--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I require of a translator is that he…" description: "\"“All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two languages, one of them mine.”\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg" --- # All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more… ![“All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two languages, one of them mine.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg) > ““All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two languages, one of them mine.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A translator must be a superior writer in both the source and target languages, especially surpassing the original author’s skill. **In simple terms:** Translators need to write better than the original author in both languages. Key Takeaway Seek translators who excel in writing and bilingual mastery. Themes writing language translation skill Mood respectful thoughtful Type advisory literary When to use this quote - publishing - literary translation - academic work - cross‑cultural projects Key Concepts bilingualism literary quality authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess a translator’s writing ability? - What makes a translation truly faithful? A Different Perspective Even great writers may struggle to convey nuance in another language. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [J.R. Angelella is a truly gifted writer. 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I loved Silk and Shadows, couldn't put it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-ann-krentz/mary-jo-putney-is-a-gifted-writer-with-an-intuitive-understanding-of/) [Jayne Ann Krentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-ann-krentz/) > [Holly Black is the Real Thing: a gifted writer with a solid grounding in what matters. Her stories are dark and splendid blooms rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/holly-black-is-the-real-thing-a-gifted-writer-with-a-solid-grounding/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [There are Behan experts in international universities, but we seem to have forgotten him here in Ireland. He was an extraordinarily gifted writer. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/there-are-behan-experts-in-international-universities-but-we-seem-to/) [Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/) > [Tolstoy was the most gifted writer who ever lived. It's like he stuck a pen in his heart and it didn't even go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/tolstoy-was-the-most-gifted-writer-who-ever-lived-it-s-like-he-stuck/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Celeste Ng is such a gifted writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexi-underwood/celeste-ng-is-such-a-gifted-writer/) [Lexi Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexi-underwood/) > [A translator is essentially a reader and we all read differently, except that a translator's reading remains in unchanging print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/a-translator-is-essentially-a-reader-and-we-all-read-differently/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [I think that if you are sticking to the text, essentially, you're not trying to write your own version of it. I mean, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-goldstein/i-think-that-if-you-are-sticking-to-the-text-essentially-you-re-not/) [Ann Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-goldstein/) > [Now, every organization has to have a translator for the Hispanics on the teams, and that helps a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz/now-every-organization-has-to-have-a-translator-for-the-hispanics-on/) [Carlos Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz/) > [The only problem was that I couldn't communicate with Dario. He speaks Italian and I don't. We had a translator the whole time. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hunter/the-only-problem-was-that-i-couldn-t-communicate-with-dario-he-speaks/) [Kim Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hunter/) > [“Some poems survive it to become poems in another language,” he argued, “but others refuse to live in any language but their own, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/some-poems-survive-it-to-become-poems-in-another-language-he-argued/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-goal-is-to-act-as-a-faithful-interpreter-preserving-as-much-of-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Translator quotes > [“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-goal-is-to-act-as-a-faithful-interpreter-preserving-as-much-of-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Some poems survive it to become poems in another language,” he argued, “but others refuse to live in any language but their own, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/some-poems-survive-it-to-become-poems-in-another-language-he-argued/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [The only problem was that I couldn't communicate with Dario. He speaks Italian and I don't. We had a translator the whole time. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hunter/the-only-problem-was-that-i-couldn-t-communicate-with-dario-he-speaks/) [Kim Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hunter/) > [Now, every organization has to have a translator for the Hispanics on the teams, and that helps a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz/now-every-organization-has-to-have-a-translator-for-the-hispanics-on/) [Carlos Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz/) > [I think that if you are sticking to the text, essentially, you're not trying to write your own version of it. I mean, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-goldstein/i-think-that-if-you-are-sticking-to-the-text-essentially-you-re-not/) [Ann Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-goldstein/) > [A translator is essentially a reader and we all read differently, except that a translator's reading remains in unchanging print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/a-translator-is-essentially-a-reader-and-we-all-read-differently/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [I'm a good communicator, and I'm a good translator. I can talk to engineers; I can talk to people for whom technology is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-m-a-good-communicator-and-i-m-a-good-translator-i-can-talk-to/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [What is the task of the translator? I think the task depends on the book and on the translator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idra-novey/what-is-the-task-of-the-translator-i-think-the-task-depends-on-the/) [Idra Novey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idra-novey/) > [“The translator's task is essentially a difficult and often a thankless one. He is severely criticized if he makes a mistake, but only faintly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-a-nida/the-translator-s-task-is-essentially-a-difficult-and-often-a/) Eugene A. Nida > [Please, never despise the translator. He's the mailman of human civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/please-never-despise-the-translator-he-s-the-mailman-of-human/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [I see my role as a translator, telling the story that's in the book using the more visual language of film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/i-see-my-role-as-a-translator-telling-the-story-that-s-in-the-book/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I think that being an editor, someone who works with words, is very good training for being a translator because it trains you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-goldstein/i-think-that-being-an-editor-someone-who-works-with-words-is-very/) [Ann Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-goldstein/) Browse all 84 Translator quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two languages, one of them mine.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he-or-she-be-a-more-gifted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Translator" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he-or-she-be-a-more-gifted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/kurt-vonnegut-41_translator_all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he_371361.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two…” — Kurt Vonnegut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All I require of a translator...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he-or-she-be-a-more-gifted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-i-require-of-a-translator-is-that-he-or-she-be-a-more-gifted/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```