1 Reply Latest reply on Feb 1, 2021 1:10 PM by Law Library of Congress

    Latin Text

    Caren Barry Newbie
    Caren Barry Jan 5, 2021 11:03 AM

      I have looked at the cheat sheets for transcribing the documents in the Spanish legal document campaign and today I came across some of the markings that indicate letters have been left out in the Latin text. Am I correct in assuming that we are to use the diacritcal marks as shown in the document and NOT add the missing letters?


      I have also noticed unusual spacing of punctuation:

      Sometimes a comma is both preceded and followed by a space  This seems to occur in the text.

      Sometimes there is no space before or after a period.  This seems to occur in what appear to be reference citations at the end of a section.

       

      Should I be reproducing this as is or is it making it more difficult for reviewers?

       

      (I have been doing this intermittently for a month and I just realized that I had not registered for an account when I first started. )

      Thanks,

      Caren Barry

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        • Re: Latin Text
          Law Library of Congress Wayfarer
          Law Library of Congress Expert Feb 1, 2021 1:10 PM (in response to Caren Barry)

          Hi Caren,

           

          Thank you for the question and sorry for the delayed response. Yes, you are correct -- please transcribe the abbreviated words exactly as you see them. You should not add any missing letters, but if you do come across an abbreviated word that you think would be significant to a researcher, you can always add a tag that includes the fully un-abbreviated word.

           

          If you have an example that you would like to share, please pass it along and I will consult further with one of our Latin specialists.

           

          As for the punctuation, I have noticed this quirk as well, and would encourage you to take essentially the same approach as mentioned above -- just transcribe the text as it appears, even when the spacing and placement of punctuation might seem strange.

           

          Stephen