When translation is considered an art form, then it is easy to forget that that is ultimately only a part of the process in which the contents of consciousness get transmitted. Even thoughts can be seen as translating, where perceptions, feelings, memories and values form continua and shapes that can be given various appearances through tools such as language, imagery, and music. They are interpreted, or translated, even before they are given substantive form.

The form-giving is then the next job in translating. For example, a writer produces a text, which they often must revise many times in order to get it to fit with the mental picture they have – in this kind of work, translators often benefit from the aid of outside parties, usually editors at the publishing house.

Then when the book is ready, it is sent off again – if it is sent at all – to be revised in one or two ways. The reader reads the text and makes their own interpretation, which can be seen as translation, too. On the other hand, the text can be translated into another language, and that is when a professional translator is involved and it moves to a phase where the whole code is dismantled and reassembled into a new systematic framework. This is the core of translation.