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Chemical Transformations: Translation and the Periodic Table in Japan
Author(s) -
Montgomery Scott L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3773(20020301)41:5<739::aid-anie739>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - dominance (genetics) , first language , english language , linguistics , politics , table (database) , political science , history , public relations , computer science , law , chemistry , philosophy , biochemistry , gene , data mining
Has translation a central role in the present and future of science? After showing the importance of translating in the past, in the way the names of the chemical elements were transferred (from Dutch sources) to Japanese, the author tries to answer the above question. His conclusion is that today's dominance of English imposes an increased need for translation, as 1) the major portion of the secondary literature in any country is published in that nation's language, 2) in cases where English is the destination language for publication, scientists in many non‐English speaking nations report their primary research in their mother tongue and then have to translate their results into English for submission, and 3) research has to be communicated to non‐scientists, including the public, the mass media, educators, political leaders, and other decision makers.