Square bracketing rules Thread poster: Reed James
| Reed James Chile Local time: 22:11 Member (2005) Spanish to English
I've learned over the years that when you are translating the name of an official body or anything else that should remain in the source language, the practice is to write the original name in the source language followed by its translation into English in square brackets. Many times, this translation is literal. I will give you an example: Registro Federal de Contribuyentes [Federal Taxpayer Number] Anyway, what I would like to know is what to do after the first instan... See more I've learned over the years that when you are translating the name of an official body or anything else that should remain in the source language, the practice is to write the original name in the source language followed by its translation into English in square brackets. Many times, this translation is literal. I will give you an example: Registro Federal de Contribuyentes [Federal Taxpayer Number] Anyway, what I would like to know is what to do after the first instance of this term. Do you repeat the source plus bracketed translation or do you just state the source, or just the target? It seems redundant and might tax the reader to go through the whole square bracket drill every time the term comes up. ▲ Collapse | | | change the order | Sep 29, 2017 |
in Russian, I do vice versa: Federal Taxpayer Number (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) ... and then use "Federal Taxpayer Number" ever after. | | | Natalia Pedrosa Spain Local time: 04:11 Member (2012) English to Spanish + ...
Agree with Sergei, I use the same system too. Happy Translation Day! Natalia | | | neilmac Spain Local time: 04:11 Spanish to English + ... Agree with Sergei | Sep 30, 2017 |
And although I'm using curved, not square brackets, I just did the same 5 minutes ago in an education text with - Schools Language Project (Proyecto Lingüístico de Centro) - ... | |
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Tina Vonhof (X) Canada Local time: 20:11 Dutch to English + ...
I do it the same way as Sergei but I use square brackets for things that cannot be translated, such as a logo or a signature or for things I put in myself, such as a word that was missing in the source text that was nevertheless important to understand the sentence ('it' or 'is' or 'in' for example). | | | Jessica Noyes United States Local time: 22:11 Member Spanish to English + ...
I always thought that the reason translators use square brackets is to distinguish our parenthetical entries and explanations from those that are already between curved brackets in the source document. Often the source text will use curved brackets to expand an acronym; I include that as is and then add my translation of the acronym in square brackets. | | | Mario Chavez (X) Local time: 22:11 English to Spanish + ... A better source | Oct 1, 2017 |
I would consult the rules for using parentheses and square brackets in a reputable style guide for the target language. Having said that, I find myself sometimes veering from the rule for clarity purposes. When I translate for Spanish-speakers in the United States, the translated phrase goes in regular letter (letra redonda) and the equivalent in English goes in parentheses and often in italics to establish its secondary nature. | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Square bracketing rules Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
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