Voltaire’s Quote On Literal Translations

“Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.”

– VOLTAIRE, French Philosopher

 

Voltaire, the French philosopher who lived from 1694 until 1778, is credited with the above quote. Is its meaning valid in the context of modern language work and providing translation services?

Client side reviewers of professional translation services will sometimes try to analyze each and every word of a translation, in an effort to map word for word correlation between source and target text. If an obvious correlation is not present, doubt is cast on the translation in the eyes of the reviewer.

Often the reviewers’ language skills are not up to the task of actually making an informed review of a translation. Such deficiency do not deter them however. They are on a mission, to improve their position, status, or something else within the organizational structure of their employer. After all who can question their critical pronouncements … certainly not a professional linguist.

Back to Voltaire

Voltaire’s English language quote is presumably a translation of the French original. We wonder if Voltaire would approve of the translation of his quote on translation?