We are told that in translation there is no such thing as equivalence. Many times the translator reaches a fork in the translating road where they must make a choice in the interpretation of a word. And each time they make one of these choices, they are taken further from the truth. But what we aren’t told is that this isn’t a shortcoming of translation; it’s a shortcoming of language itself. As soon as we try to put reality into words, we limit it. Words are not reality, they are the cause of reality, and thus reality is always more. Writers aren't alchemists who transmute words into the aurous essence of the human experience. No, they are glassmakers. They create a work of art that enables us to see inside to help us understand. And if they are really good, we can see our own reflections staring back at us. . Kamand Kojouri
About This Quote

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams said: "We are told that in translation there is no such thing as equivalence. Many times the translator reaches a fork in the translating road where they must make a choice in the interpretation of a word. And each time they make one of these choices, they are taken further from the truth. But what we aren't told is that this isn't a shortcoming of translation; it's a shortcoming of language itself.

As soon as we try to put reality into words, we limit it. Words are not reality, they are the cause of reality, and thus reality is always more."

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More Quotes By Kamand Kojouri
  1. Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.
  2. There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other.
  3. The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
  4. The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.
  5. We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents.
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