TWO BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ZOJATEXT TRANSLATIONS:

1. No two languages are exactly alike in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure.

Languages differ not only in grammar and roots, but also in the manner in which ideas are built up into a sentence. People who speak different languages think differently. Consequently, the forms taken by the sentence in different languages are not the same.

Since no language exactly mirrors the vocabulary and grammar of an other language, a word-for-word translation would be unclear or might even convey the wrong meaning.

2. The meaning of a word or an expression may change depending on the context in which it is used.

Because the context can affect the way a word is translated, I judge that to render the best sense of the source text according to the context is more important than to produce a strictly literal translation.

Clearly, translation involves more than simply rendering an original-language word the same way each time it occurs.

As a translator I use good judgment in order to select words that present the ideas of the original-language text accurately and understandably. In addition, I assemble the words and sentences in my translation in a way that conforms to the rules of grammar of the target language.