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Definitions of some terms related to translation:

Translation - Translation is transferring written text from one language to another. Good translation is not translating word for word, but analysing the meaning of the whole sentence and wording it in the target language in such a way that it flows easily and sounds natural to the native speakers of the target language.

Mother tongue - the language in which the translator or interpreter learned to speak as a child. For example, my mother tongue is Czech.

Active language or language of habitual use - the language that the translator and interpreter has mastered so well that they are able to work from and into it to a high standard. My language of habitual use is English; I have been working with English on a daily basis since 1997.

Passive language - the language that the translator and interpreter has mastered so well that they are able to work from it but not into it. Slovak is my passive language. Having grown up in the former Czechoslovakia and being exposed to TV broadcasting in Slovak on a regular basis, I do understand spoken and written Slovak, and am able to interpret and translate from Slovak, but not into it.

Please note: There is and never has been such thing as Czechoslovakian language! There is Czech language and Slovak language. Czechoslovakia was dissolved on 1st January 1993, but even during its existence the two languages were always separate, even though they are very similar to one another.