Do you translate names in the middle of sentences? Thread poster: Laura Coyt Zavala
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I am working on the translation of a care plan in which the care provider is detailing some care details to the parents of a child. The target language is Amharic. The translation company's instructions say that names should not be translated, even when in the middle of a sentence.
For example: "I consulted Timmy's doctor to ensure this was the correct procedure." My instructions are to NOT translate Timmy's name, and leave it in English, Latin characters, as opposed to Amharic tex... See more I am working on the translation of a care plan in which the care provider is detailing some care details to the parents of a child. The target language is Amharic. The translation company's instructions say that names should not be translated, even when in the middle of a sentence.
For example: "I consulted Timmy's doctor to ensure this was the correct procedure." My instructions are to NOT translate Timmy's name, and leave it in English, Latin characters, as opposed to Amharic text.
I don't think this is best practice. Any advice? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | If you have clear instructions from your client | Aug 26, 2023 |
not to translate names, then I suggest that you follow those instructions. You could always ask the client to justify/explain their decision but unless they change their mind, it's best to stick to their guidelines.
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 18:22
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| The client is always right | Aug 26, 2023 |
If you disagree with the client, you can try to give them an example of how this would look like in an English text, where you take an English sentence with a foreign name in it and then write that name in the original script, and ask them if they think this would look "acceptable" to an English-speaking reader.
I spoke to Haile Gebrselassie yesterday and confirmed the agreement.
I spoke to ኃይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ yesterday and confirmed the agreement.
Surel... See more If you disagree with the client, you can try to give them an example of how this would look like in an English text, where you take an English sentence with a foreign name in it and then write that name in the original script, and ask them if they think this would look "acceptable" to an English-speaking reader.
I spoke to Haile Gebrselassie yesterday and confirmed the agreement.
I spoke to ኃይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ yesterday and confirmed the agreement.
Surely no English-speaking reader would find the second sentence remotely acceptable or even intelligible.
Impress upon the client that the translation will look to the target readers just as odd as the second sentence above would look to English-speaking readers. But if the client remains unconvinced, well, the client is always right. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Steve Robbie
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:22
Member (2017)
German to English
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| Isn't this quite common in non-Latin scripts? | Aug 26, 2023 |
I can't read Russian or Japanese, but am pretty certain that I've seen untransliterated English words/names in texts in both those languages. Perhaps this is also common in Amharic.
The underlying presumption - namely, that any educated reader will be familiar with Latin script - doesn't seem unreasonable to me in 2023.
[Edited at 2023-08-26 13:22 GMT]
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 18:22
French to English
My partner speaks a language using another alphabet. When he's reading the news in his native language, he often asks me "Who is {unintelligible sounds}?". I get him to repeat it several times and it turns out he is reading "Nicola Sturgeon" written in his alphabet. So they don't translate "Nicola Sturgeon" but they write what they think is an equivalent in their alphabet.
With that in mind, I might just deliver the file with Timmy written in Amharic and Latin characters, explainin... See more My partner speaks a language using another alphabet. When he's reading the news in his native language, he often asks me "Who is {unintelligible sounds}?". I get him to repeat it several times and it turns out he is reading "Nicola Sturgeon" written in his alphabet. So they don't translate "Nicola Sturgeon" but they write what they think is an equivalent in their alphabet.
With that in mind, I might just deliver the file with Timmy written in Amharic and Latin characters, explaining what I did and showing which set of Amharic letters corresponds to the name Timmy so they can remove them if necessary.
But I'd ask first. It's possible that they intend to change all the Timmies and Tammies into actual Amharic names, so that parents can relate better to the people referred to. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 18:22
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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Hi!
I've noticed you mentioned this in another thread, but describing the situation a bit differently there than in here,
Laura Coyt Zavala wrote:
I have a similar question. If the name is from an Amharic person, that has been translated into English, but now the English text needs to be translated into Amharic, do we translate the Amharic name back into Amharic from Latin English characters, or is it ok to leave it as is. The translation company says to leave it in Latin characters but if the reader is Amharic, why not translate it into Amharic?
https://www.proz.com/forum/translation_theory_and_practice/233489-how_should_i_write_names_like_"george_m_michael_edd"_in_a_language_which_uses_non_latine_script.html
Is there a specific reason why the child's name has to remain in English?
As other colleagues here, I would be inclined to provide both. Keep 'Timmy' in EN where it's supposed to be in the Amharic translation, and add a comment with the corresponding Amharic spelling of the name, so that the translation company you are working for, or indeed the end client, can then decide which one to go with and switch between the two if required.
| | | | | Better for consistency | Aug 26, 2023 |
Most likely they want to ensure that the name always stays the same in every document concerning the child. Let's say you have the name "Hope," for example. There is no "p" sound in Arabic, so this might get transliterated to say "Hob," thus changing the name or making it unrecognizable. Then you might also have some translators who think it is appropriate to actually translate the name so that it becomes "Amal" (the Arabic word for hope). If we just keep it "Hope" from the start, then we do not... See more Most likely they want to ensure that the name always stays the same in every document concerning the child. Let's say you have the name "Hope," for example. There is no "p" sound in Arabic, so this might get transliterated to say "Hob," thus changing the name or making it unrecognizable. Then you might also have some translators who think it is appropriate to actually translate the name so that it becomes "Amal" (the Arabic word for hope). If we just keep it "Hope" from the start, then we do not have to guess or speculate about which child the document actually refers to. ▲ Collapse
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Kay Denney wrote:
My partner speaks a language using another alphabet. When he's reading the news in his native language, he often asks me "Who is {unintelligible sounds}?". I get him to repeat it several times and it turns out he is reading "Nicola Sturgeon" written in his alphabet. So they don't translate "Nicola Sturgeon" but they write what they think is an equivalent in their alphabet.
I go through the same thing with Arabic all the time...and sometimes the transliteration is way off. Just the other day, it took me almost an hour to identify the correct name of an author mentioned in a newspaper article.
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Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 18:22
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
That's when Laura started this thread, asking for advice.
We haven't heard back from her since.
Are you there, Laura?
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