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Should I translate quotations?
Autor wątku: Małgorzata Mazurek
Małgorzata Mazurek
Małgorzata Mazurek
Polska
Local time: 04:48
angielski > polski
+ ...
Apr 25, 2016

I'm translating into English a review of the book in Polish, a translation of the originally English title. In the review, there are quite a lot of quotations form the book (the translated Polish version). I do not have access to the original English version, the author of the review neither. The question is: should I translate the quotations myself, or is it mandatory to get access to the English original and quote them from there? The translated review will be published online in an academic j... See more
I'm translating into English a review of the book in Polish, a translation of the originally English title. In the review, there are quite a lot of quotations form the book (the translated Polish version). I do not have access to the original English version, the author of the review neither. The question is: should I translate the quotations myself, or is it mandatory to get access to the English original and quote them from there? The translated review will be published online in an academic journal.


[Edited at 2016-04-25 09:57 GMT]

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2016-04-25 17:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Kanada
Local time: 20:48
niderlandzki > angielski
+ ...
Find original version Apr 26, 2016

I would try to get a hold of the original book in English. It may cause problems if your translation from Polish to English differs from the original text. Is the English version still available? Or could you perhaps contact the author?
 
Rita Translator
Rita Translator  Identity Verified
Niemcy
Local time: 04:48
niemiecki > angielski
Get the original Apr 26, 2016

If your review is going to be published in an academic journal, you need to get your hands on the original English version. Get it on inter-library loan from your library. Depending on the book, you might be able to find large chunks of it on Google books - if you're really lucky, you'll be able to find all your quotations there.

It's a pain, but that's part of academic translation. I run into it all the time.
 
Małgorzata Mazurek
Małgorzata Mazurek
Polska
Local time: 04:48
angielski > polski
+ ...
NOWY TEMAT
Thank you Apr 26, 2016

for your advice. That's exactly what I figured, actually. I found some fragments of the book on Google Books as you suggest, but there are so many citations that I didn't manage to get them all. I finally decided to buy it, fortunately, an e-book was available and the price was reasonable...Anyway, this problem with academic translation is really annoying...
 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
Chiny
Local time: 10:48
chiński > angielski
Amazon a good source for quotes Apr 27, 2016

I've run into the same problem a number of times, and I've found that you can often track down more quotes using the Amazon look inside function. Not a complete solution by any means, but with a bit of skillful searching you can often get a lot more than Google Books will give you.
 


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Should I translate quotations?







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