About International Translation Day
International Translation Day is the day for translators and interpreters, held on 30 September, the feast of St Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin. In 2027 it falls on Thursday, 30 September 2027. Translators' bodies have marked the date since the 1950s, and the UN General Assembly made it official in 2017. In India it is a day for the people who carry writing between 22 scheduled languages and beyond.
India runs on translation and almost never credits it. Court orders, medicine labels, film subtitles, exam papers, the news you read about another state, all of it passes through someone's hands first.
Why is International Translation Day on 30 September?
30 September is the feast day of St Jerome, who translated most of the Bible into Latin from Hebrew and Greek and died near Bethlehem on 30 September 420. The Christian tradition treats him as the patron saint of translators, and translators' associations adopted the date long before any government did.
The International Federation of Translators has promoted the day since the 1950s and pushed from 1991 for official recognition. That came on 24 May 2017, when the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 71/288 and named 30 September as International Translation Day, citing the work of language professionals in connecting countries.
The UN has a practical interest in the subject. Its own six official languages have to be kept in step through translators and interpreters, and every treaty text exists in all six.
How does India honour translation?
The main Indian recognition comes from the Sahitya Akademi, the national academy of letters. It has given translation prizes since 1989, in 24 languages: the 22 in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution plus English and Rajasthani. The prize carries a plaque and a cash award.
The Akademi also gives the Bhasha Samman, instituted in 1996, for people who have worked on languages it does not formally recognise and on classical and medieval literature, including scholarship on Pali, Prakrit and Apabhramsa. That is the award that reaches the people working on smaller languages, where a single scholar may be the only person compiling a dictionary.
Two recent wins changed how Indian publishing treats translators. The International Booker Prize splits its £50,000 equally between author and translator, which is part of why translator names have started appearing on Indian book covers rather than only inside.
- 2022Tomb of Sand
Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel Ret Samadhi, translated by Daisy Rockwell, became the first book in any Indian language to win the International Booker Prize.
- 2025Heart Lamp
Banu Mushtaq's Kannada stories, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker: the first Kannada winner, the first short story collection to win, and the first Indian translator to take the prize.
Who translates in India, beyond books?
Literary translation is the visible part. Most translation in India is invisible and keeps daily life moving.
| Where | What the work is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Courts | Evidence, judgments and FIRs moved between English and the state language | A witness who cannot follow the proceedings cannot really take part in them |
| Hospitals | Interpreting between patient, family and doctor, often across dialects | Consent and dosage instructions depend on it |
| Government | Acts, rules, forms and schemes in English, Hindi and state languages | A scheme nobody can read is a scheme nobody can claim |
| Film and OTT | Subtitles and dubbing across Indian languages | The reason a Malayalam film now opens across India in the same week |
| Publishing and news | Books, reports and news moved between Indian languages and English | Most inter-Indian reading happens through English as a bridge |
| Education | Textbooks and exam papers in multiple mediums | Boards must set the same paper in several languages, word for word |
What should you write on International Translation Day?
Name the work. A translator remembers the person who mentioned the actual book, paper or hearing far longer than anyone who wished them generally.
Happy International Translation Day. I read that book in your English and forgot, for pages at a time, that it was written in another language. That is the whole craft.
On International Translation Day, thank you for turning our documents into something people can actually read in their own language. It is not a formality and we know it.
Happy Translation Day. Standing between a doctor and a frightened family and getting every word right takes a kind of nerve most jobs never ask for.
On International Translation Day, thank you for the subtitles. A whole country is watching films from other states because of work nobody credits.
Happy International Translation Day. Explaining a textbook twice, in two languages, every single class, is unpaid work that keeps children in school.
On Translation Day, keep going with that sample chapter. The first one is always the hardest and the most rewritten.
Happy International Translation Day. Compiling a dictionary for a language with a few thousand speakers is work for the next century, not this one. Thank you.
Do
- Name the translator when you recommend a translated book, in the same sentence as the author.
- Pay translators for test pieces and sample chapters.
- Ask a professional to check anything with legal or medical consequences, however good the app looked.
Avoid
- Don't describe translation as "just converting" a text.
- Don't send a machine-translated greeting into a language you cannot read; the errors are often funny in the wrong way.
- Don't leave the translator off the cover, the credits or the byline.
For books and the rights of authors, see World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April. For languages themselves, see International Mother Language Day, and for Hindi beyond India, World Hindi Day.
How to wish someone on International Translation Day
Translators are usually thanked in a line of small print, so the best message on 30 September names the book, the film or the meeting they worked on. For interpreters in hospitals, courts and police stations, say what their work made possible. Avoid calling translation easy, and avoid comparing anyone's work to machine translation.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Translation Day in 2026 and 2027?
International Translation Day is on 30 Sept every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is International Translation Day in 2027?
International Translation Day 2027 falls on Thursday, 30 September 2027.
Why is International Translation Day celebrated on 30 September?
It is the feast day of St Jerome, who translated most of the Bible into Latin and died near Bethlehem on 30 September 420. Translators' associations had used the date for decades, and the UN General Assembly made it official through resolution 71/288 on 24 May 2017.
Who was St Jerome?
St Jerome was a fourth-century scholar who translated the Bible into Latin, largely from Hebrew, producing the version known as the Vulgate. He is regarded in Christian tradition as the patron saint of translators, which is why his feast day became their day.
Which award does India give for translation?
The Sahitya Akademi has given translation prizes since 1989 in 24 languages: the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule plus English and Rajasthani. It also gives the Bhasha Samman, instituted in 1996, for work on languages it does not formally recognise and on classical and medieval literature.
Which Indian translators have won the International Booker Prize?
Daisy Rockwell won in 2022 with Tomb of Sand, her translation of Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel Ret Samadhi, the first book in any Indian language to take the prize. Deepa Bhasthi won in 2025 for Heart Lamp, her translation of Banu Mushtaq's Kannada short stories, becoming the first Indian translator to win.
How much of the International Booker Prize goes to the translator?
The prize money of £50,000 is divided equally between the author and the translator. That equal split is part of why translators' names now appear on book covers rather than only inside.
What is a good gift for a translator?
A book in the language pair they work in, especially a hard-to-find dictionary or a new edition of a classic, is always used. A printed copy of a book they translated, or a review that names them, is the gift they are least likely to have received.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .