Capitalization Conundrums/conundrums

Question

I have been charged with translating all our election materials to Spanish in accordance with the federal law to which we are now subject.

I have translated dozens and dozens of documents, but there are some pretty basic questions I still go back and forth on. I'd love to know the answers once and for all. Here´s one that still haunts me:

Should the words in a document's title be capitalized?
What about stand-alone phrases, such as those used in an application?

In English, we generally capitalize titles and phrases like this, so I'd write: "Voter Registration Application" and "Applicant's Full Name: _________." But in Spanish, I know capitalization is used sparingly, and from what I understand, only the first letter should be capitalized in a title. But in American documents and web pages, Spanish translations always seem to obey American English capitalization rules.

So which is correct? Why?

a) "Solicitud de registro de votantes"/"Nombre completo del solicitante: _______" b) "Solicitud de Registro de Votantes"/"Nombre Completo del Solicitante: ________" c) "Solicitud de Registro de Votantes"/"Nombre completo del solicitante: __________" d) "Solicitud de registro de votantes"/"Nombre Completo del Solicitante: ________"

I always use "a", but I second-guess myself on it all the time.

¡Ayúdenme, por favor!

Answer 1

I don't think either way would be a problem.

• I normally choose to translate documents the way they are written in Spanish for Spanish speaking people. After all, we are trying to reach them, and by no capitalizing them, you are not making them less "legal"
• For us, Spanish speaking people, it look weird to see so many capital letters.
• Also, in a title, we see the first letter capitalized, or the whole title capitalized.
• So, I agree with you! a) should be the best option.

Good info, farallon! - Noetol, May 22, 2012

Thanks man! - farallon7, May 22, 2012

June in Spanish is junio, and it looks weird to me that it is capitalized in English, but I capitalize it when I translate it from Spanish because otherwise it will look odd for the English speaking audience. - farallon7, May 23, 2012

Answer 2

I kind of figured this, but I was born and raised in the U.S., so the lack of capitalization actually looks weird to me!

But you mentioned, "Also, in a title, we see the first letter capitalized, or the whole title capitalized."

I have noticed this is the case, but I am more concerned with which one is both correct (and ideally) conventional. Those two aren't always the same thing, and it is frustrating as all get out!

Remember, you audience was not born in the U.S. They are the target! Cater to them! Let the message be as clear as it could be! - farallon7, May 22, 2012

Answer 3

I have to agree with Farallon. Your target audience is used to not seeing all those extra capitals, so why use them? In my experience, "a" is the best option.

My concern is that professionally translated documents from American major corporations, legal organizations, etc., that tend to have an impeccable editing process do caps. I have used option "a," but when very few professional translators seem to. - ohblanca, May 23, 2012

Answer 4

Take a look at this link. See if it answers your questions.

Capitalization

Thanks for the link... I had read through this, and used it as a guide previously, but the problem is that it only mentions titles of books and movies. I'd like to know if said rule applies to titles of every kind - specifically documents and webpages. - ohblanca, May 22, 2012