Abstract

The history of translation methodologies goes back to the emergence of humans on the earth as it has developed along with the continuous evolution of communication and interaction between individuals and communities. Usually, it is believed that translation is just a transformation of words from one language to another, but professionally sound translation is not so simple and therefore, it has developed into a science called Translation Studies which was nurtured by a continuous creed of brilliant and distinguished translators through the ages. Beginning with the ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and passing through the Greek and Roman civilisations, a host of theorists contributed into the development of translation methodologies and then this cherished task was transferred to the Muslim scholars and translators; until it was passed to the Western world during the Middle Ages. Some of the most prominent contributors and theorists of translation methodologies through the ages are Cicero, Horace, Aristotle, al-Jahiz, Hunayn bin Ishaq, Martin Luther, Saint Jerome, Etienne Dolet, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Goethe, Friedrich Schlegel, Mathew Arnold, John Catford, Justa Holz, Lawrence Venuti and Peter Newmark.