Stuck for a word--help!
Stuck for a word--help!
Thanks,
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
I'm "translating" some documents from medieval to modern English, but
"translate" doesn't seem like quite the right word to describe what I'm doing
since late medieval English isn't a foreign language (unlike the Middle English
of Chaucer nearly a century earlier that really does require translation).
"Rewrite," "revise," and "transcribe" are all obviously wrong. So is
"paraphrase," since I'm not putting a quoted passage into my own words; I'm just
modernizing it. I've thought about "render," but that's not the word I'm sure is
out there. Anybody have a suggestion? I suppose "modernize" could do in a pinch,
but that's not really the word I'm looking for,
either.
Thanks,
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
I think you want to emphasis that you making it easier to understand, but NOT changing the meaning.
I would probably have gone for modernise, or possibly update myself. But how about "clarify"?
Failing that, I would have to use a phrase like "I have used the most suitable words in modern useage, so as not violate the meaning or spirit of the original script"?
Tony
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
Sandra wrote :
"Update? Amend? Emend? Overhaul? Best I can do, Carol."
Thanks, Sandra. I think I'll go with "modernize" unless someone comes up with a better suggestion.
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
Sandra wrote :
"Update? Amend? Emend? Overhaul? Best I can do,
Carol."
Thanks, Sandra. I think I'll go with "modernize" unless someone
comes up with a better suggestion.
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
Kathryn wrote:
"Hi Carol, Would transcribe be of any use. Kathryn"
Carol responds:
Hi, Kathryn. "Transcribe" is actually the word I used at first but thought it was probably wrong and looked it up. It primarily means "copy," which is definitely not what I'm doing. I've decided that it's not so much translating, since Richard clearly wrote and spoke English (however different his pronunciation may have been from that of the Windsors), It's mainly respelling, repunctuating as needed, and occasionally defining an unfamiliar word.
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
"I think you want to emphasis that you making it easier to understand, but NOT changing the meaning. I would probably have gone for modernise, or possibly update myself. But how about "clarify"? Failing that, I would have to use a phrase like "I have used the most suitable words in modern useage, so as not violate the meaning or spirit of the original script"?:
Carol responds:
Thanks for your suggestion. Don't worry. I'll make it clear that I'm not changing the meaning or spirit. In fact, that's the whole point of transcribing these documents with modern spelling (I think I've found my phrase).
Carol
Re: Stuck for a word--help!
I quite like rendition, as in your version, but I suspect that word has gained other meanings!
Jess
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From: justcarol67@... <justcarol67@...>;
To: <>;
Subject: Re: Stuck for a word--help!
Sent: Thu, Mar 27, 2014 9:57:27 PM
Tony wrote :
"I think you want to emphasis that you making it easier to understand, but NOT changing the meaning. I would probably have gone for modernise, or possibly update myself. But how about "clarify"? Failing that, I would have to use a phrase like "I have used the most suitable words in modern useage, so as not violate the meaning or spirit of the original script"?:
Carol responds:
Thanks for your suggestion. Don't worry. I'll make it clear that I'm not changing the meaning or spirit. In fact, that's the whole point of transcribing these documents with modern spelling (I think I've found my phrase).
Carol
