The need for translation has existed since time immemorial
and translating important literary works from one language into others has
contributed significantly to the development of world culture. Ideas and forms
of one culture have constantly moved and got assimilated into other cultures
through the works of translators. The history of translation is related to the
history of the often invisible cross cultural interactions of the world. Ideas
and concepts from the East notably India, China and Iraq have influenced the
Western culture since as early as sixth century B.C. when trade ties were first
established between India and the Mediterranean countries. Many medical
theories of Plato and Galen of Greece had considerable influence from those of
India.
Many of the philosophical and scientific works of ancient
Greece were rendered into Arabic as early as ninth century A.D. This knowledge
spread to Europe via Spain which was a predominantly a Muslim country then. The
school of translators of Toledo in Spain established by Alfonso VI of Castile
and Leon in 1085 AD was responsible for translations from Arabic to Latin and
then to Spanish these scientific and technological work which later led to the
European Renaissance. Despite their key contributions, ancient translators have
often remained unknown or in the background and the credit due to them have not
been acknowledged. They have done their job with painstaking efforts despite
many violent conflicts that have dotted throughout history.
Translators have
enabled Holy Scriptures like the Bible written in esoteric languages like Latin
to be understood by ordinary people by translating them into more common
languages without depending on a few elite priests or the members of clergy to
explain what they contained. Some translators even had to pay with their life for
doing it like the famous Bible translators Willaim Tyndale who was arrested and
executed in Holland by the king in 1536 for translating the Bible from its
original languages into the common vernacular of English.
Chinese monk Xuanzang is supposed to have translated 74
volumes of Buddhist scriptures originating from India in to Chinese in 645 AD.
One of the earliest recorded translations of considerable effort in English is
perhaps the translation of the Bible around 1100 AD.
British translator Constance Garnett made the translating
community proud through her brilliant translations of Russian classics
including those of Turgenev, Gogol, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Dostoyevski in late
19th century. Another famous translator is Gregory Rabassa who has translated many
Latin American fictions into English. Dr. Arthur Waley is one of the world’s
foremost translators of the twentieth century of Chinese and Japanese
literature into English. More recently Gladys Yang translated many Chinese
classics into English over the last 50 years. Thus translators have made
important contribution over the centuries in dissemination of ideas and
information to a larger audience, in shaping of cultures and in a sense helped
unite the world.
