International Translation Day is marked every year on September 30. The day acknowledges the importance of professionals who translate, transpose and transliterate from one language to another. International Translation Day helps to promote awareness about the importance of multilingualism.

History

The General Assembly of the United Nations had decided to mark September 30 as International Translation Day when the member states passed resolution 71/288 in 2017. Along with establishing International Translation Day, the resolution reaffirmed the importance of language professionals in fostering communication between nations, promoting peace, and building understanding and development.

The date of September 30 was chosen since it is the same date as the feast of St Jerome, the Catholic Saint who translated a portion of the Bible. Before the passing of the resolution, the International Federation of Translators (FIT) had organised events around the day with the first observation of International Translation Day happening in 1991.

Significance

There are over 7,151 languages that exist today, though nearly 40 percent of them have less than 1,000 speakers. With globalisation, there is an increasing need for effective communication across speakers of multiple languages.

The United Nations itself has six official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish – while closer to home, India has 22 official languages. For effective communications, language professionals like translators, interpreters and terminologists are needed. Not only do these professionals help in effective communication but also help in promoting mutual respect between different languages and cultures.

The day is crucial to promote multilingualism, which can help in fostering cultural diversity.

Theme

The theme for International Translation Day 2022 is ‘A World Without Barriers’. The theme for the previous year was ‘United in translation’

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)