In 1991, the International Federation of Translators (FIT) launched the idea of an officially recognised International Translation Day, which the United Nations formally established in 2017. The aim was to demonstrate the lasting importance of translation as a profession that has become even more essential in the age of globalisation.
30 September was chosen as the official date because it is the feast of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators, known for translating the Bible into Latin in the version known as the Vulgate.
How important translation is for our line of work, and for our company in particular, can be deduced from the fact that Trust-IT is home to 10 languages (English, Estonian, Filipino, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian – for now!).
Translation is everywhere: in our daily conversations, in the content we create, in the meetings we hold, in the projects we write. We constantly need to translate and interpret data, verbal and non-verbal signals, words, social cues and emotions. This task becomes more difficult in a workplace with around a dozen different nationalities and languages, but all the more important. Not only interpersonally but also professionally, translation permeates every part of our working day. As a digital communications and marketing company, one of our main tasks is translating information that is often raw, technical, scientific and hermeneutic, to make it appealing and understandable to wider audiences. That is not an easy task.
One might think that having such a diverse team would sometimes be an obstacle and hinder the work. To say that we don't face difficulties and misunderstandings arising from our multiple linguistic backgrounds would be a lie. Still, we choose to see this as one of our company's greatest strengths. Having multiple languages means always having multiple perspectives and communication approaches that can be used in various ways. This makes our work even more translatable, attractive and personal. Moreover, it is wonderful to hear this plethora of languages whenever you enter the office and turn to colleagues from countries other than your own. Languages bring people together and make us appreciate each other more. Translation means not only interpreting from one language to another: it means finding a deeper understanding behind words, stepping out of your own perspective and putting yourself in somebody else's shoes. It means knowing how to react to differences, and when not to react, and how to decode gestures, smiles and looks. It means constantly learning and evolving, and nurturing radical empathy in order to understand the other.
On International Translation Day, this is what we celebrate at our company: translating our differences into similarities, complexities into curated knowledge, and words into tangible ideas. And finally, deepening understanding – of science, of global communities, of projects, of innovations and, most of all, of one another.
