Translation, which literally means a carrying over or transference from one to another, and thus from one medium to another, is most commonly used to mean the rendering of one language into another. What is considered to be a good translation in the terms of literature and the mutual influence between literatures in the course of history exhibit significant characteristics. 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. The role of the translator is not to produce a collection of the exact counterparts of the words, used by the author of the original text. 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. For example, if Martin Luther has dwelled on conveying the literal meaning of the words in his Russian Translation of the Bible, he would probably not manage to express the overall meaning and the spirit of the text.If we want to give a more detailed example, we can look into Russian-English translations. A Arabic Translation Services typically remains faithful to the Russian system of nomenclature. For instance, if we open the English translation of “Anna Karenina” we can see that people are addressed by their first and their father’s name, which is typical of Russian culture. Therefore, if the character is named Vladimir, the son of Peter, he will be addressed Vladimir Petrovich. Although normal to Russians, it sounds exotic and distracting to people who are not used to such a way of addressing people. That is why there is a new trend in Portuguese Translation Services - 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. While to translate poetry is almost impossible, to translate a scientific text where we can dwell on facts is quite easy. That is, as long as the translator understands the subject matter. A legal translation is in some aspects much easier than a literary one. Certainly, a legal translation requires that the translator be trained and experienced in the field of law. 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. When translating a legal text it is more important to find the exact correspondence of the terms rather than to achieve artistic value for the reading enjoyment of the audience. The talents of legal translation versus literary translation are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but do involve completely different skill sets.

The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. What was dominant in Christianity in the Middle Ages was the Latin Vulgate. A lot of translations into other languages have been created since then. English Bible translations in particular have a rich and varied history of more than a millennium.