Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, June 27th, 2017

Needs for Translation movement


Needs for Translation movement

We live in a world where English, as a universal language, spoken everywhere is translation still important? The answer is absolutely yes, here are many reasons articulate why translation is important and will remain so, despite the growing ubiquity of English. English is the third most widely-spoken language in terms of native speakers, of which it has at least 330 million. But if we count the people who speak it as a second language, it’s the most popular language in the world. English is the most commonly spoken language but that doesn’t mean all who can speak some English can comprehend and well enough to cope in all situations. For example, a survey from the European Commission found that only a quarter of Europeans was able to understand sufficiently to follow an English-language news broadcast let alone to talk about the non-English speaking citizens who live in a very remote part of the world. Holding a basic conversation is one thing academic comprehension and production is something different.
So the impact and importance of translation on history of civilization is undeniable; it can help economic and social organizations using unlimited talent and experiences exist across the globe. Translation movements have vastly benefited their countries paving the way for social and economic development while the seat of Afghanistan is vacant in such process. Though, we are witnessing great explosion of English Language Center, fuelled by the growing dominance of American culture in this country. Even in remote towns you hear boys and girls speaking English. Bilingual store signs, street boards and restaurant menus widely seen in the urban also in some rural areas. Hundreds of English words have already become part of the daily conversation. But in academic ground we have the least products comparing to neighboring countries; even may of our universities and professors are beholden and dependent to Iranian translated products.
In fact, there is grave need for translation movement to pave the way for economical and social movements because no movement will happen without theoretical movements. We should understand that Language, as a core tool of communication, is the heart of social, cultural and economic human experience and achievements. The limits of translations are the limits of our world; translations open a new window to the soft expressions of a social and economical development.  Good translators not only translate the thoughts of writers but they would translate the culture, customs, and social settings of the source and target language speakers.  They are also familiar with different styles of speaking, and social norms of both languages. This awareness can improve the quality of the translations to a great extent and also familiarize the readers to dept of other cultures. Furthermore, Cultural variety opens our eyes to human rights, open mindedness and mutual respects. It opens the door of dialogue amongst different cultures leading to cultural enrichment, cultural flexibilities and more peaceful world. When someone translates a book from different culture, he translates the expression of culture and individuality of its speakers; it can strongly influence the way he perceives the world. Therefore, translator should consider that to what extent the culture is in the text and to what extent the language is in culture.
The social context in translating a text is probably more important variable than its genre. The act of translating takes place in the socio-cultural context. So it is important to judge translating activity only within a social context. Every society has its own set of habits, value judgments and classification systems which sometimes are quite different and sometimes overlap. Modern literature on translation draws heavily on the important role of cultural gap between SL and TL communities. According to expert, cultural asymmetry between two linguistic communities is necessarily reflected in the discourses of their members, with the potential opacity and inaccessibility this may involve in the target culture system. They consider translation as a means which provides the TL society with a variety of strategies, ranging from conservation to naturalization, against the backdrop of the sense of otherness which conveys this difference with a set of cultural signs capable of questioning or even denying our own culture.

Finally translation movements, especially English as central language, can play a very effective role in exchange of human experience and achievements. Many developing or developed countries such as Iran and china could accelerate their social and economic growth training professional translators in English languages. Today, English language is not only the language of science but also aviation, computing, diplomacy, and tourism.  It is listed as the official or co-official language of over 42 countries and is spoken extensively in other countries where it has no official status. English plays a great part in the cultural, political, or economic life of those countries. It is widely accepted that English has become the language of choice for many international scholarly journals and considered as an irreversible tool to academic and professional tool. The trend is on a rise, and academia is left with almost no choice but to publish in English in order to obtain international recognition.  Conversation without a common language between academicians from different nationalities, both in the virtual and real world, would prove impossible. Therefore, it is very important to train a professional team of researching translators especially English to National languages and vice versa to pave the way for social and economic growth in the country.


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