A recent example is included in Fernande Saint-Martin's Semiotics of Visual Language . Cf translation . See timelessness . One of the hidden premises of most arguments opposing the possibility is that translation is simply a matter of converting an utterance in one language into its exact equivalent in another. Professional translators know that such situations are exceedingly rare, so much of the substance of the argument evaporates.
Idiomatic translations are universally preferred to literal ones, in any case.
Even with this slight but significant change of emphasis, one should still adopt a critical attitude towards translation and be aware that standard tests for the reliability of a translation might be of some use. The two X's are then compared, but less for literal accuracy than for preservation of sense. Imagining such a test for artwriting would require an extremely adroit argument from analogy . At the very least, it would demand an exceptionally precise type of description. See also transcription , transliteration .