Although the full definition of translation is to transfer from one to another, to convey using another medium, the term is commonly used to express the act or process of interpreting a text, especially from one language to another. What is considered to be a good translation in the terms of literature and the mutual influence between literatures in the course of history exhibit significant characteristics. There is no doubt that texts have not always been translated out of artistic motives only. It can be assumed that the original purpose of translation was to convey ideas and new facts to people who were badly informed and concerned themselves with the message rather than with the artistic value of the text.
However, a good translation is not only to convey a message. The translator must go beyond transference of the exact meaning of the words the original document consists of. His task is to create a text that has the same effect and leaves the same impression as the source document, a text of the same artistic value. If Martin Luther’s English to Russian Translation of the Bible literally transferred the meaning of each and every word, it would be very unlikely that it would convey the true spirit of the text.Or, let us examine some examples of Russian-English translations. A Arabic Translation typically uses the Russian way of addressing people. For example, the English translations of “Anna Karenina” keep the Russian system of nomenclature. In the Russian system of addressing people some inflexions are added to the name of the father, therefore, Vladimir, the son of Peter will be called Vladimir Petrovich. While normal to Russians it sounds odd and somewhat confusing to Anglophones. Therefore, the new trend in Portuguese Translation Services is to forego the patronymic, as it does not add anything to the art of the text.
The difficulty of translation differs immensely from medium to medium. While to translate poetry is almost impossible, to translate a scientific text where we can dwell on facts is quite easy. If the translator understands the subject matter, of course. In a way, a legal translation is much easier to accomplish than a literary one. There is no need to mention, that this will require training and experience in the legal sphere. The translator must be competent in legal terms and in differences in national legislation between source and target countries. However, a legal translator does not need to finesse the language like a literary translator does. When translating a legal text it is more important to find the exact correspondence of the terms rather than to achieve artistic value for the reading enjoyment of the audience. Certainly, one translator can be good at translating both legal and literary texts, however, he or she must be trained and experienced in the specific set of skills each type of translation requires.
We can find numerous translations of the Bible from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. What was dominant in Christianity in the Middle Ages was the Latin Vulgate. After that, the Bible has been translated into a number of languages. English Bible translations in particular have a rich and varied history of more than a millennium.
