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Wednesday, September 25, 2019

To Translate or not to Translate

I've had a few American Indian names in my stories.
Several of my stories take place in America. And in my worlds, the American Indians weren't wiped out. They continue to live in their tribes, or in cities or towns. Whichever they prefer.

But I face a dilemma while naming them. Do I use the original American Indian word?
For example, in Arrin's story, Huyana means Falling Rain.
Or do I use the translation of the name? In Evva's story, there's a character called Striding Bear.
In Evva's story, I've used all translations.
But in Arrin's story, there's some of each. Is it better to use one over the other? For the American Indian words, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of languages and dialects. Which is overwhelming. But there are some lovely names too. Which is why I chose Huyana.
Is it dumb to use both?


Chilean flamingo

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