Translation Theory

Trans•late verb to turn into one’s own or another language (Webster)

To define translation is rather simple; to explain what translation entails is quite another matter. Explaining this phenomenon has been the subject matter of translation theory throughout history.

SIL’s approach to translation theory is multidisciplinary, involving Translation Studies, Cognitive Linguistics, Relevance Theory, Discourse Studies, and other related fields.

SIL is committed to translation that is:

• accurate: representing the meaning of the source text as faithfully as possible
• natural: using the receptor language in ways appropriate to the text being translated
• communicative: expressing the meaning in an understandable way to the intended audience