Goonj – India Law Blog & Insights on Society and Spirituality

BEYOND THE WORD – INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION DAY September 30th is a story of an unseen army of linguists who are the true architects of the global village, from a tale of a holy man’s silent legacy to a constant battle for human connection. The Legacy of St. Jerome The story begins with St. Jerome , a native of Bethlehem, who took up the monumental task of translating the Bible from original Hebrew and Greek into Latin, the common language of the people. His translation, the Vulgate , became the single most important text for Western Civilization and shattered the linguistic barrier between the divine world and the common man. He did not seek glory; his simple aim was to make the difficult Hebrew and Greek understandable in Latin. This is why he is revered as the Patron Saint of Translators , and his feast on September 30th is when the world celebrates his legacy. Translators in the Shadows For centuries, translators worked quietly behind the scenes until 1953 , when the Intern...