Jun 19, 2008 04:08
15 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

Juan Perez

Non-PRO English to Spanish Art/Literary Linguistics Birth Certificate
The name in the birth certificate in not accented since the document is from the US. This person is not registered in any Spanish-speaking country, in any way. The document will be used to enroll a US-citizen in a Mexican school. I know that names shouldn't be translated in certificates but my common sense tells me that I should use the accented form, since the original (Mexican parents) last name is accented and the person will be enrolled in a Mexican school.

Any advice?

(The actual name is not 'Perez' but its only form in Spanish is with an accent)
Change log

Jun 19, 2008 04:46: Taña Dalglish changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/26984">Claudia Alvis's</a> old entry - "Juan Perez"" to ""Leave as Juan Perez""

Jun 19, 2008 09:26: Monika Jakacka Márquez changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Jun 19, 2008 09:26: Monika Jakacka Márquez changed "Removed from KOG" from "Juan Perez (see context) > Leave as Juan Perez (accents depend on whether present on official documents) by <a href="/profile/609894">Taña Dalglish</a>" to "Reason: not a term question"

Discussion

IMHO, if the father is Mexican and is called "Pérez" in all his official documents before moving to the US, the child is also a Pérez when they return to Mexico. Very probably the child also has a Mexican nationality, and in Mexico he will be Pérez... :-)
Claudia Alvis (asker) Jun 19, 2008:
Official document The key word in the case is 'official'. If the name weren't 'Perez' but an unusual non-Latin name that in theory should be accented, there wouldn't be any doubt that it should remain unmodified. But even if the name were 'Pérez' and it was misspelled in the original as 'Perez', it's not the translator's duty or place to modify it in any way. It should be properly amended.
Taña Dalglish Jun 19, 2008:
@ eloso. You are right on one count in that Pérez is not an English name. However, more importantly, you have to use what appears on official documentation, i.e. birth certificate, etc. Luck!
eloso (X) Jun 19, 2008:
"Pérez" isn't an English word, so I don't think it should be treated as such. To write it without the accent would -in my opinion- be a spelling mistake. (See my answer "cáfe/Pérez).
Claudia Alvis (asker) Jun 19, 2008:
Thanks Gracias a todos por sus respuestas.
Claudia Alvis (asker) Jun 19, 2008:
English to Spanish Just if it wasn't clear enough, the document is in English, it need to be translated into Spanish.

Proposed translations

+1
9 mins
Selected

Leave as Juan Perez

Hi Claudia:

My common sense tells me that if the accent(s) do not appear on any official document (issued in the U.S., I assume) such as the birth certificate, passport or other, then DO NOT use any accents, despite the fact that the parents´official documents may bear the accents.

The person should they have/want to amend in keeping with his parents´official documents will have to go through the appropriate authorities seeking an amendment.

That is my advice.

Saludos.

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Note added at 19 mins (2008-06-19 04:27:42 GMT) Post-grading
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I am not disagreeing with cserranoh´s answer. Where I disagree is the rationale. My name is a case in point and is spelt with an ñ not with merely an "n". A name is a name, i.e. René bears an accent and is quite common in English-speaking countries.

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Note added at 21 mins (2008-06-19 04:29:54 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks Claudia. Muy amable. My name on my birth certificate appears with an ñ, not just "n". Good luck.

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Note added at 34 mins (2008-06-19 04:42:54 GMT) Post-grading
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@ eloso:
Café is a different story:
See: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/café
EtymologyItalian caffè < Turkish kahve < Classical Arabic قهوة (qáhwah, coffee).
Main Entry: ca·fé
Variant(s): also ca·fe \ka-ˈfā, kə-\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French café coffee, café, from Turkish kahve — more at coffee
Date: 1802

French: bears the accent: café.

Peer comment(s):

agree María Teresa Taylor Oliver : Interesting debate... and your answer was right on the money! :) --- ¿Cómo va todo?
9 hrs
Hola María. Muy bien. Tengo que venir a Panamá dentro de unas semanas, pero no sé exactamente. Qeudamos en contacto. Ojalá - podemos encontrar en la pizzería! Besitos y gracias!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "You're absolutely right. That's exactly what I was told when I was in school, I had forgotten."
+1
4 mins

I would not use the accent, since it doesn´t exist in the English language

x
Peer comment(s):

agree margaret caulfield : This is my policy as a rule. The only exception I make is the "ñ".
1 min
Thank you Ms. Caulfield, I admire you a lot...:)
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6 mins

Juan Perez*

I would personally leave as it appears in the Birth Certificate and add a Translator 's Note explaining that is common practice in the States to drop the accented form etc, etc
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+1
6 mins

Juan Pérez

I think the accent should be kept. Pérez is still Pérez. E.g. German names having Umlaut just keep it here in Argentina (Müller, Schüler, etc).

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Note added at 7 mins (2008-06-19 04:16:23 GMT)
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I wouldn't want to have my name altered if I went abroad.
Peer comment(s):

neutral margaret caulfield : The umlaupt is also used in Spanis (lingüístico.......), so it exists in Spanish and English, but the´"´" does not exist in English.
2 mins
If the accent is kept in the word "café", why not keep it in "Pérez"? I just can't see the difference.
agree Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT : Clarísimo. ¿Acaso no es "Los Ángeles" una ciudad norteamericana? Y le ponemos el acento, por el ORIGEN de la palabra y la grafía con la que se la conoce en español históricamente.
5 hrs
¡Mil gracia, Tomás!
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16 mins

Juan Perez

I would keep the name as it appears in the original document. Eventhough the parent´s lastname carries the accent, it does not appear in the original so it should not be translated.
I would keep it as it is and add a translator´s note with an explanation, just to avoid the translation not to be valid in the place where it has to be presented. My advice, hope it helps!
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