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Should a translator change “ and †into " and ' in translation?
Thread poster: Navarut Y.
Navarut Y.
Navarut Y.  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 04:22
Member (2014)
English to Thai
Jul 27, 2014

I am translating one website and there are “ and †in the content. Should I change these things into " and '? Thank you very much

Ex: Please go to “Help†page.
 
Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 18:22
English to Spanish
Character Encoding Jul 27, 2014

What filetype/format/tools are you using?

The character encoding you see is typical for strings encoded with Unicode UTF-8. If you're translating .html files directly, the issue is just with the display in your editor (notepad?) and changing the encoding (viewed, not used) will display the correct symbol and you can decide whether to keep it or not.

Be careful when saving the files, since you may (unknowingly) change the original encoding.
 
Navarut Y.
Navarut Y.  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 04:22
Member (2014)
English to Thai
TOPIC STARTER
html file Jul 28, 2014

It is .html file. Thank you Rossana!
 
Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 18:22
English to Spanish
.html Jul 28, 2014

For .html files what you see depends on what you're using to edit them. If it's Notepad++ or similar, you can check the original encoding of the file (it may also have a declaration in the header) in the Encoding menu. If you're working on a CAT tool, you can usually specify the encoding when you first import the files if the automated detection didn't work properly.

Make sure you don't change the encoding when saving (or exporting/cleaning) the files (unless your language requires ... See more
For .html files what you see depends on what you're using to edit them. If it's Notepad++ or similar, you can check the original encoding of the file (it may also have a declaration in the header) in the Encoding menu. If you're working on a CAT tool, you can usually specify the encoding when you first import the files if the automated detection didn't work properly.

Make sure you don't change the encoding when saving (or exporting/cleaning) the files (unless your language requires it), and check afterwards that they display correctly in a browser.

Good luck! ▲ Collapse
 
Navarut Y.
Navarut Y.  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 04:22
Member (2014)
English to Thai
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Jul 28, 2014

Thank again ^^
 
esperantisto
esperantisto  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:22
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Opposite opinion Jul 28, 2014

Rossana Triaca wrote:

Make sure you don't change the encoding when saving (or exporting/cleaning) the files


My advise is opposite: to be on the safe side, change it, force UTF-8 for the output encoding irrespective of the input one (especially when you translate from a European language to an Asian one). And modify the HTML encoding declaration accordingly.
 
Navarut Y.
Navarut Y.  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 04:22
Member (2014)
English to Thai
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Esperantisto Jul 31, 2014

Thank you Esperantisto
 
Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 18:22
English to Spanish
Issues client-side... Jul 31, 2014

My advise is opposite: to be on the safe side, change it, force UTF-8 for the output encoding irrespective of the input one (especially when you translate from a European language to an Asian one). And modify the HTML encoding declaration accordingly.


The problem with doing this is that you don't know what kind on processing will happen client-side; you can remain happy that everything is displayed correctly on your end and then the client processes the files and gets garbled text.

If they send you files using an encoding that won't support your language (Asian characters, etc.), you need to bring this up with the client before, asking if it's OK to change the encoding.
 


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Should a translator change “ and †into " and ' in translation?







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