Abstract
This paper sets out to demonstrate that despite their seemingly slight relevance to technical translation, personal names have a major influence on the end product of the translation process. Personal names are not normally translated but transliterated or slightly modified to fit the target language as much as possible. Technical translators do not need to draw a boundary between proper names and common names, identify an individual known by various names or a single name borne by several people, nor decide whether a name belongs to a real or fictitious person. By contrast, they often have to ascertain: the base form of personal names in inflectional and agglutinative languages; their pronunciation for correct declension subject to vowel harmony, if any; the order of given names and surnames for inversion as necessary; the first and last item of multi-element names; the namebearer’s nationality for correct spelling, and their sex for gender agreement, including pronouns and verbal suffixes. The paper ends with the proposal that the behaviour of personal names in technical translation should be the subject of corpus-based research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
