Translation is as old as human civilization. From the moment different language communities began to trade, share knowledge, or spread religion, the need for translation arose. At first, it was a practical activity—scribes and interpreters helped kings, merchants, and priests communicate across languages. Over time, translation became not only a tool of communication but also a carrier of culture, religion, and literature.
The history of translation can be seen as the story of how human beings have tried to bridge the gap between languages while debating two eternal questions:
1. Should translation be word-for-word (literal)
2. Or should it be sense-for-sense (natural, idiomatic)
In the West, earliest records = Babylon (c. 2100 BCE) where scribes translated official documents to govern multilingual empires.
Translation has been seen in different ways: an art, craft, or science. Translators are often called both “traitors” (traduttore, traditore) and “bridges” between cultures.
Only in the 20th–21st century has translation become a recognized academic field, focusing on big ideas like culture, ethics, and ideology.
⌱Origin of translation studies:
The term “Translation Studies” was first introduced by James S. Holmes, an American-Dutch translation scholar.
James S. Holmes
In 1972, Holmes presented his famous paper “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies” at a conference in Copenhagen.
In this paper, he clearly proposed that translation should be studied as an independent academic discipline, not just as a branch of linguistics or literature.
Because of this, Holmes is often called the “founding father of Translation Studies.”
From then, translation became not just practice but also theory + research field.
⟁ History of Translation:
1) Babylonian / Roman Empire (Early Antiquity)
• Babylonian times (Mesopotamia, Egypt):
Context: Mesopotamia was multilingual (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian).
Translation Work:
Sumerian–Akkadian word lists (first bilingual “dictionaries”).
Diplomatic documents like the Amarna Letters in Akkadian.
Religious myths (e.g., Epic of Gilgamesh) circulated across languages.
Main Feature: Translation was practical (administration, education, religion), not artistic.
• Roman Empire (1st c. BCE – 5th c. CE):
Greece:
Greeks translated Egyptian, Babylonian, and Indian knowledge.
They were more interested in ideas than word-for-word accuracy.
Rome:
Rome absorbed Greek culture by translating Greek works into Latin.
Cicero (106–43 BCE): “Not word-for-word, but sense-for-sense.”
Horace (65–8 BCE): stressed freedom, not slavish literalness.
This started the big debate: literal vs. free translation.
Septuagint (3rd century BCE): Hebrew Old Testament → Greek, for Jews in Alexandria.
St. Jerome (4th century CE): translated the Bible into Latin (Vulgate). He emphasized translating sense-for-sense in daily language.
Medieval Europe:
Bible translation became political and religious.
Some translators (like John Wycliffe in 14th century England) were punished for translating into the common tongue.
3) Renaissance Period (15th–16th c.):
The printing press (1450s) increased demand for translations.
Scholars wanted Greek and Latin classics in local languages.
Martin Luther translated the Bible into German (1522–34). He used simple, everyday German → shaped the German language itself.
Dolet (French translator) set out rules: avoid word-for-word, respect meaning, and write clearly.
In France, translators created “belles infideles” (beautiful but unfaithful)—they made texts elegant in French, even if they strayed from the original.
4) Translation in the 17th Century:
Theories of translation emerged in Europe.Translation became a literary art form.
Writers like Sir John Denham and Abraham Cowley in England said translators should not just carry meaning but also beautify texts.
Faithfulness was still debated, but elegance and style mattered more.
John Dryden (major figure):
John Dryden
Translated Ovid’s Epistles.Introduced three methods:
1. Metaphrase – word-for-word.
2. Paraphrase – sense-for-sense (middle way).
3. Imitation – free, creative adaptation.
Dryden preferred Paraphrase (balance between accuracy & readability).
Alexander Pope supported Dryden’s views: translation should capture spirit + style, not just words.
5) Translation in the 18th Century:
The Age of Enlightenment: clarity, reason, order.
Translators believed their job was to make texts polished and rational.
Alexander Pope translated Homer’s Iliad into English—not literally, but with elegant style.
Translation often meant adapting texts to the “good taste” of the time.
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1779–80): stressed that translators must consider audience—“Who is the translation for?”
Alexander Fraser Tytler (Principles of Translation, 1791):
Alexander Fraser Tytler
-Translation must keep complete ideas.
-Style & manner should match the original.
-Translation should have the same ease as the source.
-Allowed omissions/additions to clarify ambiguities.
6) Translation in the Romantic Age (late 18th–early 19th c.):
Reaction against Enlightenment “polish.”
Romantics valued originality, imagination, and foreignness.
Schleiermacher (1813): two choices:
1. Move the reader to the author (foreignization)
2. Move the author to the reader (domestication)
Translation became a way to experience world literature (Goethe’s idea of Weltliteratur).
Shelley: translation should recreate the spirit, not word-for-word.
7) Translation in the Victorian Age (19th c.):
The Victorian period cared about morality, education, and empire.
Many classical and religious texts were translated for moral lessons.
Colonial translations: British in India translated Sanskrit and Persian works into English (and vice versa).
Example: Charles Wilkins’ Gita (1785), Max Muller’s Sacred Books of the East (1879–1910).
Translation was also used as a tool of empire—to govern and to study colonized cultures.
Matthew Arnold (On Translating Homer, 1862):
Said only scholars who know Greek & appreciate poetry can truly judge a translation.
Judge = effect on readers who know both texts.
8) Translation in the 20th Century:
The period when translation studies became a real discipline.
Key theorists:
Jakobson (1959): 3 types of translation (intra-, inter-, intersemiotic).
Nida (1960s): formal equivalence vs. dynamic equivalence (Bible translation).
Catford (1965): linguistic shifts.
Vinay & Darbelnet (1958): translation procedures.
Newmark (1980s): semantic vs. communicative translation.
Holmes (1972): mapped translation studies into “pure” and “applied.”
9) Modern Translation (21st Century):
Translation is globalized, digital, and multimedia.Covers not only literature, but also science, business, law, media, and digital content.
Today: Google Translate, DeepL, ChatGPT—very fluent, but still imperfect with idioms, culture, or ambiguity.
Future: MT + human editing = the norm (post-editing).
⟡ Conclusion-
The history of translation shows how it has always been a bridge between cultures and civilizations. From Babylonian scribes and Roman thinkers to Bible translators, Renaissance humanists, and modern technology, translation has shaped languages, spread ideas, and connected the world. Today, with both human creativity and machine tools, translation remains a vital force in global communication.
• Citations:
- Information from YouTube & Chat GPT.
- Pictures and Videos from Google Chrome & YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment