Handbook for translators of Spanish historical ... - University Library

HANDBOOK FOR TRANSLATORS OF SPANISH HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
ited for the entire word; if he employed such expressions
as Rayado , tachado , and no vale , he did so to protect the
reader against subsequent tampering with the document "by
•unauthorized and possibly malevolent hands. If, in depositions,
he reversed the normal order of paragraphing and resorted
to "hanging indentation," with the first line flush
with the left margin and the following lines indented, he
did so in order to afford easy reference to the testimony
of different parties.
1. ParagraTPhing. In the transcription of original
documents the paragraphing of the original should always
be retained. In transcribing translations, however, two
exceptions can be made. The first concerns depositions in
which the original has the first line of the paragraph
flush with the left margin and indents the following lines.
In this case the usual paragraph form should be used. The
second exception applies to the transcription of copies.
The original copy of a document will often have a period
and a double dash to indicate the beginning of a new paragraph
in the original', in these cases, the copyist should
restore the original paragraph form.
2. Caipitalization , spelling , and punctuation . The
capitalization of the original should be kept in the transcription
of an original document. In a translation, however,
modern capitalization should be used. Spelling of
all words should be retained when transcribing an original
dociiment. When transcribing a translation, all person
or place names should be spelled exactly as they appear in
the original; otherwise, spelling used in the original
should be ignored. No change in the punctuation of an
original should be made when making a transcription. In
fact, all punctuation, seals, stamps, errors, marks, or
any special design recorded on the original should be retained.
It is occasionally necessary to copy unus"ual
symbols and obsolete designs by hand. Since it is practically
impossible to copy most seals and stamps, their position
on the manuscript snould be indicated by the use of
the word "seal" or "stamp" enclosed in brackets. Any
special symbols, other than punctuation, should also be
retained in the transcription of translations.
3. Superscript Letters . Spanish historical documents
contain an abundance of abbreviations with superscript let-
-110-