5 Facts to Know about Translation
One of the first Schools of Translators was not actually a school.
The Toledo School of Translators, which was active in the 12th and 13th centuries CE, was more of a ‘hub’ of translators. Rather than teaching per ser, it was in fact a group of scholars working to translate ancient philosophical and scientific works from multiple languages into Latin, at the cathedral of Toledo. The name is a misnomer but was readily adopted in Spain and abroad from the late 12th century onwards.[1]
Etymology
The word ‘translation’ comes from the Latin translationem, meaning ‘a carrying across’ or ‘transfer of meaning’ and could also be applied to the removal of a saint’s body or relics.[2]
The most-translated book
The world’s most-translated book is the Bible, which is currently available in more than 3,000 languages. One of the best-known translations in Europe is the Latin Vulgate, which dates from the 4th century and is still a source of reference for scholars today.
The most common language pair
The most common language pair in Google Translate is English to Spanish.[3]
A key part of programming
The name of the one of the main programming languages, Fortran, stands for ‘Formula Translation’. The language is used in cutting edge science and engineering projects and serves to test and benchmark the world’s fasted supercomputers. Fittingly, it is also an interoperable language that ‘enables seamless integration into multi-language projects’.[4]
[1] https://www.alandalusylahistoria.com/?p=5199
[2] https://www.etymonline.com/word/translation
[3] https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/translate/fun-facts-google-translate-20-years/
[4] https://fortran-lang.org/
