2012年国际翻译日
翻译与跨文化交流
国际译联会员组织并各界朋友：
2012年恐怕是人类历史上最富有“争议性”的一年，因为这一年充溢着大量符号、预言与含意。除了《圣经》里对世界末日的启示录之外，玛雅历法也断言2012年12月21日为世界末日。而一些研究者对中国3000年前的古书《易经》进行分析后，也声称2012年12月是世界末日。数字占卦学还告诉我们，在2012年12月21日晚间11点11分，所有围绕太阳的星球将排列成一条直线，造成剧烈的海水运动，有可能导致巨型海啸和其它灾难……
无论我们把这些“预报”视为可信的预言还是伪造的故事，重要的是，作为人类，我们一直都在深切关注我们所处的世界与我们的未来。这些源于不同语言和文化背景的预言，似乎的确在传达着焦虑、绝望与希望的信息。对于生活在当今全球化世界的大部分人而言，2012年全球不仅充斥着不稳定性、金融危机、政治冲突、文化碰撞和社会动荡，也充满着希望、机遇与可能性。作为面向职业口笔译工作者与术语学家的规模最大的非营利性国际组织，国际译联将在2012年继续在不同的文化间架设翻译桥梁，推动跨文化交流，进而促进文化繁荣和提升所有人的文化素养。
丹尼尔·埃弗雷特（Daniel Everett）教授在他今年的新书《语言：文化工具》（Language: The Cultural Tool）中称：语言是一种工具，可用于解决全人类共同面临的一个问题——便捷高效的沟通需求。事实上，如要帮助不同种族，不同政治和文化背景的人们交流，要务之一就是翻译。翻译最显著的特征之一，便是跨越了“自我”与语言文化中“他者”的边界。换句话说，翻译作为跨文化交流方式，是一种跨时空的传输方式，将某一特定文化下的生活方式、风俗习惯、态度、心态与价值观传输给其它文化。
过去30年间，全球经济、文化与信息技术发生了巨大的变化；在其推动下，跨文化交流现在所处的语言、社会政治与文化背景与以往相比已有天壤之别。如果说，在当今时代，“是否要全球化”对于个人和国家而言几乎是不言而喻的，那么，“是否与翻译共存”也不再是一个选项，而是业已成为我们日常生活中面对的现实。
2012年国际翻译日（International Translation Day - ITD）的主题是“翻译与跨文化交流（Translation as Intercultural Communication）”。国际译联各会员组织作为促进和平与相互理解的中间力量，将通过多种方式和不同的渠道庆祝2012年国际翻译日。
国际译联致力于支持全世界的口笔译工作者与术语学家，正是他们通过自己的专业劳动使跨文化理解更上一层楼。
*国际译联是职业口笔译和术语工作者协会的国际联盟，拥有来自55个国家的100余家会员组织，代表着近10万名语言专业工作者的利益。更多有关国际译联的信息参见国际译联网站。
Translation as Intercultural Communication
To FIT Members and Friends
C. It is loaded with a host of symbols, myths and meanings. Apart from Biblical predictions relating to the Apocalypse, 21 December 2012 has been declared Doomsday according to the Mayan calendar and December 2012 as the End of the World by some researchers of the 3,000-year-old Chinese I Ching (The Book of Change). Numerology also tells us that at 11:11 pm of 21 December 2012, all the planets surrounding the Sun will align to form a single straight line, causing strong oceanic movement that may lead to gigantic tsunamis and other catastrophes …
Whether we choose to see these “predictions” as narratives of prophecy or stories of pseudoscience, what is significant is that we as human beings have always been deeply concerned about our world and our future. These predictions from different languages and cultures do seem to communicate messages of anxiety, despair and hope. For most of us living in today’s globalised world, 2012 is not only a year full of international instability, financial crises, political conflicts, cultural clashes and social unrest, but also a year full of hopes, possibilities and opportunities. As the biggest non-profit international organization for professional translators, interpreters and terminologists working for the wellbeing of the international community, FIT in 2012 will continue to build bridges among diverse cultures and facilitate intercultural communication that creates prosperity and cultural enrichment for all.
In his new book Language: The Cultural Tool (2012), Professor Daniel Everett argues that language is a tool to solve a common human problem – the need to communicate efficiently and effectively. Indeed, one of the most important activities that help people of diverse ethnic origins and different political and cultural backgrounds to communicate is translation, a distinctive feature of which is the crossing of the boundaries between Self and the linguistic and cultural Other. In other words, translation, as intercultural communication, is a means of transporting the ways of life, customs, attitudes, mindsets and values of one particular culture across time and space to another culture or other cultures.
Facilitated by the major changes and shifts in the global economy, culture and information technology in the last three decades, we now have a radically altered linguistic, socio-political and cultural context for intercultural communication. If “to be or not to be ... global” is hardly a question for people and nations in the contemporary era, then “to live or not to live … in translation” is no longer an option but a reality of our everyday life.
As brokers of peace and mutual understanding, FIT members will, in various ways and through different channels, celebrate International Translation Day (ITD) 2012 with the theme of “Translation as Intercultural Communication”.
We in FIT are committed to supporting the translators, interpreters, and terminologists around the world working to bring greater intercultural understanding through their professional efforts.
Text: Prof. Mao Sihui
About FIT
The International Federation of Translators is a world-wide federation of professional associations bringing together translators, interpreters and terminologists. With more than 100 members in 55 countries, it represents the interests of nearly 100,000 language professionals. Further information can be found on the FIT website: www.fit-ift.org.
来源：上海外事翻译工作协会网；中国译协网 （英文撰稿/毛思慧 翻译/付蕾 审稿/黄长奇）
