ABSTRACT
Simply using the ST name unchanged in the TT may in any case sometimes be impracticable, if it actually creates problems of pronounceability, spelling or memorization. This is unlikely with ‘Schmidt’ or ‘Haider’, but it can easily happen with, say, Polish or Russian names. The second alternative in dealing with names, transliteration, to some extent solves these problems by using TL conventions for the representation of an ST name. This is the standard way of coping with Russian and Chinese names in English texts. How a name is transliterated may be entirely up to the translator, if it has never been put into the TL before. Or it may be necessary to follow a precedent established by earlier translators. Standard transliteration varies from language to language, as is easily seen with place names: compare Venezia/Venice/Venise/Venedig, etc. Translating an Austrian tourist brochure, the translator would use ‘Vienna’, perhaps inserting a reminder, the first time it occurs, that the German name, as seen on public notices etc., is ‘Wien’.
