Would you translate a church name?
Thread poster: GP Translations
GP Translations
GP Translations  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:28
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sep 24, 2016

Specifically. Parroquia de Nuestra Senora del Sagrado Corazón

I'm doing a Certificate of Baptism Translation.

My instinct is to not do it. But then it may not be clear to the reader that it's even a church at all...

This happens to me a lot with official documents.


Would love to know what the industry standard is. Thanks in advance.


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:28
German to English
+ ...
what I do Sep 24, 2016

Names don't get translated, but I will often put "[church]" beside it. In a birth certificate or baptismal certificate the important thing is that the person's birth, place of birth, name, and date have been officially recorded, since that is your client's proof of identity. The name of where things took place is important, but not the meaning of the name.

 
Mark Pinto
Mark Pinto  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 07:58
Portuguese to English
+ ...
For official purposes I do not translate it Sep 24, 2016

This is a problem I initially had when translating certificates and diplomas. However, I tend to not translate names of churches, schools, universities when it is for official purposes, which is the case when translating documents such as diplomas, certificates etc. The only time I would translate it is for tourism brochures, maps, sign boards etc.

I would look forward to the opinions of other translators as well.

Cheers!

Mark


 
Maria De Rose
Maria De Rose  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 22:28
Member (2016)
English to Italian
+ ...
yes, but Sep 24, 2016

I usually translate them , however I put their translation in brackets.

Betsy Cruz
 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:28
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Famous churches Sep 24, 2016

In my experience, the names of famous churches such as the Sacré Coeur and Notre Dame in Paris and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona are not translated, even in tourist brochures, etc.
My inclination would be not to translate the name of the church or parish.


 
Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 12:28
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
It depends on the cultural and language related traditions Sep 24, 2016

For example, in Russian we translate the names of the famous churches (like the ones mentioned by Jenny), so I would suggest to do some further research or ask colleagues working in the same language pair.

 
David Lin
David Lin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:28
Member (2013)
English to Chinese
+ ...

MODERATOR
Translate it Sep 24, 2016

For my language pair I would translate it and put the source text with brackets beside it.

The target text will then show the word "Church", so readers/users will know the baptism certificate was issued by a church, not any other authorities.

Hope you find this helpful.

David


 


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Would you translate a church name?







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