At the initiative of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Association of Professional Translation Agencies /BAPTA/, the Zaimov park in central Sofia will host the celebration of two important and closely related holidays: the European Day of Languages - September 26 and the International Translation Day – September 30. Today there are over 2000 languages with their own writing system in the world, of which 24 are the official languages the EU. As Umberto Eco jokingly said once in a now famous sentence, "The language of Europe is translation".

Translation is the bridge between peoples and cultures via which the interpreter takes us into the common European and global home. It is a way to preserve ourselves, to show and to enrich our spiritual national identity, said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria Tsetska Radeva, member of the Board of BAPTA, a member of the Board of the European Association of Translators and founder of a translation agency. On the occasion of its professional holiday the Association has organized a discussion on "Being a translator - Opportunities and Challenges":

"For us - the people in this profession, language is not only a job, it is something sacred, something we respect and appreciate”, says Tsetska Radeva. “The translators we work with are our most valuable resource. The translator’s profession has evolved a great deal over the years. It has become increasingly technological as possibilities are growing. In a united Europe multilingualism is a fact and no one can understand the other person if you do not speak their language. I would like to quote Willy Brandt /1913-1992 / - Chancellor of West Germany /1968-1974 / and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1971, he used to say: "If I buy from you, you have to speak my language. But if I sell to you - I must speak your language."

What should a translator be able to do in order to meet the requirements of the modern world?

"In addition to the undeniable mastery of their native language - the first and most important condition, modern translators must have very good knowledge of the foreign language. But also they must have general knowledge of the culture they translate into, to know the characteristics of the nation which they will portray through their translations. They must possess the appropriate terminology experience and be able deliver not only the words, but also the meaning of what language brings, its richness."

How many foreign languages do ​​translators in Bulgaria use?

"The Bulgarian Association of Professional Translation Agencies and Saint Kliment Ohridski University have recently conducted ​​a survey of the translation market in Bulgaria. Besides translation agencies that are currently over 1,000, we have many freelance translators. Practically we have almost all European and world languages represented at our market ​​. But the demand is mainly for translation from and into European languages ​​and is related to the EU accession, the fact that we are already an EU member, with the translation of legislation and administrative regulations of the EU. There is continuous work in this field. Yet, I do not want to leave fiction that transmits the culture and wealth of a nation into the background. Translators are precisely those people who throw a bridge between one culture and another."

English Rossitsa Petcova