The Role of Translators-Interpreters in Contemporary Society in the US and in Europe: Luxury or Necessity? Dr. Eduardo González University of Nebraska at Kearney Judging by appearances, the US has everything it needs in terms of meeting present-day requirements for language services in all spheres of modern life. There are immigrants from everywhere, millions of bilingual or polyglot people, excellent universities and colleges and so forth. However, the results as to having qualified translators and interpreters fall quite far from the possibilities. This work will attempt to give a general view of the problem and a brief analysis of possible solutions. The Past First England, then the US, have been for at least the last three centuries the most powerful countries in the world. England had a very early Industrial Revolution and its development of machines and ships led to its vast overseas empire. Even during the centuries when Spain was the most powerful nation and its ships traveled the entire world, its war crafts and equipments could not match the British fleet and armies. For a while there was France, with its beautiful Revolution for liberty, equality and fraternity, spreading the power of the bourgeoisie all over Europe. Then arose Napoleon, the Revolution’s emperor, trying to conquer new lands and colonies for France. In the long run, he was no match for the British power either. His ships were blockaded and destroyed at sea and his weary armies were finally crushed at Waterloo in 1815.

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Then there was Germany, united after many decades of Prussian-German internal feuds and external wars, trying to gain access to colonies already controlled by France and Great Britain. The First World War unleashed and England, then with France as its valiant ally and the timely intervention of the US armies in the European theater, could still prove its resiliency and