Translator traitor
The phrase “Traduttori traditori” (translators traitors) is as ancient as the very origins of translation. But regardless of the etymology of the phrase it is almost certain that it carries a pejorative connotation. Why?
In the last two decades we have witnessed major changes in society. Knowledge and information have become economic assets and productive resources. This has changed the traditional economic models and has given way to the so called “age of knowledge” or “the age of information”.
In this ever changing and dynamic context translation has acquired great importance due to the high development of the new information technologies. For example, the internet has made it possible for hundreds of millions of people to have easy access to an immense and impressive amount of information. However, a large amount is only available in English while not all the users that have access to it can speak or understand the English language. This proves that it is quite evident that there is a growing need to translate large amounts of the information available on the World Wide Web by using more modern methods and tools.
On the other hand, translation has become a support tool in the process of business decision making. It is right here where the famous phrase “Translators traitors” comes to mind, as it would be more fair to say in today’s world “Translators Facilitators” for it is this group of hard working and skilled individuals who contribute to changing the face of today’s business practices.