Translation in the Era of Globalisation: Definition, Nature, and Scope

Abstract

               Since time immemorial, Translation has been a tool of communication, even before the modern languages had their existence. It was through translation that humans communicated with each other. Today, thousands of years after the human evolution, translation continues to play a crucial role in the globalised world. This paper provides an overview of translation, and examines its historical evolution, definitions, nature, significance, and scope in this modern world. In a globalized world, translation addresses the linguistic challenges of diverse populations, such as India with its 144-crore people and over 100 languages. Rooted in the Latin term, Translation means "carrying across," translation began with primitive gestures when the languages did not exist. Now, translation involves complex textual mediation. This paper analyzes foundational definitions proposed by theorists Catford, Nida, and Bassnett, who held the view that translation is a communicative process for achieving textual and cultural equivalence. This paper explores the multidimensional nature of nature of translation that functions simultaneously as a product, a process, and an academic field. The paper explains how translation as practice combines elements of art, science, and craft, adapting to new technologies like neural machine translation and artificial intelligence platforms. In addition, the paper highlights the pivotal role of translation in preservation, interpretation and dissemination of scientific knowledge, apart from preserving the ancient texts like the Mahabharata and Ramayana. This paper also explores the significance of translation from the anthropological perspective, by providing a global voice for the marginalized communities. Finally, the paper outlines the expanding scope of translation across diverse sectors today, playing an indispensable role in building and strengthening the human network in this gloabalised world.