Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

Evidence of interpreters can be seen as far back as 300 BC with the depictions of the Princes of Elephantine. The two were apparently bilingual and were integral to military operations and trade between Egypt, Nubia, and Sudan.

Alexander the Great from Ancient Greece also employed interpreters for communication with India. When Romans dominated society, it was common for them to be fluent not only in Latin, but also Greek from tutors and slaves so as to not have to rely too heavily on interpreters. Roman translations of Greek works are part of what gives us so much mythos to pull from as well.

Of course, interpretation and translation from other languages was a regular event for dealing with outside cultures. For example, in 202 BC, Scipio and Hannibal met together in the presence of interpreters, in what we might call today as a conference interpretation event.

The Bible

In 382 AD, Pope Damasus had St. Jerome translate biblical texts into what is now known as the Vulgate Bible. This was for a form of Latin that the church would use. The history of biblical translations is rich and complex, but noteworthy is Martin Luther’s German translation in the 1500s that allowed the common people to read and understand the word of God for themselves.

Columbus and Cortes

When Christopher Columbus headed to what he thought was India, he hired the interpreter Luis De Torres, who was fluent in Chaldean, Arabic, and Hebrew. However, when he landed in the Caribbean, he decided to capture native Taino people to teach them Spanish and spread Christianity.

Similarly, when Hernan Cortes began his conquest of Mexico, he acquired about twenty enslaved women, one of whom was “La Malinche” as she is known today. He chose her as his consort, and she also served as an interpreter from Nahautl into Mayan, which was interpreted into Spanish by another member of Cortes’s crew.

John Dryden’s Translation Theory

The Ancient Greeks discussed translation theory first and then in 1680, John Dryden proposed three major ideas for the modern era of translation. First was “metaphrase,” which refers to a literal translation; second was “paraphrase,” which refers to translating the meaning more than the exact wording; and lastly was “imitation,” which refers to creative translation of the text.

While these wordings are not often used today, the ideas certainly are. You might hear people talking about “literal translation,” “translation of meaning,” or “transcreation” instead.