30 September is International Translation Day, which is celebrated every year on St Jerome’s feast day. St Jerome might be one of the most famous historical translators, due to his influential Bible translations in the 4th century.
He was commissioned by Pope Damasus to translate the Bible into Latin; this version later became known as the Vulgate. It was declared the official Bible translation in the 16th century and was in use until the second half of the 20th century.
In addition to his Bible translation and religious notes, St Jerome is also well known for his commentaries on translation. One of the motifs that often comes up in his letters and treatises is the question of verbatim, word-for-word translations. As an answer to his critics who accused him of deviating from the source text, he stated that when translating, he “render[ed] sense for sense and not word for word”. He argues that if he translates “word for word, the result will sound uncouth, and if compelled by necessity [he alters] anything in the order or wording, [he] shall seem to have departed from the function of a translator”.
This is a dilemma that translators still face more than 1500 years later. It is a fine line translators must walk and their decisions are influenced by many factors such as the purpose of the translation, the subject matter or the client’s specific instructions.
There are certain cases when they have to opt for more creative solutions, for example when translating idioms or slang. Similarly, when working on advertising slogans or children’s books, translators might also need to put snappy solutions above literal loyalty to the source text. This is a process often referred to as ‘transcreation‘. Translation and transcreation are closely related, with both involving the transfer of words from one language to another. Yet transcreation – as the name suggests – calls for a splash more creativeness. With transcreation, it’s very common to stray away from the original text and sometimes even rewrite it completely. This is because what the linguist seeks to portray and transform is not so much the words themselves, but rather their essence and effect. At the heart of it, it is a mash-up between copywriting and translation.
In contrast, literal translations are often necessary, for example for medical or legal translations where even the slightest change to the source can have undesirable results. This is the case for cross-country contracts: Should a legal debate arise, it is critical that the two versions of the contract are identical in both languages.
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Source of St Jerome’s quotations: http://www.bible-researcher.com/jerome.pammachius.html