World Translation Day: role of translation in transfer of knowledge and culture

Translation is not merely the transfer of words from one language into another. It is an important means of carrying knowledge, thought, culture, literature and experience from one society to another. Throughout human history, translation has played a fundamental role in the spread of knowledge and in contact between civilisations.

A means of transferring knowledge

The existence of different languages in the world has added variety to human civilisation. However, differences of language could also become a barrier to the exchange of knowledge. Translation has removed this barrier to a great extent. Knowledge produced in one language reached speakers of another language through translation, and so knowledge did not remain confined to one region or nation. Since ancient times, translations of books on philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, geography and other sciences have played an important part in the development of human knowledge.

The scholarly and translation work of the Abbasid era in Islamic history is a leading example. Knowledge from Greek, Persian and other languages was translated into Arabic. This scholarly activity played an important role in the intellectual and scientific development of Muslims. Later, the same body of knowledge reached Europe by different routes. The same principle holds today. Scientific research, a new discovery, a literary work or an intellectual debate in any part of the world has greater effect at the global level when it is rendered into other languages.