Restricted Translation of Historical Dutch Text

Abstract

This article proposes an experimental approach to the diachronic translation of document sources written in historical variants of the Dutch language. It argues that, in order to make textual sources more accessible to read for modern audiences, it is possible to alter grammatical aspects of the text while preserving the lexical aspects of the historical language variant. Because of this restricted translation, this approach is less time consuming compared to a total translation. The article also describes a method for producing such texts, illustrated with examples taken from the sixteenth-century correspondence of William of Orange.