This article deals with the translation of Ausbausprachen, which are those language varieties deserving language status as a consequence of an elaboration process. This process changed them into entitities which are different from their original matrices: Ausbau languages are recognized as such because of having been shaped or reshaped, molded or remolded in order to become a standardized tool of literary expression. The present article looks into the case of Galician and discusses the role played by translators and interpreters as mediators in the Galician language situation. The author finds that profesional actitivity of translators and interpreters in Galicia is subject to strong constraints that influence their activity and the way it is actually performed. The author distinguishes two types of constraints: 1) external variables, which have to do with peripheral factors of the mediation process, namely with professional training, general labour conditions, and suply and demand of cultural products; and 2) internal variables, which affect the translation process itself and have to do with features of the codification activities.