Celebrating International Translation Day 2020

Wednesday 30 September marked International Translation Day; a day dedicated to celebrating the work of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world. This year, it comes at a time where the work and efforts of language professionals have played a crucial part in the work towards combatting coronavirus. Without medical translators and interpreters, there would be even more barriers to face in the pandemic; fortunately, language professionals across the world have kept up with the increasing demands and facilitated international communication.

What is International Translation Day?

International Translation Day is a tribute to those who work in the industry. Their work may often happen quietly in the background, but their contributions and involvement have a huge impact on world peace, health, and security. The theme of International Translation Day 2020 is “Finding the words for a world in crisis”; an ode to the work translators have produced during the pandemic. Accurate and reliable medical translation has had a massive impact on the work towards curtailing Covid-19, whether it’s sharing medical research between countries, helping the public understand the next steps or providing essential information online that is accessible for everyone. Beyond medical translation, globalisation heavily relies on translators and this year, it’s been crucial for companies to communicate business updates for employees, clients and customers.

With all of this in mind, International Translation Day recognises the significance of the language industry, as the United Nation says: “Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and the planet.”

The celebration dates back to 1953 however, it was only in 2017 that the UN General Assembly announced that on 30th September each year will be declared as International Translation Day. This date was specifically chosen because it historically celebrates the feast of St. Jerome, who is considered the patron saint of translators. St. Jerome was a Christian scholar and priest from North-eastern Italy who was fluent in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. St Jerome famously became the first person to translate most of the Bible into Latin from Greek and parts of the Hebrew Gospel into Greek. His devotion to making the Bible accessible for more people is what helped him be recognised as a saint of librarians and libraries as well as archivists, translators, and encyclopaedists in the Catholic Church.

An annual event that has taken place on this day since 2005 is the St. Jerome Translation Contest, hosted by the United Nations. Current and former UN employees, interns and students are invited to compete for the best translations in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and German.