Translators Through History

by UNESCO, Jean Delisle (Editorr), Judith Weisz Woodsworth (Editor)

In AD 629, a Chinese monk named Xuan Zang set out for India on a quest for sacred texts. He returned with a caravan of twenty-two horses bearing Buddhist treasures and spent the last twenty years of his life in the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, in present-day Xi an, translating the Sanskrit manuscripts into Chinese with a team of collaborators.In the twelfth century, scholars came to Spain from all over Europe seeking knowledge that had been transmitted from the Arab world. Their names tell the story: Adelard of Bath, Hermann of Dalmatia, Plato of Tivoli. Among them was Robert of Chester (or Robert of Kent), who was part of an elaborate team that translated documents on Islam and the Koran itself.Dona Marina, also called la Malinche, was a crucial link between Cortes and native peoples he set out to convert and conquer in sixteenth-century Mexico. One of the conquistador s tongues or interpreters, she was also the mother of his son. She has been an ambivalent figure in the history of the new world, her own history having been rewritten in different ways over the centuries.James Evans, an Englishman sent to evangelize and educate the natives of western Canada during the nineteenth century, invented a writing system in order to translate and transcribe religious texts. Known as the man who made birchbark talk, he even succeeded in printing a number of pamphlets, using crude type fashioned out of lead from the lining of tea chests and ink made from a mixture of soot and sturgeon oil. A jackpress used by traders to pack furs served as a press.These are just some of the stories told in "Translators through History," published under the auspices of the International Federation of Translators (FIT). Over seventy people have been involved in this project as principal authors, contributors or translators and proofreaders. The participants come from some twenty countries, reflecting the make-up and interests of FIT.

Genres: Linguistics, History

346 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (in French, L'Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law and human rights including the fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, as well as attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide.

Reviews

[Andrea Itziar · Rating 4 out of 5]

En realidad sería un 7,5

Revisión muy interesante sobre la historia y el desarrollo de la traducción y, en especial, sobre los traductores y su rol tan esencial en prácticamente cualquier ámbito y momento histórico. Aunque se nota la nacionalidad del autor, el libro ofrece una correcta visión general tanto en occidente como en oriente (sobre todo del primero). También cabe destacar el capítulo dedicado a los intérpretes, muchas veces olvidados por no tener sus traducciones por escrito.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translators have invented alphabets, helped build languages and written dictionaries. They have contributed to the emergence of national literature, the dissemination of knowledge and the spread of religions. By describing the main areas in which translators have distinguished themselves throughout the ages, this book highlights their important contribution to society and the fundamental role they have played in the unfolding of intellectual history itself. Nearly fifty scholars from twenty countries have helped to compile this survey, which takes the reader through Europe, the Americas, and into Africa, India and China.

[Lector Nómada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonne chance avec la lecture!

C'est pas mal une bonne guide de toute l'histoire de traduction jusqu'au XXe siècle. C'est long.