Sunday (September 30th) was a big day for us here at Language Insight; it was International Translation Day! The event takes place on the feast of St Jerome, which is held in honour of a scholar and Bible translator whose work made him an early figurehead for the profession. St Jerome was one of the first Christians and was responsible for translating the bible from the best available Greek texts. The resulting work is known as the Vulgate and is the Latin translation of the text that Christians are most familiar with. It may have Christian roots, but International Translation Day, which was founded in 1953, is non-denominational and a simple celebration of diversity in language. The International Federation of Translators celebrates the day every year, noting that the skill deserves acclaim for being a profession as old as humanity. To honour the special day, co-author of Found in Translation Nataly Kelly wrote in the Huffington Post that translation has the power to shape people’s lives. She explains the discipline is used in searching international news for signs a global health scare may be beginning, or collecting intelligence that could prevent a potential terror attack. Ms Kelly adds that translators are charged with everything from helping to draft the wording for UN peace treaties and preventing weak links from developing in international supply chains to creating the subtitles for foreign movies. Today, more than ever, we understand just how vital translation is. International travel and evolving forms of communication have helped to make the world a seemingly smaller place and it has never been easier to keep in touch with an old friend in Canada, or to do business with a client in Japan. Without the ability to communicate between different languages that professional translators hold, none of this would have been possible. Luckily, it would seem their reward is the job itself, with Ms Kelly revealing a poll she and her co-author Jost Zetzsche carried out found 96.4 per cent of translators are satisfied with the work they do. So, join us in saying a big “thank you” to all the hard working translators at Language Insight, and to the others all over the world.
