The Power of Translations in Spreading Knowledge

Knowledge does not stay locked inside one language. A discovery made in German, a philosophy written in Arabic, or an epic composed in Sanskrit only reaches the wider world when someone carries it across the language barrier. That carrying act is translation, and in library and information science it occupies an interesting place among documentary sources. A translation is rarely the “first” record of anything, yet it is often the version most people actually read. Understanding how translations work, and why they are usually classified as secondary sources, helps make sense of how recorded knowledge travels.

What are translations? 🔗

A translation is the process of converting a text from one language (the source language) into another (the target language) while trying to keep the original meaning intact. The output is also called a translation. It is not a simple word-for-word swap. A good translator works as both a linguist and a cultural interpreter, choosing words and phrasing that preserve the sense, tone, and context of the original for a new set of readers.

This is where translations connect to the idea of primary and secondary sources. A primary source is an original record created at the time of an event or study, such as a manuscript, a letter, a research paper, an artifact, or a recording. A secondary source interprets, analyzes, or comments on a primary source and is created one step removed from the original. Because a translator must interpret the original text and re-express it, a translated work is, in the strictest sense, treated as a secondary source. The original survives in its own language; the translation is a new document built on top of it.

When a translation is primary and when it is secondary 🔗

The classification is not always rigid, and this is an important nuance for any student of information sources. Many library guides note that a translation is generally a secondary source unless it is produced by the original author or the issuing agency. An official or authorized translation is often accepted as primary, because the author or organization stands behind it. An unofficial translation is usually not, because the translator may introduce choices or biases of their own.

Context also matters. The University of Southern California’s research guide points out that whether a translated work counts as primary depends on the research question itself. If you are studying the ideas in a translated book, the translation can serve as a primary source. If you are studying how those ideas spread or changed across editions, the original-language version becomes the primary source and the translation moves into a supporting role. Some guides take a more relaxed view, treating copies, transcriptions, and translations of a primary source as still primary, with the caution that the translation should always be acknowledged. The safe rule for coursework is to treat a translation as secondary unless it is authorized, and to state which translation you used.

Translations as a documentary source in libraries 🔗

Libraries have long handled translations as a distinct category of material. Scientific and technical translation services were once a major part of research libraries, especially during periods when important work in fields like physics and engineering was published in Russian, German, or Japanese and needed to reach English-reading scientists. Special centres collected, indexed, and supplied translated technical reports so that researchers were not cut off from work simply because it appeared in another language. The translation, in these cases, is the secondary or even tertiary document that makes the original primary research usable.

Examples of translations 🔗

Indian literature offers some of the clearest illustrations of how a text moves across languages and dialects, and how each new version takes on the character of a secondary source.

The Ramayana of Valmiki: the original 🔗

The Ramayana attributed to the sage Valmiki is the foundational telling of the story of Rama. It was composed in Sanskrit and is generally dated to several centuries BCE. Running to roughly 24,000 verses arranged in seven kandas, it is regarded as the original source of Rama’s story and as one of the great works of ancient Indian literature. For a researcher studying the earliest narrative of Rama, the Valmiki Ramayana is the primary source.

Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas: a vernacular retelling 🔗

Centuries later, the 16th-century poet Goswami Tulsidas produced the Ramcharitmanas. It is written in the Awadhi language and is best described as a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana rather than a literal, line-by-line translation. Tulsidas chose a vernacular tongue spoken by ordinary people instead of scholarly Sanskrit, which made the story of Rama directly accessible to readers and listeners who had no Sanskrit education.

This example carries a useful caution. The Ramcharitmanas is not a strict translation; it draws on earlier Ramayanas in Sanskrit and other dialects as well as stories from the Puranas, and it adds a strong devotional, or bhakti, character of its own. It even differs from Valmiki’s version in details, such as the number of King Dasharatha’s wives and the famous Lakshman Rekha episode. So while it shows beautifully how knowledge is carried into a new language for a wider audience, it sits closer to an adaptation than a faithful translation. For an information science student, the lesson is precise: a true translation aims to preserve the original meaning, whereas a retelling reshapes it. Both are secondary sources, but they serve different purposes.

Beyond the epics: scientific and technical translations 🔗

Translation is not limited to literature. A medical study published in French, a chemistry paper in Russian, or a United Nations report drafted in one official language becomes usable across the world only through translation. In each case the translated version is a secondary document that allows readers to study the original work without knowing its language. This is exactly why translation services were historically built into research libraries, and why translated editions of textbooks and treatises remain a standard part of academic collections.

Why translations matter 🔗

The value of translation goes far beyond convenience. It shapes who gets to participate in knowledge and culture at all.

Making literature and research globally accessible 🔗

Without translation, a brilliant idea would reach only those who happen to share the author’s language. Translation removes that barrier. UNESCO has repeatedly stressed that translation is essential to ensuring that everyone can access the potential held inside books, treating books as tools for knowledge-sharing and mutual understanding. For students, this is what makes world literature, foreign research, and classic texts available in a language they can actually read.

Preserving and reviving knowledge 🔗

Translation also preserves knowledge that might otherwise fade. When a work exists only in a language that fewer people learn, translating it into widely spoken languages keeps it alive and in circulation. Much of ancient Greek science and philosophy survived because it was translated, copied, and re-translated across Arabic, Latin, and other languages over the centuries. Translation is therefore a tool of cultural and scholarly preservation, not just communication.

Tracking the flow of knowledge 🔗

Because translations are so significant, there are dedicated bibliographic tools to track them. The most important is the Index Translationum, a world bibliography of translations maintained by UNESCO. It began in 1932 under the League of Nations, was taken over by UNESCO after the Second World War, and its records were computerised in 1979. The database now holds more than two million entries and can generate statistics on the global flow of translation, including which books and authors are translated most often and between which languages. For an information science student, the Index Translationum is a classic example of a tertiary source: a tool that organizes and indexes records of other works to help researchers locate them.

What can be lost in translation 🔗

No translation is perfect, and a careful reader keeps this in mind. Wordplay, idioms, cultural references, and the rhythm of poetry are difficult to carry across languages, and a translator’s choices can subtly shift the emphasis of a text. This is precisely why translations are usually treated as secondary sources rather than primary ones, and why serious research notes which translation and which edition was used. When the exact wording matters, scholars return to the original. For most other purposes, a reliable translation opens a door that would otherwise stay shut.

What do you think? When a beloved work like the Ramayana is retold or translated for a new audience, does the new version gain something the original lacked, or lose something essential? And in your own studies, when would you trust a translation as good enough, and when would you insist on going back to the source?

References

1. https://subjectguides.library.american.edu/primaryresearchtutorial
2. https://libguides.usc.edu/c.php?g=235208&p=1560697
3. https://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/primary
4. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/difference-between-ramayana-and-ramcharitmanas/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsidas
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramcharitmanas
7. https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/04/409362-annual-world-book-day-un-stresses-importance-translation
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_Translationum
9. https://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dynamic-content-single-view/news/the_index_translationum_always_at_the_forefront_of_innovatio/