"The translator and the polyglot take two very different stands toward the fact that all humans don’t speak the same language. The translator is the transportation business, bringing meaning back and forth across linguistic boundaries for the benefit of those more linguistically rooted. The polyglot, on the other hand, goes it alone, rarely retraces his or her steps, and doesn’t carry anything for anyone. The translator runs a ferry. The polyglot is like Marco Polo."

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Polyglot Vs. Translator at Publishing Perspectives (via hmhlit)

Ugh. I STRONGLY disagree. We all are polyglots, we all are Marco Polo. The only thing that separates translators and polyglots who don’t translate is that the latter, in fact, don’t translate. You have to like the creative part of translation to be a good translator but otherwise, we are pretty much the same people with the same motivations and learning processes.

(via misslibrelula)

Huh. I haven’t read the article yet, but based on that quote the author’s analogy doesn’t seem well thought out. Marco Polo was a marine merchant - he acted as a conduit through which different regions could communicate and bargain. Even while imprisoned in Italy after his long stay in Asia, he related his experiences, essentially acting as a translator for the cultures and places he had encountered. So… where exactly is that difference between the polyglot and the translator?

*Of course Italy didn’t actually exist then, but then I’m significantly oversimplifying.

(via misslibrelula)