The art and science of translating written text or the spoken word into another language that is understandable has many vagaries. This is not a precise science because it is nearly impossible to translate verbatim a word for word transcript.
It is because of the localization of words or text and the vagaries that go with specific locations that makes it literally impossible to obtain an exact translation. In order to get the best from translating efforts, it requires that the individual doing the translation understand the cultural background of the original as well as the one the text is being translated into to avoid costly mistakes and embarrassments.
There is a very rich and lengthy history surrounding translation. In history, we see that the first viable translation took place in Sumeria about 2000 BC as the Epic of Gilgamesh was translated into languages spoken in Southwest Asia.
Ptolemy V of Egypt commissioned one of the most famous historical translations in history somewhere around 196 BC. This definitive translation example of the Rosetta Stone was inscribed using three different languages. In addition to that, it has been considered to be the key to helping to understand what translation is all about.
The task of translation is not always easy. This is shown in the translation of Rosetta Stone because it took longer than twenty years to fully decipher this text that was on the stone. This took place during 1799.
In some cases the history of translation has been rocky. It has always been difficult to change the wording of a given text and to keep the meaning intact.
There has been a lot of discussion in the form of the written word from ancient Greece, where early translation was first practiced concerning the process and methods for accomplishing it. It was in this place that literal translation, or the art of meta-phrase and paraphrase were distinguished and the entire process laid out to make certain that the critical part of translating anything into another language involved cultural truths.
John Dryden, writer and translator of the 1700s turned translation into a science as he described the process of translation as two modes of phrasing. In his agony to get it right he wrote these words: "When words appear...literally graceful, it were an injury to the author that they should be changed. But since...what is beautiful in one language if often barbarous, nay sometimes nonsense, in another, it would be unreasonable to limit a translator to the narrow compass of his author's words." Dryden's methodology helps instruct today's modern translations.
As the 18th century saw advances in translations, this led to less accuracy. Translators who perceived a text might be boring to the audience, they often left them out altogether, and this brought about some strange, yet unique translations.
It was during the 19th century that translation took on a whole new meaning of necessity because transportation improved and brought people from around the world together as never before. This made it much more necessary to achieve accurate translations, and therefore, new methods and styles were used to help provide benefits to the business community of people from different languages and cultures.
As we get to our modern age, we see an even greater need for translation as people are communicating through the Internet. We are no longer separate people, but are rather a piece of the larger, global picture. As a global neighborhood people are interacting daily, and goods and services are not traded across borders.
To allow for that machine translation arrived and in some cases, companies relied on inexpensive machine translation and found that it was not in their best interest. Using mechanical translation alone can provide for some hilarious results. Who doesn't remember the "All your base are belong to us." fiasco when the game Zerowing was translated poorly from the original Japanese game in the early nineties?
No one is saying that translation through software doesn't have a place because it does help for online users and document translation.
It is necessary to translate websites and brochures, and this has produced the need for rapid or instantaneous translation. Software provides for this kind of translation in an instant and often perfect manner.
Currently, the largest majority of legal, business and medical translation takes place through the use of software that is given an assist from humans that also translate. When used in conjunction with each other, these methods are capable of catching problems with translation that is accurate and understandable. Furthermore, translations can be checked again to assure that expressions of local areas and words used are accurately to transfer the appropriate ideas.
The evolution of translation has changed in a dramatic way over the centuries allowing for higher accuracy at a lower price. At the same time, it has increased understanding among people around the world.
It is because of the localization of words or text and the vagaries that go with specific locations that makes it literally impossible to obtain an exact translation. In order to get the best from translating efforts, it requires that the individual doing the translation understand the cultural background of the original as well as the one the text is being translated into to avoid costly mistakes and embarrassments.
There is a very rich and lengthy history surrounding translation. In history, we see that the first viable translation took place in Sumeria about 2000 BC as the Epic of Gilgamesh was translated into languages spoken in Southwest Asia.
Ptolemy V of Egypt commissioned one of the most famous historical translations in history somewhere around 196 BC. This definitive translation example of the Rosetta Stone was inscribed using three different languages. In addition to that, it has been considered to be the key to helping to understand what translation is all about.
The task of translation is not always easy. This is shown in the translation of Rosetta Stone because it took longer than twenty years to fully decipher this text that was on the stone. This took place during 1799.
In some cases the history of translation has been rocky. It has always been difficult to change the wording of a given text and to keep the meaning intact.
There has been a lot of discussion in the form of the written word from ancient Greece, where early translation was first practiced concerning the process and methods for accomplishing it. It was in this place that literal translation, or the art of meta-phrase and paraphrase were distinguished and the entire process laid out to make certain that the critical part of translating anything into another language involved cultural truths.
John Dryden, writer and translator of the 1700s turned translation into a science as he described the process of translation as two modes of phrasing. In his agony to get it right he wrote these words: "When words appear...literally graceful, it were an injury to the author that they should be changed. But since...what is beautiful in one language if often barbarous, nay sometimes nonsense, in another, it would be unreasonable to limit a translator to the narrow compass of his author's words." Dryden's methodology helps instruct today's modern translations.
As the 18th century saw advances in translations, this led to less accuracy. Translators who perceived a text might be boring to the audience, they often left them out altogether, and this brought about some strange, yet unique translations.
It was during the 19th century that translation took on a whole new meaning of necessity because transportation improved and brought people from around the world together as never before. This made it much more necessary to achieve accurate translations, and therefore, new methods and styles were used to help provide benefits to the business community of people from different languages and cultures.
As we get to our modern age, we see an even greater need for translation as people are communicating through the Internet. We are no longer separate people, but are rather a piece of the larger, global picture. As a global neighborhood people are interacting daily, and goods and services are not traded across borders.
To allow for that machine translation arrived and in some cases, companies relied on inexpensive machine translation and found that it was not in their best interest. Using mechanical translation alone can provide for some hilarious results. Who doesn't remember the "All your base are belong to us." fiasco when the game Zerowing was translated poorly from the original Japanese game in the early nineties?
No one is saying that translation through software doesn't have a place because it does help for online users and document translation.
It is necessary to translate websites and brochures, and this has produced the need for rapid or instantaneous translation. Software provides for this kind of translation in an instant and often perfect manner.
Currently, the largest majority of legal, business and medical translation takes place through the use of software that is given an assist from humans that also translate. When used in conjunction with each other, these methods are capable of catching problems with translation that is accurate and understandable. Furthermore, translations can be checked again to assure that expressions of local areas and words used are accurately to transfer the appropriate ideas.
The evolution of translation has changed in a dramatic way over the centuries allowing for higher accuracy at a lower price. At the same time, it has increased understanding among people around the world.
About the Author:
Some information on translation agencies found at Eyes on Huntsville. Thank you for the valuable language translation and agency information.
No comments:
Post a Comment