Considering that there are around 7,000 different languages in the world, I am sure that at some point you will need (or have already needed) a good translation. You have also surely used this word in other situations. For example, you make a translation of the body language of your friends to specific answers or ideas. However, have you ever used it to talk about transporting the remains of a corpse from one place to another? It seems crazy, but that’s a thing! And after sharing a couple of definitions with you, I’ll tell you more about that.

 

Dictionary Definition

 

Translation: noun. The activity or process of changing the words of one language into the words in another language that have the same meaning. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

Translation: noun. A piece of writing or speech in one language that has been changed into another language. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

Translation: noun. The activity or process of changing something into a different form. (Cambridge Business English Dictionary)

 

This word is extremely useful. According to the Collins English Dictionary translation is one of the 4,000 most frequently used words in our language.  With that in mind…

I present you some sentences that include this word, so you never find yourself like Bill Murray: lost in translation.

 

− “It is the first of two novels; the second, “Fierce Kiss,” is scheduled for translation into English in 2020.”.

From The New York Times website Article: In ‘The Piranhas,’ the Chronicler of Italy’s Mobsters Tries His Hand at Fiction. 2018

− “The dollar’s gains aided U.S. equity fund returns against international funds, which required a costly translation into the greenback, investors said”

From Reuters website Article: Economy, dollar, trade key to U.S. stocks’ global edge. 2018

 − “Although foraging for online information and food might be related activities, they are distinct—making the translation from rodent to human less certain”

From Scientific American website Article: Why It’s So Hard to Junk Bad Decisions. 2018

 

Christians love to make translations

Did you know that the Bible is the most translated book in all of history? Nowadays you can find the complete translation of this book in 450 different languages, and it is partially translated to another 2000. In short, Christians love translations, and it was they who invented this word. However, it was not precisely to talk about the change from one language to another.  Instead it named a process in which the remains of a corpse were moved from one place to another!

This is a really ancient Christian custom. The first translation was made in 354c, with the remains of Saint Babylas, who was the twelfth bishop of Antioch and who became a martyr when he was imprisoned to death by Emperor Decius of Rome, who persecuted Christians throughout his reign. At 354c Caesar Constantius Gallus ruled the Roman Empire and wished to appease the pagan effects in the city of Daphne, a suburb of Antioch, so he ordered to build a new church in honor of Babylas at Daphne and had the remains of the bishop transferred to it.

This activity became more frequent with the passing of the years, and in the first half of the 12th century it was named as translation, from Latin trānslātiō (“carried over”), formed by trans- (“across”), and lātiō (“carrying”). Translatio is the noun of action from past participle stem of transferre “to bring over, carry over” in turn coming from trans “across” and ferre, “to carry” or “to bring”.

Beginning in the 14th century, Christians took interest in translating their texts into multiple languages to carry them to as many places as possible in the world, sending them on the expeditions Europeans made to other continents, so they give to translation the meaning it has today. Definitely a much more useful meaning, don’t you think? Because at present it is not a frequent activity to carry corpses of saints!