Translation

This article is about language translation. For other uses, see Translation (disambiguation).

"Translator" redirects here. For other uses, see Translator (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Transliteration or Word-sense disambiguation.

King Charles V the Wise commissions a translation of Aristotle. First square shows his ordering the translation; second square, the translation being made. Third and fourth squares show the finished translation being brought to, and then presented to, the King.

In language, translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in all languages) between translating written texts and interpreting oral or signed communications between languages.

A translator always risks inadvertently introducing source-language words, grammar, or syntax into the target-language rendering. Such "spill-overs", however, have sometimes imported useful source-language calques and loanwords that have enriched target languages.

Since the 1940s, efforts have been made, with varying degrees of success, to automate translation or to mechanically aid the human translator. More recently, the rise of the Internet has fostered a world-wide market for translation services and has facilitated "language localisation".