![]() Many character-based languages have Latin alphabet equivalents, such as Chinese’s Hanyu Pinyin or Japanese’s Romaji, and including many other languages such as Arabic, Russian, and Hebrew. What, though, about transliteration from a character-based language to a Latin-based one? How should the name be rendered to maintain accuracy? Name transliteration is not standardized, although often well-known figures and saints’ names are transliterated. Speaking of Spanish and similar languages, should you transliterate “Jose to “José” or Maria to “María?” Often in cases where names have accents to mark pronunciation or other features, these features are not transliterated, as they only exist in that language and serve no purpose in English. It is often easier to transliterate the name to “William,” which is very standard and simple for English speakers to pronounce. The Spanish name “Guillermo” is unpronounceable to someone unfamiliar with the Spanish rules of pronunciation. In contrast, if you see the name “Jose,” the pronunciation of that name depends on the pronunciation rules of Spanish and must be learned. In English, for example, if you see the name Rebecca, you know how that name should be pronounced based on the pronunciation rules for English. Speakers of a given language are accustomed to the pronunciation rules for that language. Transliterating names is normally a matter of ease of pronunciation as much as accurate representation. When should names be transliterated and when should they be left as they are? Why is transliteration performed, and what purpose does it serve? Names are very personal, and their transliterations are not always clear. ![]() To transliterate or not to transliterate: that is the question. The process of converting a language from one written script to another written script is known as transliteration.
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