What is translation? What are the prerequisites for a competent translator?

Translation is a representation or recreation in any language of what is written or said in another language. Translation is an art, a bilingual art. Like painting, translation enables us to reproduce the fine thought of somebody, not in colours, but in words, in words of a different language. Translation is also said to be a kind of science because it has a whole set of rules governing it and certain objective laws to go with. Skills and technique are needed in order to attain clearness of style, and fluency in language. There are s...