This introductory chapter attempts to standardize the terminology for this activity. As a researcher in a similar area, I have struggled with which term to use to classify my research. “Volunteer” seems too vague, and “amateur” is often perceived as being pejorative except in the sports world. Brian Harris’s moniker, “natural translation,” indicates unstructured activity, while his blog title “unprofessional” leaves a negative impression. “Ad hoc” appears to be too spontaneous. The editors clearly state why they feel “non-professional” is the most unbiased term, since it is simply defined by its opposite: “professional.” A professional interpreter or translator is recruited, receives payment, is held to certain standards, and gains prestige. A non-professional interpreter or translator is voluntary and unpaid, may not have to adhere to certain norms, and may remain unnoticed. The book points out that the correct way to understand “non-professional” is to focus on who rather than on how. Section 1 introduces the current state of NPIT research and some general issues. A chapter by Harris explores the reasoning behind his “Unprofessional Translation” blog which he started in 2009. He felt that the area was being overlooked, and that a blog was the quickest way to …