Translation can be seen as producing a text in one language that will count as equivalent to a text in another.
The first view is underpinned by the regime of European standard languages which can be lined up in bilingual dictionaries, by the technology of the printed book, and by the need for regulated communication in political, academic and legal context.
It can also be seen as a release of multiple signifying possibilities, an opening of the source text to Language in all its plurality.
Translation can be seen as producing a text in one language that will count as equivalent to a text in another