MartinusWiki:Translating Martinus works

This page gives practical guidance for writing about Martinus' works in English when the relevant source is available in English, Danish, or both. It is an editorial guide, not a catalogue of officially published translations.

Identify the source language

Before translating or paraphrasing a passage, check whether the cited work and section are available in the official English online library. If an English source is available, use it as the primary wording for an English quotation. If only the Danish original is available, cite the Danish source and make clear that the English wording is a paraphrase or a contributor's translation.

See Source languages and translations for the (*) marker used on references to Danish sources.

Quoting an English source

Use the wording of the available English edition accurately. Do not silently modernise, shorten or combine sentences. Place the citation directly after the claim or quotation it supports, and retain enough context for the reader to understand what Martinus is saying.

If the wording has been checked against a printed English edition rather than the online library, record that fact on the article's discussion page or in the edit summary when it matters for verification.

Working from a Danish source

When no official English text is available:

• cite the Danish original and keep the (*) source-language marker;
• prefer a faithful English paraphrase for ordinary article prose;
• do not put a contributor's translation in quotation marks as though it were an official English quotation;
• identify a contributor's translation when the exact wording is important;
• preserve the original Danish title when that is the clearest way to identify a short book or other work.

A translation made for understanding an article is not automatically an official English edition. Do not describe it as official unless that status has been verified from a reliable source.

Translating a quotation

A contributor may provide an English translation to help readers understand a Danish passage. Keep the Danish reference, distinguish the translation from Martinus' published English wording, and avoid presenting the translation as a verbatim English quotation from an official edition. When a quotation is central to an article, invite another contributor to check it against the Danish original.

If a reliable published English translation later becomes available, replace the working translation with the published wording where appropriate and update the reference.

Terminology and consistency

Use the terminology established in existing English MartinusWiki articles and in verified English editions. Do not translate a key term differently in every article. If a Danish term has several possible English renderings, explain the choice on the discussion page and link related concepts consistently.

Avoid translating a title or technical expression by guesswork. Check the work itself, the official English library, the Martinus literature records, and related English pages before introducing a new form.

Review before saving

Before saving a translation-related edit:

1. Check that the source really supports the sentence or quotation.
2. Check whether the source is English or Danish.
3. Make the source-language status visible when the reader could otherwise misunderstand it.
4. Check names, titles, section numbers and internal links.
5. Use the discussion page for uncertain terminology or disputed translations.

For general contribution guidance, see Contributing and Contribute to this wiki. For source and maintenance questions, see Maintenance.