1. Definition of “Translate”
The verb “translate” primarily means to express the meaning of words or text in another language. For example, a professional translator translates a novel from French into English so that English-speaking readers can understand it. However, it can also have a broader meaning of changing or converting something from one form, state, or system to another. For instance, we can translate ideas into actions, which means turning abstract thoughts into concrete deeds.
2. Synonyms
- Interpret
- “Interpret” also involves expressing the meaning of something, especially language, but it often emphasizes the act of understanding and explaining it in a more immediate or on-the-spot way. For example, an interpreter at a conference interprets the speech of a foreign speaker in real-time for the audience. While both “translate” and “interpret” deal with conveying meaning between languages, “interpret” is usually associated with oral communication and quick, on-site work, whereas “translate” can refer to written work and a more comprehensive process of converting a whole text from one language to another.
- Render
- “Render” means to give or provide a particular form or version of something. In the context of languages, it can mean to translate. For example, a poet might render a classic poem from ancient Greek into modern English, trying to capture its essence and present it in a new language form. “Render” has a sense of transforming something to make it accessible or suitable in a different context, similar to how “translate” changes text from one language to another.
- Convert
- “Convert” generally means to change something from one form, state, or system to another. When it comes to languages, it can imply changing the words or text from one language to another, just like “translate”. For example, software can convert a document from Spanish to English. However, “convert” is used in many other contexts too, such as converting a file format or converting a measurement unit. So, its application in language translation is just one aspect of its broader meaning of transformation.
- Paraphrase
- “Paraphrase” means to express the meaning of something using different words, usually in the same language. But it can also be related to translation in a sense that when translating, sometimes we need to paraphrase certain phrases or sentences to make the translated version sound more natural in the target language. For example, when translating a complex sentence from German to English, we might paraphrase parts of it to make it flow better and convey the same meaning. While it's not exactly the same as “translate” since it doesn't involve changing languages per se, it plays an important role in the translation process and shares the idea of rephrasing to convey meaning.