At Responsive Translation, we take translation seriously because we understand that in compliance-intensive industries, accuracy is the only acceptable standard. We also love a good quote—those little doses of inspiration that make us think, make us smile or both if we’re lucky, reminding us why we strive for trouble-free translation+ every day.
Here are some of our favorite quotes about translation:
“It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work.”
– Walter Benjamin
“Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.”
– Anthony Burgess
“Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world.”
– Italo Calvino
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”
– Charlemagne
“The translator is the author’s accomplice.”
– Jorge Gonzalez Moore
“Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes.”
– Günter Grass
“No glass renders a man’s form and likeness so true as his speech.”
– Ben Johnson
“Never trust the translation or interpretation of something without first trusting its interpreter.”
– Suzy Kassem
“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”
– Ken Liu
“Western Europe owes its civilization to translators.”
– Kelly Louis
“In translation language facility is not enough; blood and sweat are the secret.”
– Samuel Putnam
“If the translator does his job as he should, he is a benefactor of humanity; otherwise he is a veritable public enemy.”
– Miguel Sanz
“Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature.”
– José Saramago
“I believe the essence of translation lies in taking what is unsaid in a work from one language to another. Words have memories, a history of their own. There are no two words with exactly the same meaning. To recreate the unspoken in another language, one needs to understand what went into making the original; then one must dismantle it and rebuild it in the other language.”
– Vivek Shanbhag
“Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence.”
– George Steiner
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”
– Mark Twain
“Translating is producing analogous effects by different means.”
– Paul Valéry
“We translate so you can better serve your students, no matter what language they learned first. We translate so you can better serve your patients and provide them the medical care they need. We translate to help you make the world a kinder, more inclusive place.”
– The Responsive Translation Team
For professionals in testing and assessment or medical fields, translation is more than just a creative exercise—it is a technical necessity.
When we adapt a psychometric assessment, we aren’t just swapping words; we are preserving the instrument’s original reliability and validity. This ensures that your translated tests measure the same thing as the original, providing results that are both accurate and legally defensible.
In the medical sector, linguistic and cultural equivalence can be a matter of patient safety. This is why Responsive Translation utilizes a rigorous, iterative workflow with validation and quality assurance steps built into every project. Our processes are ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified, and we maintain HIPAA-compliant standards for all sensitive documentation.
Responsive Translation offers a full suite of services in more than 200 languages and dialects, including expert translation, interpreting, validation and review. For more information about how we can support your organization, please get in touch at [email protected].