Translation considerations

Roman festival, as concieved by...someone. After Rome, before America. Like most works of art, this painting tells us more about the painter and the age in which it was created than about the subject it is attempting to depict.

The English language is filled with words that have roots in other, more distantly connected languages, most often Greek and Latin. The Greek words came straight from Greek literature and philsophy, while most of the Latinate words were filted through Norman French before coming to roost among natives speaking Anglo-Saxon (or Old Saxon), descended from Old High German. (For more info, see The Oxford History of English. Or, on a less dry note, maybe Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue.)

The borrowed words rarely describe completely new concepts, although there are some. This produces many synonyms in English, where there is a Greekish, Latinate, and then Anglo-Saxon word for the same concept. (I am not as familiar with the Greek cognates because I haven't really gotten into Ancient Greek yet - two measly classes only.)

For example(s):
metamorphosis - Greek
transformation - Latin (also mutation, but that has a non-neutral connotation)
change - Anglo-Saxon

aristocratic - Greek
regal - Latin
kingly - Anglo-Saxon

verbose - Latin
wordy - Anglo-Saxon

prior to - Latin
before - Anglo-Saxon

Knowing where the words come from matters because English speakers speak, unsurprisingly enough, Anglo-Saxon first (primarily). While a majority of the words in the dictionary come from Latin and Greek, about 80% of the words Americans use (employ) every day come from Old Saxon. In a way, when we listen to Latinate words, we have to translate into our native tongue (language). When you want to write something arresting and clear, use Anglo-Saxon words.

This matters in translation because while several Latin words have English cognates, using the English cognate does not always capture the spirit of the original text. Often when Latin writers want to appear cultured and above their peers (superior), they will use a Greek word - Latin is for the gritty truth. To convey this sense of what it was like for Latin-speaking readers to read the text, English translators can replace a Greek word in the text with a Latin word, while using Anglo-Saxon words for the earthy (terrestrial) concepts set forth in Latin.