A Rs. 100 note (or any other for that matter) has the value of the currency listed in 15 major Indian languages. Imagine the lingual diversity of this nation alone, not to mention the rest of the world.

Language helps communicate ideas. And translators help people of different languages share their thoughts and ideas.

Who Is a Translator?

A person who can speak, read and write another language, other than one's own, and who uses this skill to translate documents is known as a translator. For example, a translator will translate a book originally published in Italian to another language, say English.

Thus, a written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language is a translation.

Play on Words

As easy as it may seem, the work of a translator is not an easy one. A translator has to have excellent communication (written and oral) and language skills, not only in the base / original language but also in the target language.

It is not enough to know only generic - common - words. Knowledge of technical words and excellent grammar skills are a must. For example, if you are translating from Italian to English, you need to be able to express yourself fluently in English as well. Or the translation would not make sense.

More often than not, a translator does not have the freedom / liberty to change the meaning of the original. You have to be as true to the original as possible.