Literature is the highest form of written communication. We use it to express deep thoughts, philosophical ideas, explore impossible scenarios and convey messages to readers. Sometimes, it can also be as simple as telling a small story. Whatever the genre, literature always requires a high command of language. Literary Translation is simply the translation of those writings.

Literary Translation is a small field of the translation industry. It’s not a simple job, as the translator must have excellent writing skills in BOTH languages. In addition to that, they also need to have a rich vocabulary of the genre they choose to translate. Each genre has a different “feel” to it, and the translator’s job is to select the words that best convey the spirit of that genre. For example, when translating “The Godfather”, it’s important to select words that are used by mafias in the target language to best capture the “feel” of the story. Otherwise, the translated version won’t be able to retain any value from the original work. The success of a book in foreign markets depends so much on the translator.