Monday 30 September 2013

Happy International Translation Day 2013!

Today is the International Translation Day!

Translators all over the world celebrate this day by having fun, gathering at various events organised by their associations or simply by working (!).

Why today?

The International Translation Day is celebrated on September 30, because this day marks the death of the patron of translators - St. Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius). St. Jerome is mostly known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, which eleven centuries later was recognised as the official version of the Bible - the Vulgate.

A humble translator

In today's world, translators are all about high quality and perfection. And while we all do and should strive to create the best translation we possibly can, we can't escape the fact that as humans, we are not 100% faultless (thank you proofreaders!). The thing about St. Hieronymus is that he was humble enough to acknowledge that his work - although excellent - was not without errors, therefore he revisited some of his translations, making corrections and additions setting a good example for other translators to follow.

Dear colleagues!

On this special day, I wish you many interesting and well-paid projects, respectful clients who appreciate your hard work and always pay on time, many fruitful and fun translation conferences and events, user-friendly software that never shows up any errors, accessible Wi-Fi wherever you are on the go and need it, source texts that are always clear and easy to decode (along with clear instructions from the client) and many, many successful years in this wonderful profession. After all, it's the best profession in the world, isn't it!