Definition

1. Noun:
   • The process or product of rendering text or speech from one language into another: The act of converting words, phrases, or entire texts from a source language to a target language while preserving meaning.
   • A uniform movement of an object from one position to another without rotation: In physics and geometry, a motion where every point of an object moves the same distance in the same direction.
   • The process in biology where genetic information coded in messenger RNA directs protein synthesis: The cellular process by which the sequence of nucleotides in mRNA is decoded to produce a specific sequence of amino acids, forming a protein.
   • A transformation in mathematics where every point of a geometric figure moves the same distance in the same direction: A function that moves an object or graph to a new position without changing its shape, size, or orientation.
   • The act or result of changing form, appearance, or expression: A conversion or transformation from one state or medium to another.

Usage and Examples

• As a process or product of language conversion:
  • Accurate translation requires understanding cultural context.
  • She read an English translation of the Russian novel.
• As uniform movement (Physics/Geometry):
  • The translation of the triangle five units to the right is shown on the graph.
• As a biological process (Genetics):
  • Translation occurs in the ribosome.
• As a mathematical transformation:
  • The function describes a translation of the parabola along the x-axis.

Advanced Usage

• "In translation": Referring to a work that has been translated from its original language.
  • I prefer to read Dostoevsky in translation.
• "Lost in translation": An idiom meaning nuances or meanings are not successfully conveyed when something is translated or moved from one context to another.
  • The joke's humor was lost in translation.
• Technical/Formal Use: The term can be used formally in fields like diplomacy, law, and software localization.
  • The treaty is equally authentic in all languages, and each translation is considered an original text.

Variants and Related Words

• Translate (verb): To express the sense of words or text in another language; to convert or transform.
  • Can you translate this document?
• Translator (noun): A person or software that translates from one language to another.
• Translatable (adjective): Capable of being translated.
• Translational (adjective): Relating to or involving translation, especially in scientific contexts (e.g., translational research).

Synonyms

• Interpretation (specifically for spoken language or meaning).
• Rendering (a version or translation).
• Conversion (changing from one form to another).
• Paraphrase (expressing meaning in different words, often within the same language).

Related Phrases and Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Translation" itself is a noun and does not form phrasal verbs. Related verbal phrases use "translate.") - Translate into: To result in or be converted to. - Hard work translates into success. - Translate as: To interpret or render a word/phrase in a specific way. - This German word is often translated as "homesickness."

Related Idioms

• Lost in translation: As mentioned above, meaning the original essence, meaning, or nuance is not preserved when converted from one form to another.
• A rough translation: An approximate, not word-for-word or polished, translation.
  • He gave me a rough translation of the letter's main points.

Noun

1. the act of uniform movement
2. rewording something in less technical terminology
3. (genetics) the process whereby genetic information coded in messenger RNA directs the formation of a specific protein at a ribosome in the cytoplasm
4. (mathematics) a transformation in which the origin of the coordinate system is moved to another position but the direction of each axis remains the same
5. the act of changing in form or shape or appearance
   • a photograph is a translation of a scene onto a two-dimensional surface
6. a uniform movement without rotation
7. a written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language