Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Sonja Pöllabauer
Professor of Interpreting Studies
Main research areas
- Interpreting in asylum determination interviews
- Field research in public service interpreting
- Healthcare interpreting
- Interpreter education
- Interpreting ethics
Sonja Pöllabauer
Sonja Pöllabauer holds a position as Professor for Interpreting Studies with a focus on Community Interpreting at the Centre of Translation Studies at the University of Vienna. Before taking up her current post, she worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Graz. She has been involved in research projects on medical and social service interpreting, and interpreter-mediated communication in an asylum context, and has been involved in public service interpreter training courses. She has also served as Consultant for interpreting for UNHCR and External Expert for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). She currently also serves as Vice-Director of Studies at the Department of Translation Studies.
Sonja Pöllabauer (she/her)
Department for Translation Studies, Kolingasse 14-16, 1090 Wien, Room 04.37
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Publications
Nuč-Blažič A, Iacono K, Poellabauer S. Developing and Evaluating Digital Training Materials for Interpreting in Refugee Transit Zones: Insights from Students and Novice Interpreters. English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries (ELOPE). 2026 Jun;23(1):151–168. doi: 10.4312/elope.23.1.151-168
Singureanu D, Braun S, Davitti E, Maryns K, De Wilde J, Mazzanti E et al. Advancing training in video-mediated interpreting for asylum and refugee settings: integrating minimum requirements and research-based approaches. Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice. 2026;Online First:1-23. doi: 10.1080/0907676X.2026.2707544
Poellabauer S, Ahamer VS. Community Interpreting. In Chapelle CA, Mellinger CD, editors, The Encylopedia of Applied Linguistics. 2nd ed. Wiley Online Library. 2026 doi: 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0159.pub2
Poellabauer S, Bartlomiejczyk M. ‘I’m an arrogant cow because I quarrel with them'. Activist interpreters navigating positionalities in the context of anonymous births. Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice. 2026;1-20. doi: 10.1080/0907676X.2026.2707114
Iacono K, Poellabauer S, Bartlomiejczyk M. “l thought it would mostly be bureaucratic stuff, not a banana and a condom” An interview study on interpreted sex worker consultations. Interpreting: international journal of research and practice in interpreting. 2026;Online first:1–26. doi: 10.1075/intp.00138.iac
Sourdille A, Poellabauer S. Queer Peers Only? Boundary Work and Belonging in Interpreting for LGBTQIA+ Refugees. In van Hest E, Jacobs M, de Wilde J, Maryns K, editors, Contextualising non-professional interpreting practices in public service provision. John Benjamins. 2026
Poellabauer S, Behr M, Bahadır-Berzig Ş. Stellungnahme der Plattform Dialogdolmetschen zum Asyl- und Migrationspakt-Anpassungsgesetz – AMPAG. 2026.
Bartlomiejczyk M, Poellabauer S, Straczek-Helios V. “’The heart will stop beating’. Ethical issues in activist interpreting – the case of Ciocia Wienia”. Interpreting: international journal of research and practice in interpreting. 2025 Mar 20;27(1):124-150. Epub 2024 Mar 24. doi: 10.1075/intp.00103.bar
Poellabauer S, Ahamer VS. Community Interpreting. In Chapelle CA, editor, The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. 2nd revised edition ed. Wiley. 2025
González Figueroa LA, Poellabauer S. Interpreter provision and training of interpreters for languages of limited diffusion: an overview of the situation in Austria. FITISPos International Journal. 2025;12(1):122–136. doi: 10.37536/FITISPos-IJ.2025.12.1.390
Pasch H, Poellabauer S, Heinisch B. “Interpreting is never just interpreting in this field, you know?” Interpreter Role-Spaces in European Migration and Reception Contexts. In Contextualising non-professional interpreting practices in public service provision. John Benjamins. 2025
Poellabauer S, Bartlomiejczyk M. No escape? Interpreting Trauma with a Focus on Interpreters’ Emotional Involvement, Coping and Self-Care Strategies. In Purkarthofer J, Oostendorp M, Busch B, editors, The Routledge Handbook on Language and Trauma. Routledge, Taylor & Francis. 2025
Zwischenberger MB, González Figueroa LA, Poellabauer S, Maryns K, De Wilde J, Mazzanti E et al. “The Ones That We Don’t Find–Approaching Languages of Limited Diffusion in Interpreting. Entrance Assessment in the Light of Non-Professional Interpreting Practice. Journal of Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation (JoNPIT). 2025;1:A40–A57.
Bartlomiejczyk M, Poellabauer S, Straczek-Helios V. Activist interpreting in abortion clinics: Emotional challenges and self-care strategies. Translation & Interpreting Studies: The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association. 2024 Nov 22;20(1):50-77. doi: 10.1075/tis.23064.bar
Simoska S, Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Dimopoulou M, Poellabauer S et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 1: The Western Balkans Route - Challenges and Highlights From 2015 up to the Present 2024.
Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Pasch H, Poellabauer S, Pournari E et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 2: Interpreting Between Empathy and Professionalism: Interpreters as Cultural Mediators Along the Western Balkans Route 2024.
Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Karamizari E, Pasch H, Poellabauer S et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 3: Interpreting Between Empathy and Professionalism: Insights, Challenges and Solutions 2024.
Simionska M, Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Ahamer VS, Heinisch B et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 4: Interpreting Between Empathy and Professionalism: The “Ideal Interpreter” – Skills and Competences of Interpreters in Humanitarian Context 2024.
Panova-Ignjatovik T, Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Dimopoulou M, Poellabauer S et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 5: Working with Interpreters in Refugee Transit Zones along the Western Balkan Route: Demands, Challenges, and Solutions 2024.
Aleksoska-Ckatroska M, Savikj Z, Sekulovski D, Sekulovski L, Heinisch B, Karamizari E et al.. ReTrans Vodcast No. 6: NGOs Along the Western Balkans Route and Their Role in Recruiting Interpreters 2024.
Activities
Ferndolmetschen. Workshop für Dolmetscher*innen des Verein Zebra Interkulturelles Beratungs- und Therapiezentrum in Graz
InDialog5: The technological turn and public service translation and interpreting: challenges and opportunities (Event)
Queer peers only? Boundary work and belonging in interpreting for LGBTQIA+ refugees
Public Service Interpreting: An Outline, Developments and Challenges
Public Service Interpreting Research
Dolmetschen im Dialog: Perspektiven aus Forschung, Ausbildung und Praxis
Ausbildung und Praxis
Herausforderungen der Qualifizierung von Dolmetscher*innen am Beispiel der Ausbildungspyramide der Plattform Dialogdolmetschen
Ausbildung und Praxis