Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

\"Nationality\" of inverted commas?

English answer:

Use the version applying in the target language

Added to glossary by Allison Wright (X)
Mar 4, 2011 18:58
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

"Nationality" of inverted commas?

English Science Linguistics Punctuation
I am translating a De-En text which will be published in book form.

Context:
"Dieses Szenarium spielte sich zu Beginn des Känozoikums (Tertiär) ab und bestand bis zum Paläozän (auf dem Niveau des Thanetium, vor 55 Millionen Jahren); und dürfte damit das Wiederauftreten der Gattung Xxxxxx ermöglicht haben. Man vermutet, dass die ältesten Fossilien dieser Zeit im Fluβbecken von Paris im XIX. Jahrhundert (Fig. 1) gefunden wurde."

Fig. 1 (which presumably is a map; I do not have the illustrations at the moment) has the following text:
Nach Gignoux (1960): - p. 513 – «Landénien : la transgression des sables de Bracheux» [hat sich ein Golf gebildet der bis ins Landesinnere in das Gebiet von Reims reichte].

Note the French-style inverted commas around the work referenced. In the German text, they have been left «French».
Elsewhere in the text German-style inverted commas have been used. My English translation naturally has English ones.
I shall be leaving the French between the inverted commas in French, with a brief explanation in English.

My question: Do I leave the inverted commas as they are, or do I change them to English inverted commas?

Target audience: international.
Change log

Mar 4, 2011 19:02: philgoddard changed "Language pair" from "German to English" to "English"

Discussion

Jenni Lukac (X) Mar 4, 2011:
I'd ask the publisher, but the general rule I've always followed was to keep them for indicating dialogue in literary and theatrical works. That said, I have Spanish clients who have changed my English quotation marks back to inverted commas in citations in academic articles--a convention that I have not found defended anywhere--but the client is the boss concerning these details.
Ambrose Li Mar 4, 2011:
Maybe they are not French-style inverted commas In some styles, works cited are always enclosed in French-style guillemets. This might be the case here.
Allison Wright (X) (asker) Mar 4, 2011:
Good question, Paul I have not asked the publisher yet, but will do.
@Phil: Thanks.
Paul Skidmore Mar 4, 2011:
What does the publisher want? Personally, I would tend to leave these as "French". But that is simply my preference. I would try to find out what the publisher wants. Have you got a style guide from them?
philgoddard Mar 4, 2011:
I've taken the liberty of changing this to English-English, as it's a question about how English punctuation rather than German translation.

Responses

+7
11 mins
Selected

Use the version appplying in the target language

My own feeling is that you should follow the typographic rules of the target language, unless, perhaps, you have quotes used within a piece of (say) FR body text — i.e. as used by the original author.

In the cases you mention, I would use EN quotes throughout.
Peer comment(s):

agree philgoddard
3 mins
Thanks, Phil!
agree sporran
46 mins
Thanks, Sporran!
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : yes
2 hrs
Thanks, Ramey!
agree Jacob De Camillis (X)
4 hrs
Thanks, Jacob!
agree Phong Le
8 hrs
Thanks, Phong Le!
agree kmtext
16 hrs
Thanks, KMT!
agree Anna Herbst
1 day 18 hrs
Thanks, Anna!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you Tony - and all those for your agreement. Thank you to Paul Skidmore for your advice regarding the publisher."
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search