A short history of translation and translators

Other translators consciously produced literal translations, especially translators of religious, historical, academic and scientific works. They adhered closely to the source text, sometimes stretching the limits of the end language to produce a non-idiomatic translation.

• Other translators consciously produced literal translations, especially translators of religious, historical, academic and scientific works. They adhered closely to the source text, sometimes stretching the limits of the end language to produce a non-idiomatic translation.
• A new discipline named “Translation Studies” appeared in the second half of the 20th century. The term “Translation Studies” was coined by James S. Holmes, an American-Dutch poet and translator of poetry, in his seminal paper “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies” (1972). While writing his own poetry, Holmes translated many works from Dutch and Belgian poets into English. He was hired as a professor in the new Institute of Interpreters and Translators (later renamed the Institute of Translation Studies) created in 1964 by the University of Amsterdam.
• Interpreting was seen as a specialised form of translation — spoken translation instead of written translation — before becoming a separate discipline in the mid-20th century. Interpreting Studies gradually emancipated from Translation Studies to concentrate on the practical and pedagogical aspect of interpreting. It also included sociological studies of interpreters and their working conditions, while such studies are still sorely lacking for translators to this day.