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Translating free-form Internet messages.
Afishuesi i rubrikës: Irene Johnson
Irene Johnson
Irene Johnson  Identity Verified
Francë
Local time: 04:37
frëngjisht në anglisht
+ ...
Apr 21, 2018

I'm translating a book (French to English) that contains some messages written by young people in the free-form style frequently found in Internet messaging (lack of capitalization and punctuation, misspellings, etc.). The book is a non-fiction work on a methodology for treating pedophile tendencies. The style of the Internet messages is unrelated to the methodology; the author simply inserted the messages into the text with no changes, or even a [sic] notation.

My question is, shou... See more
I'm translating a book (French to English) that contains some messages written by young people in the free-form style frequently found in Internet messaging (lack of capitalization and punctuation, misspellings, etc.). The book is a non-fiction work on a methodology for treating pedophile tendencies. The style of the Internet messages is unrelated to the methodology; the author simply inserted the messages into the text with no changes, or even a [sic] notation.

My question is, should I attempt to reproduce the writing style in the translation, or should I translate the message in proper English? In either case, would it be advisable to include a translator's note regarding the style? ▲ Collapse
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnja dhe Hercegovina
Local time: 04:37
Anëtar qysh 2009
anglisht në kroatisht
+ ...
Ask the author. Apr 21, 2018

Contact the editor, author or project manager and ask them for guidance.

If the original author decided to quote the exact message/style, not sure why you shouldn't but again your safest bet is to ask. Ask yourself: What did the original author want to achieve by maintaining the original internet-message style, and when you know the answer, achieve the same thing in your translation using any method needed.
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugali
Local time: 03:37
Anëtar qysh 2007
anglisht në portugalisht
+ ...
Ditto! Apr 21, 2018

Lingua 5B wrote:

Contact the editor, author or project manager and ask them for guidance.

If the original author decided to quote the exact message/style, not sure why you shouldn't but again your safest bet is to ask. Ask yourself: What did the original author want to achieve by maintaining the original internet-message style, and when you know the answer, achieve the same thing in your translation using any method needed.


Ask the author and if he/she needs advice search what other authors have done under similar circumstances.
 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Turqi
Local time: 05:37
Anëtar
anglisht në turqisht
Carry across the intended message Apr 21, 2018

I personally wouldn't bother asking the author or publisher. The broken language is there for a reason, you should reproduce the style in the target language. Improving the style would look forced and out of place.
 


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Translating free-form Internet messages.







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