“Punctuation in Translation: Orthography and Typography in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective”

Punctuation varies across languages more than is generally assumed among translators. Multiple punctuation marks take different typographic forms in different languages. There are language-specific rules for combinations of punctuation marks. Some punctuation marks are less typical in some languages than they are in others. Despite these indisputable facts, some translators may be subconsciously reluctant to translate punctuation. Based on examples from various languages using the Latin alphabet, the speaker will argue that a matter as language-sensitive as punctuation should be handled by the linguist rather than by the typesetter or anyone else involved in the process of multilingual document creation.

Based in Prague, I have been an English-to-Czech and German-to-Czech translator since 2003, specializing in energy, transportation, IT, marketing, business, travel, and food. I am a member of IAPTI, ATA, JTP, and MLA and hold a national certification as a German translator in the Czech Republic. Having studied in Germany, Canada, and New Zealand, my work travels with me around the globe for several months each year. I have recently published a book on the native-speaker status in the translation market