Legal Writing

Italicizing Foreign Words

By Maeve

Karin-Marijke Vis wrote:

What to do with foreign words? Do I put them in Italics, or in single or double quotes? And then, is there a difference in for example the word ‘retsina’, that my dictionary knows, or ‘kafé’ that the dictionary doesn’t know [both words relate to a story in Greece]. Same about Indian words, are ‘nan’ and ‘puja’ officially acknowledged words or should they be written in Italics, or with quotes?

Whether or not to italicize foreign words depends upon the word’s familiarity to the intended audience, the context in which the word appears, and the frequency with which the word appears in a given text.

In American usage, if a foreign word has an entry in Merriam-Webster, it need not be italicized. According to that rule of thumb, kafé and nan would be italicized; retsina and puja, not.

However, if the writer feels that a word is largely unfamiliar to the intended audience, italicizing it may be the reasonable thing to do, dictionary entry notwithstanding.

If the word is going to be used frequently in the text, then it need be italicized only the first time it is introduced. For example, in a story with a Hindu setting, the word puja would probably occur frequently. The first time it could be defined as “a Hindu act of worship” and thereafter used without italics.

Here are some guidelines for the use of italics with foreign words in an English text.

1. If only one unfamiliar foreign word or brief phrase is being used, italicize it.

2. If an entire sentence or passage of two or more sentences appear in a foreign language, type the passage in plain type and put the passage in quotation marks.

3. If the foreign word is a proper noun, do not italicize it.

4. If you are using two foreign words or phrases, one familiar and one unfamiliar, italicize both of them for consistency and appearance.

5. Common Latin words and abbreviations like etc., et al., and ibid. need not be italicized. An exception is sic, which should be italicized and placed in square brackets.

Sources:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
APA Style Guide
Chicago Manual of Style

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Italicizing Foreign Words

Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on May 27, 2009 (boomark / email).