George Steiner wrote that the translator is the mailman of human thought and sentiment. Examine some of the difficulties involved in accurately translating works of literature.

Translation according to Newmark (1988: 5) 'is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text'. Thus it can be said that the translator is the mailman of human thought as he is delivering to us information and literature, that we otherwise may not have had access to. As a means of communication, translation is used for multilingual notices, for tourists, official documents, textbooks and instructions. It has …

…naturalness), the literal as well as the figurative, neatness and comprehensiveness, concision and accuracy (Newmark 1988: 5). However it is the translators hard work that allows his target readers to gain knowledge about subjects and literature that they otherwise would not have had access to. References Collins English Dictionary (Diamond Books) London 1993. Newmark, P: A Textbook of Translation (Prentice Hall International UK Ltd) Hertfordshire 1988. Steiner, G: After Babel: Aspects of language and translation (Oxford University Press) Oxford 1975.