Proper Way To Display an Epigram in Foreign Language
April 25, 2023 10:05 AM Subscribe
Before the opening chapter of the book I'm writing, I want to run a quote in Latin from Ovid.
But as most people won't know how to read Latin, I'll want to have the English translation listed as well.
Would I put the two sentences on top of each other? The one in Latin with the English below. Or show the English translation on the page following the opening page in Latin.
I realize there is no etched-in-stone way to do this, but thought I'd ask the hive what they'd suggest or have seen done, traditionally, in the past.
But as most people won't know how to read Latin, I'll want to have the English translation listed as well.
Would I put the two sentences on top of each other? The one in Latin with the English below. Or show the English translation on the page following the opening page in Latin.
I realize there is no etched-in-stone way to do this, but thought I'd ask the hive what they'd suggest or have seen done, traditionally, in the past.
Best answer: You can run the latin text larger with a line-by-line translation below each line of text, set smaller and maybe lighter.
You could also run the translation as a footnote on the page.
Although... it sounds like this will be an opening page with nothing else on it? If that's the case, then I like the idea of just latin on that page, then run the text in English on the next page in the same style.
Depending on how this will be distributed, you'll also have to consider how this will convert to an e-book as well.
posted by hydra77 at 10:13 AM on April 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
You could also run the translation as a footnote on the page.
Although... it sounds like this will be an opening page with nothing else on it? If that's the case, then I like the idea of just latin on that page, then run the text in English on the next page in the same style.
Depending on how this will be distributed, you'll also have to consider how this will convert to an e-book as well.
posted by hydra77 at 10:13 AM on April 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Most commonly, the translation appears just below the original text, followed by a citation, as appropriate. Often the original quote is italicized and the translation is just Roman:
to mega biblion ison … tôi megalôi kakôi
A big book is a big evil.
(Callimachus fr. 465 Pf.)
posted by praemunire at 10:30 AM on April 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
to mega biblion ison … tôi megalôi kakôi
A big book is a big evil.
(Callimachus fr. 465 Pf.)
posted by praemunire at 10:30 AM on April 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I'm going to go with one page, followed by the translation on the next page. The Latin reads so curiously that I want to maintain it.
posted by zenpop at 10:37 AM on April 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by zenpop at 10:37 AM on April 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
The two separate pages approach makes sense to me! Depending on what you mean by "reads so curiously", you may also want to prioritize an English translation that preserves particular elements of the Latin, such as using chiasmus where it appears in the original.
posted by earth by april at 2:45 PM on April 25, 2023
posted by earth by april at 2:45 PM on April 25, 2023
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posted by alex1965 at 10:07 AM on April 25, 2023 [1 favorite]