Both professions are about mediating between the mother tongue and one, or more foreign languages. If it happens in speech, it is called interpretation, if it happens in written form, it is a translation. It is not enough to be an expert in the mother language and the foreign ones, both interpreters and translators need to have a strong cultural background. Although both professions work with language, different skills are needed for a translator and an interpreter. While translators usually translate to their mother tongue, an interpreter has to be able to communicate in both directions.
