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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Footnotes for Translation purposes

Footnotes are paratextual elements which appear at the bottom of a page in a text. In translated literary texts, translators may employ footnotes to assist readers in their understanding of the translation.

How do you footnote a translation?

Formula for citing a translated source in APA:



Book title (Translator First Initial. Last Name, Trans.). City of Publication, State/Country: Publisher.

Should I translate footnotes?

Don’t translate anything more than once. If you feel you have to use a footnote, do it once per phrase. Only translate words if it’s important and there is no cognate to the language you’re writing in. If your novel is peppered with footnotes, it will feel more like an academic book than a story.

How do you cite something that is translated?

Luckily, the solution is quite simple: If you translated a passage from one language into another it is considered a paraphrase, not a direct quotation. Thus, to cite your translated material, all you need to do is include the author and date of the material in the in-text citation.

Do references need to be translated?

As pointed out in this answer, popular science books, written by native authors and published by different publishers, report English, German and French references without any translation. Of course leaving the identification of the references is vital.

How do you write a translation note?

A Google Books search seems to confirm that the usual abbreviation for “translator’s note” is indeed TN. The first time you use it, you may do so in full, so that the abbreviation is clear later.

Which is the correct citation in a footnote for a translated print book in Chicago?

Author(s) of the book. Title of the book. Translated by Translator(s) name. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

How do you in text cite a translated work MLA?

Parenthetical Citations



The in-text citation for a translated book is the same as most other books. At the end of the sentence, write the author’s last name and the page number of the citation within parentheses. Place the period after the parentheses.

Can I use references in another language?

To create a citation for a source in a foreign language, here are some pieces of information you may need: Author name(s) Title of the work* (you may need the original title, depending on your citation style) Where the work was published.

How do you cite a translation in MLA?

List the author of the work, the title of the translation in quotation marks (since it is an unpublished work), and the name of the translator. In the optional-element slot at the end of the entry, indicate the format: Wallace, David Foster.

How do you cite a translated website in MLA?

MLA does not require the URL, but you need the website’s name, the website’s publisher if one exists, the name of the text as it appears in the Web page, as well as the name of the individual who translated the text.

How do you cite a translated book in MLA?

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Translated by First Name Last Name. Publisher, Year.

How do you cite a translated text in Chicago style?

Original author Surname, First name. Title of the book: Subtitle of the book. Translated by First name Surname. City of publication: Publisher, Year.

How do you in text cite a translated work?

In General:



  1. Include the name of the translator, followed by “Trans.”, in parentheses after the book’s title.
  2. For in-text citations, include the publication year of the original work and the publication year of the translation.


How do you cite a non English source in Chicago?

Formula for citing a foreign language source in Chicago:



Author Last Name, First Name. Original Title [Translated Title]. City of Publication: Publisher, Year Published.