In the moment words appeared, so did our need to communicate them. When people came together, the need for translation was born.
Translation may be defined as the rendering of source text into a specified target language, but this comes short in terms of what translation really is. Some languages define translation as “carrying across”, “bringing across” and “speaking across”. If we put these three together, we might get a close answer. What is true is that, in order to get a correct translation, it is not only changing words from one language to another.
Translation contains interpretation, communication, localization and some metaphrasing.
Translation also needs skill. A translator will not be able to translate if he or she doesn’t have the abilities mentioned before, but the list of requirements is much bigger: a translator has to have a good knowledge of the subject to be translated, have an extensive vocabulary in both languages, and the ability to express thoughts clearly and consequently in both languages, as well as good drafting, among many others.
To summarize, translation is much more than the process of translating words or text from one language into another, it is knowing, living and writing in different languages, with the certainty that you are doing it well, because your experience allows you to think this way.
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