Apart from the traditional holidays which usually are in red on the calendar, during the year there is much more interesting dates which can be celebrated. One of them is the 30th of September, generally associated with Boy’ Day, however that day we can also celebrate International Translation Day.
This holiday is celebrated for a long time, but apparently only in 2019, on the 24th of May was it officially accepted by UN Organizations, such as the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs/International Federation of Translators (FIT), which took the initiative already in 1991, that were fighting for such acceptance for ages. The point of this day is to emphasise the importance of the translators’ role in many fields and the integration of translators.
An interesting fact is that the aforementioned FIT, which was formed in 1953 in Sorbonne, Paris, was the first organisation of that type. However in Poland the oldest is the Polish Translation Society founded in 1981 and Polish Association of Economic, Law and Judicial Translators – “TEPIS” in short, established in 1990.
Why the 30th of September?
This date is considered to be a date of St. Hieronim’s death – the translators’ patron. Known also as Hieronim from Strydon (born in Strydon, in Dalmatia, in the area of today’s Croatia) lived at the turn of IV and V century AD. His greatest achievement, thanks to which he gained his reputation, is the translation of Bible from Greek and Hebrew to Latin. Till these days his translation, despite may critics throughout the years, is considered official and named Vulgate. The name comes from Latin words textus vulgatus – common texts, available for everyone.
St. Hieronim performed his job very reliably, which is why he gained respect as a translator. The translation of the Old and New Testaments took him around 24 years, of which several were spent on studying Hebrew and Greek, reading manuscripts, searching and comparing information from different sources. It draws attention to how demanding was the translator’s job, especially in those times.
At present in the global age the translation process is much easier. Translators have at their disposal CAT tools (Computer Aided Translation). Also, thanks to the TM system (Translation Memory) translations are faster and simply better.
Therefore, it is worth on the day dedicated for translators to focus a bit of their mind on the essence of their work. Who knows, maybe you will get interested in this field and desire to become a professional translator as well…
(translation K. G.)
