It Sounds Better in Yiddish
The Yiddish language has a reputation of being a humor and jokes kind of language—the language of the common people. But, Yiddish also has a whole intellectual and creative side. This reputation of the language probably originated back in the 18th century, during the Enlightenment period where the language was associated with the uneducated old […]
The influence of interpreters on history
The previous post addressed the impact of translators on history. This article focuses on the special influence of the interpreters. Unlike a translation that deals with written text, the interpreter translates orally. Today, the profession of interpreters is highly developed and divided into sub-fields and specializations – consecutive and simultaneous interpretation with business specializations, accompanying […]
Translation and culture
There is a romantic beauty in the translator’s role in connecting cultures, openness to new world, transferring knowledge and technology that enables progress. Knowledge that shapes myths, symbols, norms and ideologies is deeply engraved in societies separated from each other by both physical and temporal distances. When the translator in the ancient world was exposed […]
Interpretation of translation
Translation should be neutral and impartial. The translator Norman Shapiro sees translation as the attempt to produce a text so transparent that it does not seem to be translated. A good translation is like a pane of glass. You only notice that it’s there when there are little imperfections—scratches, bubbles. Ideally, there shouldn’t be any. […]