By Trisha Konar
Translation studies deals with the theory, practice, and application of translation. Because it treats translation as both a transfer between languages and a communication between cultures, it touches many other fields - comparative literature, cultural studies, computer science, history, linguistics, philosophy, and more.
Language is more than words
English may be the most prominent language in the world, but not everybody speaks it, and fewer still speak it well enough to communicate effectively. More importantly, language is much more than the communication of words - it is an expression of culture, society, and belief. Promoting a single universal language would risk losing the culture and heritage carried by native languages.
Why business needs translation
As communication and travel advance, geography is becoming less of a barrier to doing business. Companies benefit from working overseas: lower costs in some countries, professional and industrial expertise in others, and new markets to trade in. When they trade in countries with a different native language, they need high-quality translation to communicate effectively.
Translation spreads information, knowledge, and ideas, and enables empathetic communication between cultures - which makes it critical for social harmony and peace. Today's multicultural, multilingual society demands exactly that kind of communication, and translation skills are becoming ever more desirable.
Where IT meets translation
IT translation and localization are, so far, the peak of our human ability to connect, share, and benefit from one another's ideas and discoveries. Ours is called the "Age of Information" because of our desire and our ever-evolving ability to share and build upon knowledge across all channels.
We now share ideas and information through innumerable platforms - not only through IT localization, but through broadcasting and journalism, academia, live interpretation, and document translation. We share spoken knowledge through audiobook and podcast translation, and through newer, creative formats like TED Talk translations and open-source translation programs. We can even share experiences of taste and smell through recipe translation.
No limit to social learning
There is no end to the potential of social learning made possible by translation and localization providers - and, more specifically, by localized information technology and the technical translators and facilitators behind it.
