Translation, which can be defined as conversion from one to another, as shift in medium, is most commonly used to signify the interpreting from one language into another. We have to underline the role of the characteristics of a good translation in the literary sense and of the influence of one literature on another throughout centuries. Undoubtedly, there were occasions when translations were produced for utilitarian purposes and not for the sake of art. It can be assumed that the original purpose of translation was to convey ideas and new facts to people who were badly informed and concerned themselves with the message rather than with the artistic value of the text.

But such translations are of low artistic value. A translator must never dwell on the individual words of the author of the source document. His task is to create a text that has the same effect and leaves the same impression as the source document, a text of the same artistic value. If we take the Bible as an example, would its word-for-word translation, let’s say Martin Luther’s Russian Translation Services, convey the intended meanings and the holy spirit of the text?Or, we can also consider translations from Russian into English. The Russian system of nomenclature differs from the one other countries do and it can be traced in any Arabic Translation. Russians address people by their first and their father’s name, which can be easily seen in the English translation of “Anna Karenina”, for example. So, if he name of the character is Vladimir and his father’s name is Peter, he will be called Peter Petrovich. This is quite normal to Russians but exotic and somewhat confusing to Anglophones. That is why there is a new trend in Portuguese to English Translation - to keep to the system of nomenclature of the target language for patronimic adds no significant artistic value to the text.

The difficulty of translation differs immensely from medium to medium. To translate poetry is considered practically impossible, to translate scientific and factual text - much easier. That is, as long as the translator understands the subject matter. A legal translation is in some aspects much easier than a literary one. There is no need to mention, that this will require training and experience in the legal sphere. Knowlege of legal terminology and of legal system differences is a must. The language of legal translation does not need to be refined or of artistic value. In legal translation the communication of the exact literal meaning prevails over the artistic rendering. The talents of legal translation versus literary translation are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but do involve completely different skill sets.

We can find numerous translations of the Bible from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Christians in the Middle Ages used mainly the Latin Vulgate. There have been many more translations of the Bible since then. English Bible translations in particular have a rich and varied history of more than a millennium.