Avoid Misunderstandings By Using The Proper Punctuation Marks

Punctuation marks are like traffic signals; they change from one jurisdiction to another.

Every language has its own punctuation conventions. Some of the punctuation marks may be the same, some will appear to be similar and some are quite different. Omitting them for convenience or by accident creates a problem for the intended reader. When professional translators complete an assignment, they are careful to include all of the proper marks of the target language to avoid misunderstandings. This is especially noticeable with English to Spanish written translation. For example, the opening question mark in the language of Spanish-speaking countries is an important part of the translation of an interrogative and simply cannot be left out if the translating work is to be considered correct.

History

The opening question mark in Spanish has been used by those in Spanish-speaking countries for more than 200 years. This punctuation mark resembles an upside-down question mark in the English language and is used at the beginning of a question in written form. It was established in the Spanish language in 1754, but was not widely used until the middle of the 19th Century. Other countries using major romance languages, such as Italy, France, and Portugal, did not adopt this mark.

Modern Influence

Over the years, there have been occasional public refusals to use the upside down question mark, such as the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Although the use of the opening question mark is traditionally found in the professional English to Spanish text translation, the punctuation is not always seen in less formal settings influenced by modern technology. One example of this would be social media formats on the Internet. This includes not only social websites, forums and chat rooms, but also informal means of communication, such as e-mail. Text messages are one type of communication that typically omits proper spelling and punctuation in many languages, including English and Spanish.

Technology

The use of the upside down question mark and other punctuation and accent marks used in other languages may be a challenge for those that are unfamiliar with their word processing programs. For those that prefer to use the proper method, particularly in popular word processing programs, the use of certain keyboard strokes provides easy access to foreign punctuation marks. Each software application is different, but it generally does not require the use of a specialized keyboard to create the punctuation mark in the proper form and placement.

Printing

When viewing a document that has been translated from one language into another before it is officially published or distributed, it is important for someone to proofread the final version against the prepared version to make sure that it matches the translation exactly, character by character. On occasion, typesetters and software programs may omit accents, change hyphenation or drop punctuation marks. This may be done by accident, as a matter of convenience, creating an error, or for no particular reason at all. But just remember, if the foreign language punctuation is wrong, the translation will be wrong.

by: Christine Harrell

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