Questions tagged [transliteration]

Representation of text originally recorded in one writing system in a different writing system.

Topics related to the representation of text originally recorded in one writing system in a different writing system. For examples, questions about why a foreign word or phrase has been anglicized in a particular way would fall into this category.

Use the instead if the question relates to representing the meaning of a word or phrase in another language. Use the tag instead if the question relates to its spelling, capitalization, or punctuation in English alone. Use the tag instead if the question is about the usage of a foreign word in English.

39 questions
13
votes
4 answers

Why is Julia in cyrillic regularly transcribed as Yulia in English?

Julius Caesar's name is spelled with J both in Latin and in English. So is Julia the Elder. There are plenty of examples of Julia in English, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia I think this applies to Jurij (Yurij) and other names that begins…
d-b
  • 1,293
7
votes
2 answers

Who decides how a foreign name should be transliterated and why do such transliterations change over the decades?

I would like to know how a transliteration of a foreign name becomes "the accepted version", and why the accepted version is sometimes replaced. I would also like to know why some transliterations into English make absolutely no sense to English…
TimR
  • 21,116
3
votes
1 answer

How would one spell θæn?

My four-year-old recently got a pet frog. When he named it, he said, "θæn" (note: that is IPA, "θæn" sounds just like the word "than" but it has an unvoiced first consonant). I'm not sure how to notate this into English though. My wife suggested we…
cwallenpoole
  • 1,027
3
votes
0 answers

Cyrillic names in transliteration

I wonder, if there is any adequate and up-to-date guide on transliteration of Cyrillic names. All I have read seem rather inconsistent and confusing.
BukvaCe
  • 187
1
vote
1 answer

Why was Zormpa changed to Zorba?

In the original Greek text, Alexis Zorba's surname was Ζορμπά [Zormpa]. Does anyone know why the name came to be transliterated, in the English translation, as Zorba?
0
votes
2 answers

Name of languages that don't use English characters?

I'm trying to name a question of mine: I'm translating English to Hindi, what's it called when the translations are with English characters? And instead of naming it: I'm translating English to Hindi, what's it called when the translations are with…
Rob
  • 253