The Story Behind International Translation Day
International Translation Day is celebrated every year on 30 September, the feast day of Saint Jerome. Known as the patron saint of translators, Saint Jerome (~342-420 AD) is recognized for his translation of the Bible into Latin.
The significance of Jerome’s translation can be appreciated not only by Biblical scholars, but by modern-day linguists as well. What set apart Jerome’s translation was his use of original source texts, his clarity of exposition, and his fidelity of translation. (Sound familiar?)
Jerome proposed returning to the original source text – the Hebrew version – as a way to correct mistakes introduced over the years by inaccurate translations and inattentive copyists. After 23 years of labor, Jerome finished his translation, later known simply as the Vulgate. For nearly a thousand years, the Vulgate was the basis for translations into other languages and remains an important legacy of translation and Biblical scholarship as well as a cause for celebration by those in the translation industry.
From its founding in 1953, Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) promoted celebrations of Saint Jerome’s feast day as a way to support its community of linguists and the profession of translation. It wasn’t until 1991, however, that the Public Relations Committee of FIT adopted the holiday as a secular celebration and officially named 30 September International Translation Day.
Encouraging its member organizations around the world to celebrate in different ways, FIT emphasized the value of translation to the general public, lauded the work of the individual translator, and recognized the importance of the profession to an increasingly globalized world.
Since the holiday’s inception in 1991, FIT has selected a theme for each International Translation Day. In 2016, the theme is Translation and Interpretation: Connecting Worlds.
International Translation Day allows us to reflect on issues and developments within the Translation and Interpretation sector. The role of the translator has not changed, translators are still there to provide cultural understanding and to enable communication. Advances in technology have changed how we approach translation. It is now possible to put a 10,000 word document into a machine to give a good quality machine translation. However the role of the translator is still as important as ever:
• Translators enable expansion and globalisation by understanding companies’ and individuals translation requirements
• Although Machine Translation provides good quality translation, human language is imprecise, so correct word use can vary depending on the context and intention of the text
• Translators are intercultural mediators, they are not only bilingual but also bicultural. They understand the source and target culture which gives them an added understanding of the translation requirements