Brief History of Translation: Everything You Need to
Know
To translate is to transfer or turn from one set of symbols into
another. But what is translation's history? Even though the
history of translation is a topic that historians and scholars
have long debated, it's universally agreed that translation
dates way back before the Bible. Since the earliest days of
human interaction, translation has continued to develop, now
more than ever, allowing cross-cultural interactions, trade,
globalization of the economy, and sharing of knowledge over
time. With the help of translation, the world has become
more of a melting pot. This in turn also makes translation a
more necessary service, spanning different theories,
mediums, and civilizations. We'll take you through a
fascinating account of the history of translation from
antiquity to present-day.
The Early History of Translation
Different theories surround translation throughout history,
which gives insight into how, when, and where translation
has been used. First, the word "translation" was derived from
a Latin phrase that means "to bring or carry across." Second,
another explaining phrase is "metaphrasis," which was
derived from Ancient Greek, meaning "to speak across."
Finally, from the word metaphrasis, the word metaphrase
was derived to mean "word for word translation".
History of the First Known Translations
It is said that translation was done in the Mesopotamia era,
where Gilgamesh (Sumerian poem) was translated into the
Asian language. Other ancient translation works include
Buddhist monks translating Indian texts into Chinese.
Translation of Religious Texts
It is said that the first known significant translation was of the
Hebrew Bible, dated back to the 3rd century. The need for
more translation continued to increase with the expansion of
spiritual theories and religious texts. The result of religion
brought the drive to spread religion and strengthen faith,
which means there was the need to translate religious
content into multiple languages.
Among the first known religious translations, is the
translation of the Old Testament Bible into Greek in the third
century BC. The translation is called the "Septuagint", the
translation of the Bible from Hebrew into Greek. The
translation of the Bible into Greek became the basis of future
Bible translations that followed in multiple languages.
Because religion played a huge part in the development of
translation, the early church named Jerome as the translation
patron saint. In the fourth century AD, Saint Jerome
translated the Bible to Latin, and the Latin Bible became
predominantly used in the Roman Catholic church.
Protestantism was introduced, which also created the
necessity to continue translating the Bible and other religious
content into other languages. One significant difference
between Catholicism and Protestantism was the contrast
between crucial passages and the disparity during the
translation.
Famous Translators in History
While most translators were hidden characters, several
people paved the way for translation that allowed some of
the greatest contributions to disseminating knowledge and
ideas throughout the ages. Some translators were unnamed
because translation work was dangerous at the time. Some
lost lives because of translating, for instance, William
Tyndale, who translated the Bible into the English language.
He was executed in 1536 in Holland.
Other famous translators include Constance Garnett, who
translated several Russian classics such as Tolstoy and Gogol
into English in the 19th century. There's also Xuanzang, a
Chinese monk who was credited for translating Indian
Buddhist texts into the Chinese language.
Modern Translation
Printing Press and Its Impact on Translation and Language
Usage
Before the introduction of the printing press, when few
people could read, most written texts were in Latin. The
printing press, though, had a profound impact on language
use and people's literacy. The use of Latin declined as texts
could now be translated and even published in different local
languages, with more people getting a chance to learn and
read.
The Early Professional Translation
In the early professional translation, there was little regard
for translation accuracy. This was the period of translation
'adaptation', as there was still no accuracy in the translation
of individual words. For example, when a translator did not
understand a word's meaning when translating, they would
skip it entirely. This gave the translators a lot of control over
their audiences, since they ended up shaping the texts that
the people read.
Translation Studies in the Academic Discipline
Studying translation in the academic discipline became a
concept around the 1950s, when institutions were
introduced. The institutions allowed cross-cultural
interactions and knowledge sharing where people from
different languages gathered to learn how to translate.
Now, machine translation (MT) has been widely adopted to
enhance and ease translation, with translators worldwide
being aided by computers. It involves the application of
language science and computers to the development of
translation. It is the computerized system responsible for
attaining translations either with or without human
assistance.
Translation and the Globalization of the Economy
Due to the industrial revolution, the rapid development of
the economy evolved into new machinery that allowed
swifter and easier production of texts, creating the need for
companies to translate and enter into foreign markets.
Tracing back to the 18th century, translation helped globalize
the economy, with many businesses benefitting from
formalized translation services. The development of machine
translation and the internet has completely revolutionized
the ability to translate, access, and understand documents
worldwide.
Translation in Society Today
Today, translators now have several tools, such as the
internet and laptops at their disposal to aid in the translation
process. Translation services have also become of massive
importance in society, as the world becomes increasingly
interconnected through the economy, education, sharing of
knowledge, and trade.
Seeing how far translation has come through the years, we
can gain an appreciation for the strenuous translation work
done by the early translators in history. In addition, we're
glad for the more accurate and widely available translations
that we have today. We thank all the translators that work
hard to keep the world moving forward.
