Translating: a key to international understanding?

(interpreting), and work with the written language (translating), although certain tasks blur this distinction. B It is sometimes said that there is no task more complex than translation - a claim that can be readily believed when all the variables involved are taken into account. Translators not only need to know their source language well; they must also have a thorough understanding in the field of knowledge covered by the source text, and of any social, cultural, or emotional connotations that need to be specified in the target language if the intended effect is to be conveyed. The same special awareness needs to be present for the target language, so that points of special phrasing, contemporary fashions in expression, local expectations, and so on, can all be taken into account. On the whole, translators work into their mother tongue (or language of habitual use), to ensure a result that sounds as natural as possible though some translators have argued that, for certain types of text (e.g., scientific material) where translation accuracy is more crucial than naturalness, it makes more sense for the translators to be more fluent in the source language. C The aim of translation is to provide semantic equivalence between source…