This book represents an approach which is intended to give readers a general insight into what translators really do and to explain the concepts and tools of the trade, bearing in mind that translation cannot be reduced to simple principles that can easily be separated from each other and thus be handled in isolation. On the whole, the book is more process- than product-centred. Translation is seen as an activity with an intentional and a social dimension establishing links between a source-language community and a target-language community and therefore requiring a specific kind of communicative behavior based on the question “Who translates what, for whom and why?” To the extent that the underlying principles, assumptions, and conclusions are convincing to the reader, the practical implications of the book, last but not least in translation teaching, are obvious.