The article mainly focuses on the question of intelligibility concerned as a criterion for the interpretation to be evaluated. The author analyses the role of this linguistic phenomenon within the spheres of international and cross-cultural communication, outlines its main features and, ёnally, marks its relevance and reasonableness for the use within the contemporary ёeld of translation and translation studies. A special attention is paid towards the problem of standards (ideal models) existing as the starting point for the translation to be analyzed.