Original Name

From Mindat

Conversion from non-latin to latin alphabets is a TRANSSCRIPTION, not a TRANSLATION. Transscription aims to provide a phonetic equivalent, and, therefore, leads to a completely different spelling of the same original place in different languages. There are more problems with transscription in that there exist various methods, leading to a different spelling even when the same language is considered (in general, you should use the transcription preferred by the local government). At present, we handle this problem by including the common alternatives in parentheses in the locality string. To minimize confusion, we prefer the english spelling here, that is, the spelling resulting from transscription into the english language.

As for the many languages based on a latin alphabet, but using modified letters (french, spanish, portuguese, the baltic and slavic languages, etc.), a general omission of the accents and diacritical marks is neither a translation, nor an appropriate transscription - and it may even alter the meaning !! (for instance, "Düsseldorf" means "town on river Düssel", whereas "Dusseldorf" means "dumb people's village" - I'm not that much exaggerating ...). I recommend to leave these place names as they are, because you need the correct syntax when you search for them on a map server (searching for "Dusseldorf" on multimap.com does not result in any hit, whereas a search for "Düsseldorf" immediately brings up the correct result). Not to forget here about the celtic languages with their "hidden phonetics": particular letter combinations defining a peculiar pronounciation that has nothing to do with the english language (e.g. the welsh "ll", as explained to foreign tourists: "Put the tip of your tongue against your top front teeth and emit a sharp burst in the air without making a noise in the throat" - well, it's just a jump to the left ...). The policy here should be: no transscription, no translation. Otherwise, we're really going to open Pandora's Box: no benefit, but much confusion (this somewhat reminds of the thermodynamic definition of entropy ...).

Before explaining what I think would be an appropriate translation policy, I would like to recall that our main goal is to provide accurate locality descriptions. This often requires to include more information than anyone of us would write on a specimen label (e.g. the name in the original language), tempts us to overburden the locality string and may create confusion which we actually wanted to minimise. Therefore, we have to define some rules, but it is also important that we take care to strictly keep to them: the only way to effectively avoid confusion is uniformity. If the following rules are obeyed, the quality of the database and the locality search routine can be improved considerably:

• (1) The name in the original language has to be added in the respective field on the locality entry form. Brackets in the locality string are reserved for alternative names or an alternative spelling of a locality. There is no need to include parts of the original name here, because THE LOCALITY SEARCH ROUTINE DOES SEARCH IN BOTH FIELDS. If you want to try it, perform a search for "Kärnten" or "Steiermark" and you will get the full locality lists for Carinthia and Styria, respectively, despite neither "Kärnten", nor "Steiermark" does appear in any of the locality names. At present, there is an "Isola d'Elba" remark included with all Elba Island localities that actually has to be moved to the "name in original language" field. Of course, it's evident to most of us that "Isola d'Elba" is just the italian translation of "Elba Island". However, someone who logs in, say, from the United Arab Emirates, who learned from the manual that names in brackets represent alternative names, may become somewhat confused.
  
  There is actually no need to give a full locality string in the original language. It may be sufficient to give only the name of the state or of the region - whatever you consider worth to include that it can be searched for. However, the best solution would be to have the full string, i.e. a 1:1 translation of the string in the first line. In this case, every search - no matter whether performed in english or in the regional language, for the full string or an arbitrary part of it - would bring up the correct result. Imagine what a powerful tool this would be (... desperately trying to motivate our contributors ...)
  
  Please note that there is still an error with the entry form in that the name in the original language is not saved when the submit button is clicked the first time for a new entry (interestingly, it appears in the Changes Log, but it is not displayed anywhere else ...). To circumvent this problem, you'll have to tick the box beneath the field and click the submit button again.

• (2) Always use the translation, if it there is one that is generally accepted (i.e. listed in an english dictionary). This only applies to states, some of their regions and provinces, as well as a number of larger cities. For instance, a welsh/english dictionary will tell that Cymru translates to Wales, a spanish/english dictionary tells that Andalucía translates to Andalusia, etc. The benefit of using these translations is that you find them also printed on international maps. They may guide you if you're using a map server to look for a locality. They also help to clarify what's written on a label. As Uwe pointed out, no one would write a label in english when he's not a native speaker, and, on the other hand, no one in the United States would write a german label for a german specimen. In our times with mineral trade on the internet, it becomes more and more common to buy specimens with labels written in foreign languages. If you don't have a proper dictionary at hand, and Mindat wasn't there to assist you, any attempt to learn more about the locality would be a rather tedious task. Of course, the locality search routine won't be successful unless the "name in the original language" fields are properly filled in (see above).

• (3) Always translate also those parts of the locality string that refer to topographic features (e.g. sierra/montagne/Gebirge -> Mts, lago/lac/See -> lake, étang/Weiher -> pond, val/vallon/vallée/valle/Tal -> valley, rocca/roche/Fels/Klippe -> rock/cliff, capo/cap/Kap -> cape, cala/Bucht -> bay, etc.), except where these terms form an integral part of a place name (for instance, Val d'Isère is the name of a town and does not necessarily mean Isère valley).
  
  This further helps to clarify what's written on a label. For instance, you may learn that "Kalkbruch" simply means "limestone quarry" and not a particular place (there was a similar question some time ago in the "Identity Help" forum), or that "Habachtal" is a valley and, therefore, refers to a large area rather than a specific locality, etc.