Over the past year, I have often come across comments such as: “You’re in trouble—it won’t be long before artificial intelligence replaces you.” And it is true—part of office-based work has changed, and part of it has diminished. At the same time, in practice, the situation is quite different.
An increasing number of foreigners are living in Croatia. English has become the lingua franca—a language through which I communicate not only with native speakers, but also with a Nepalese, an Indian, a Dutch person, or a French person. Over time, I have become specialised in understanding so-called “broken English” and English spoken with a wide range of accents—often in stressful, legally sensitive situations.
In court corridors and in the institutions where I work, the role of a sworn court interpreter often goes beyond the mere transfer of meaning. I frequently find myself acting as a mediator, a conciliator, and even a kind of “translator of emotions”. In situations where people are encountering another country's legal system for the first time, the interpreter is sometimes the only person who understands them—and the only one they can turn to. It is not uncommon for people, in such moments, to share parts of their life stories.
In discussions about technology, the idea of a “universal translator” is often mentioned. Interestingly, such a device existed in the science fiction series Star Trek, a symbol of a technologically advanced society. And yet, despite the universal translator, every ship in the fleet had a communications officer. Someone had to understand context, relationships, intention, and the consequences of what was said.
That fiction describes today’s reality with striking precision: technology can assist with cross- language communication, but responsibility for true understanding still rests with the human interpreter.
Give me a chisel, a hammer, and a piece of the finest marble in the world, and I still will not sculpt David—nor anything particularly meaningful. A good tool in the hands of a master is worth its weight in gold. The same tool in the wrong hands—not necessarily.
In the work of a sworn court interpreter, it is not only knowledge of languages or the speed of the transfer of meaning that matters. What matters are experience, responsibility, judgement, and a human presence in the room. That is why a sworn court interpreter brings more than just language proficiency.
The interpreter brings themselves.
