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The continuous dominance and popularity of our language has made plenty of great contributions, both in terms of globalization and in the modernization of human lives. Having a common universal language may be a good thing, especially in the fields of science where a common language is efficient for understanding important information needed by all people.

However, some linguists believe that this dominance affects the rich nature of literature. Why?

Due to the dominance and popularity of English, only few literary translations of works written in that tongue are translated into other languages. As a result, only those writing in English have the opportunity to reach a wide audience. In addition, due to the competition in the global publishing market, there is a tendency that the translation of, say, English poetry into other languages may result in damages and misinterpretation of the original source. The truth is that documents, whether in literature or in science, that are written in minor languages still have perhaps a greater opportunity of publication than one written in a major language, but have a far smaller chance of translation, and so of gaining international recognition.

English truly is the language of technology and globalization. But, how come that it is the most prevalent and dominant language in the world?

Although English is a language of nuance, subtlety, and complexity and a language with many origins, the same multiple origins have also made it a bit of a mess. Arguably, its elasticity makes English stronger, and easier https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=translator to adopt by non-native people.

Although Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language in the world, the teaching industry of English has become a booming sector of education nowadays. Thus, linguists believe that English is likely to remain the common and universal language.

English is one of the main spoken languages in the world. However, linguists believe that in few years; time, due to the globalization, machine, it will be perfectly possible to translate English and some other languages into one another, which will likely affect its dominant status as the universal tool for communication.

Every native tongue has its own changes, from nuances to grammar and its global status. Just like any other major languages like Russian and Latin that invaded the linguistic arena before, language may eventually vanish as an universal language; and who knows, Mandarin Chinese might take over.

Books are a man's best friend. Books are the ultimate source of wisdom and knowledge. Can you imagine a world without books? It would feel as if we have gone back to the dark ages. As once Mark Twain rightly said, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Books are the windows that allow you to get a peek into different country's cultures and people.

No wonder then that translations of books from one language to another have always been an important business. Translations of literary works play a critical role in helping exchange ideas across different languages and cultures and enhance intercultural understanding.

Most people feel comfortable reading in their own primary language. Translations of literary works, be it novels, poems, short stories and plays, open up completely new worlds to explore. It is not only novels which are translated in large numbers. Academic books, for example, are translated for students who wish to study and get an understanding of different cultures.

Literary translations are regarded as a creative pursuit in its own right. And several writers have carved a niche for themselves for their literary translation works such as Vladimir Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges, Sheila Fischman, Robert Stiller, Vasily Zhukovsky, Robert Dickson and more.

History of Literary Translations

The tradition of translating literary works is very old. Throughout history, innumerable literary translations were commissioned by the emperors and the governments. During the Middle Ages, Arabs translated various Greek philosophical and scientific works into the Arabic language.

Similarly in India, various books in Sanskrit on poetry, medicine, astronomy, chemistry and others were translated into Persian and Arabic on a large scale by Arabs to gain a better Get more info understanding of the rich Indian culture and learn about achievements in the field of religion, science, literature and culture. Likewise millions of books have been translated from English to French, French to English, Spanish to Italian and so on.

Demand for Literary Translations is Always High

In today's global age, literary translations have become even more important as countries depend on translations to facilitate communication in the field of education, literature and cultural relations.

Literary translations help preserve cultural traditions and have made it possible for people to transcend borders and learn about other faiths and cultures. It doesn't matter if you don't speak French. You can read French writer Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time ("A la recherche du temps perdu" in French), thanks to literary translators.

Seek experts for literary translations

Literary translations are not just about translating one language into another word for word. A good literary translation must keep the meaning of the original text intact and use stylistics that are appropriate for the target language. If you seek literary translations, you will need the help of translation specialists who have the expertise to go into the depth of the original text, understand its context and then translate it idiomatically while keeping the true meaning intact. A translated work must be able to convey to its readers the true sense and the same delight as the original text would.

If you require literary translations on books of arts or social sciences, always seek the services of a renowned and reliable translation agency, be it an Ottawa translation services provider or certified translation services in Calgary, where literary translations are completed by expert professional translators.

Struggling With Language Translation Software

nbsp; Struggling With Language Translation Software By REUTERS EW YORK -- Imagine having a conversation with someone who does not speak your language and having no trouble understanding or being understood. Imagine writing a poem in Russian or Chinese when you cannot read a word of either.

That beautiful vision, fueled by the emergence of the Internet and the global economy, is guiding a transformation of the age-old business of translation.

Web sites already help people with different languages understand one another in controlled circumstances, enabling them to exchange prepared texts or technical information.

But the emergence of machine translation has raised hopes among some -- and strong doubts among others -- that computers will one day make human interpreters obsolete as Russian or Arabic or other words are rendered instantly into colloquial English or any other tongue.

Its still somewhat far off, said Jeff Hopkins, senior vice president of engineering for Lernout Hauspie Speech Products NV, which is developing a product to translate speech in a three-step process using speech recognition, text-to-text translation and text-to-speech technology.

Of course in 10 years, things will be better.

Machine translation already is a business that is growing by leaps and bounds. The nearly $5 billion market for translation through computers and Web site and software localization, which adapts products and services to a particular culture, is expected to more than double by the end of 2005, according to research think-tank Allied Business Intelligence Inc.

Human translation is currently a larger business, at $8 billion this year, but it is expected to grow at a much-slower pace, rising 33 percent to $10.7 billion by 2005.

Even so, many linguists are not convinced they will ever see a day when humans no longer are the key to accurate translation. The rich, subtle intricacies at the heart of all human languages ensure that computers will not break out of their limited role anytime soon, they say.

As Americans we really like technology, its very seductive, said Kevin Hendzel, chief operating officer for ASET International Services Corp., a translation and localization company based in Arlington, Virginia.

Its seductive that you can cross these boundaries with software, as you can cross these lines on the Internet, but you cant cross the language barrier like that.

Hendzel says language is more emotional than formulaic, making it nearly impossible to translate properly without the help of a human with a lifetime of experience. Linguists are needed to catch the nuances of the language in everything from literary works to street corner conversations, he said.

It would be possible for (computers) to translate the same way it would be possible for them to discuss your love life, said Hendzel, a former head linguist of the technical translation staff for the White House Presidential Hotline.

While one may have to go elsewhere for romantic advice, several new Web sites such as Transparent Language Inc.s FreeTranslation.com and AltaVista Co.s Babel Fish are offering free online access to machine translation.

To be sure, material translated by such services often needs heavy post-editing since the system can only produce the gist of the original language, Hendzel said. One of my clients once said its sort of like a letter from your crazy Aunt Irene. Helpful hints

Indeed. A trial run using Babel Fish to translate Hendzels quote into Portuguese and back into English renders: An one of my customers time that said is luck as of a letter of its aunt insane person Irene.

The Web site posts a warning that it can grasp the general intent of the original text, but the user should consult a human translator to get a polished translation.

For final business communications, companies have turned to a different solution where linguists use interactive software tools that speed up the time it takes to translate text, allowing human translators to accept, revise or start anew the proposed translated text, Muriel Jerome-OKeeffe, former board president of the American Translators Association, said.

The thing thats been the most promising is the memory management tools, she said.

But some companies are setting their sights higher, aiming to make the vision of automatic translation of spoken language into a working reality. Belgium-based Lernout Hauspie may be one of the closest, saying it plans to launch such a product in the next three years.

But this would work only in a constrained environment such as a limited number of speakers or subjects discussed, said Hopkins, who works in Lernouts globalization and Internet translation division.

Hendzel contends that a more advanced product capable of accurate, automatic translation will be possible when technology is developed that functions more like the human brain.

Theyve been working on it for 50 years and they have never solved the semantic problem, Hendzel said. It may never be done. Someday, 100 years in the future, it may be done but the computers will not resemble ours. nbsp;

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