CIVIC HUMANISM AND THE ETHICS OF TRANSLATION

This article argues that translators working in public‐service settings embody a form of civic humanism: by enabling multilingual deliberation they perform the ethical labour of sustaining participatory democracy. Drawing on Gadamer’s concept of Bildung and recent scholarship on interpreter activism, the study reframes linguistic mediation as a practice of civic education and ethical formation. A synthesis of philosophical, sociolinguistic and Uzbek‐language research generates an integrated model in which professional codes of ethics intersect with the translator’s public responsibility. Case analyses from Europe and Uzbekistan illustrate how civic virtues – solidarity, reciprocity and practical judgment – are cultivated through interpreting. Recommendations are offered for pedagogy, policy and future research.