Nataly Kelly, Jost Zetzsche
Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World
270 pp. Perigee Books. Paperback.
Rs. 966.  ISBN:978-0-39953-7974

Translation and interpretation, to quote an anonymous interpreter from Jost Zetzsche and Nataly Kelly’s book “Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World”, is an ‘underappreciated’ work. The authors have done a brilliant attempt in this book to give translation and interpretation its proper place in the field of human communication. Translation makes the world communicate. Language affects each and every aspect of our lives in some form or the other through translation and interpretation. Consciously or unconsciously, we are helped, rescued, entertained, loved, informed and delighted continuously by the process of translation.

Nataly Kelly and Jost Zetzsche tell us interesting stories as to how translation and interpretation touch every facet of human life from healthcare and disaster management to business and commerce to entertainment, religion and technological advancement in times of war and peace. The authors have illustrated their points with interesting anecdotes which they painstakingly collected after interviewing translators and interpreters (both professional and amateur) from different corners of the globe. These include a ninety-one year old man who interpreted for Nazi war criminals during the Nuremburg trials, an Inuit in Arctic and a University Professor in New Zealand working for the preservation of Maori language. Continue reading →