translation of university names Thread poster: Jean Byrne (X)
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Jean Byrne (X)
Spain
Local time: 11:50
Spanish to English
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Hi,
I have already looked at the general comments on university names.
However, I have a doubt in a very specific context.
I am translating an academic article at the beginning of which the name of the author, the institution he is involved in, and the university to which the institute belongs appear.
I assume that in such a context the institute and the university should be left in the original language but I was wondering if anyone knew of any specific rules or s... See more Hi,
I have already looked at the general comments on university names.
However, I have a doubt in a very specific context.
I am translating an academic article at the beginning of which the name of the author, the institution he is involved in, and the university to which the institute belongs appear.
I assume that in such a context the institute and the university should be left in the original language but I was wondering if anyone knew of any specific rules or standards for this issue? Imagine, for example, that the article is to be published in an English-speaking academic journal...
Thanks very much in advance! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 03:50
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Keep original but... | Mar 11, 2014 |
Keep the original but you can also put a translation after it in ( ) to clarify it for the benefit of target language readers. That is what I normally do. I cannot speak for others.
| | | | | I wouldn't give a translation. | Mar 11, 2014 |
If it's an academic journal, and you're translating from Spanish or Catalan to English (as I assume you are), your readers will be educated people who can work out for themselves what "Universidad de Barcelona" means.
As for the name of the instititute or department, I would only translate this if its meaning is not immediately obvious.
Obviously, if you were translating from something like Russian or Arabic, different rules would apply.
| | | | Jean Byrne (X)
Spain
Local time: 11:50
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | translation of university names | Mar 11, 2014 |
Thanks very much for your responses.
I think sticking with the original is definitely best in this case.
Thanks again
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| Translation goes in the brackets | Mar 11, 2014 |
Leaving all sorts of names untranslated is a modern fad I'm no fan of. It leads to translators forgetting that e.g. geographical and historical regions of foreign countries actually have existing translations (or counterparts) in their own language. For example the omnipresent 'Krakow' (like: LOL?) or the Polish 'Kraków' used in English for Cracow, which is what it should be.
Anyway, what you really don't want to translate are people's names in legal contexts, and legal names of co... See more Leaving all sorts of names untranslated is a modern fad I'm no fan of. It leads to translators forgetting that e.g. geographical and historical regions of foreign countries actually have existing translations (or counterparts) in their own language. For example the omnipresent 'Krakow' (like: LOL?) or the Polish 'Kraków' used in English for Cracow, which is what it should be.
Anyway, what you really don't want to translate are people's names in legal contexts, and legal names of companies complete with plc's ltd's, GmbH's, s.p.a.'s and such like.
As an exception, you may wish to follow established customs such as when literally everybody else does leave the proper name of that particular university untranslated and you don't want to swim against the tide.
Yours reactionally,
Luke ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Wright
Austria
Local time: 11:50
German to English
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| English name | Mar 11, 2014 |
You may find that the university itself has an official English language name that it uses in correspondence, web sites etc. If it has, I'd use it. When i work for universities here (Austria), even if they don't have an official english name they prefer me to put it into English.
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If the university has an official English name, I'd use it.
If not, I'd leave the name untraslated and I'd write the translation in brackets.
| | | | Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:50
French to English
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| I only translate if it's really non-obvious | Mar 12, 2014 |
Jean Byrne wrote:
issue? Imagine, for example, that the article is to be published in an English-speaking academic journal...
So having translated a number of articles for academic journals and conferences, the rule of thumb that I have is to translate only if there's something really important and really non-obvious in the name to a typical reader. So, for example, I assume that any English speaker with sufficient intelligence to be reading an academic journal article doesn't need a translation of "Universidad de Madrid".
More interestingly, I would also probably assume that they don't need a translation of "Universidad Autónoma de Madrid", "Colegio Técnico de Barcelona" etc, for slightly more subtle reasons: even though there is potential for a slight misunderstanding of 'falsos amigos', if there was something important to the research/funding about the precise status of what it means for an institution to be "autónomo", "técnico", etc. then I take the stance that it's up to the authors/editors to state this. Or put another way: by and large, I take the view that what's more important is that readers have the precise, unadulterated contact details of the authors than that the article/translating emphasises the fine-tuning of the political status of their institution.
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Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:50
French to English
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...What I've just said of course gets overridden in cases where the editorial guidelines simply state what they want you to do. Surprisingly, even in cases of international conferences, it doesn't seem to be so common for the editors to have so much of an opinion (they tend to be far more bothered about things like where you put full stops in the bibliography...)
| | | | Nikki Graham
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:50
Spanish to English
| Don't translate | Mar 12, 2014 |
In my experience, the name of the institutional affiliation is not translated and no translation is given in brackets in the specific case of the title page. However, this will all depend on where the article is going to be published and which style guide they are following. The authors should have been told how to format the document, so they should know whether you need to translate it or not.
You might find the following link usef... See more In my experience, the name of the institutional affiliation is not translated and no translation is given in brackets in the specific case of the title page. However, this will all depend on where the article is going to be published and which style guide they are following. The authors should have been told how to format the document, so they should know whether you need to translate it or not.
You might find the following link useful:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/pages/manuscript-preparation.htm ▲ Collapse
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