<html><head><style type="text/css"></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV>I have been struggling with this same issue with place names in Poland.  I have decided that the language in which I will spell place names depends on the target audience.  If I am writing for an English speaking audience, I translate place names into English.  If I am writing for a Polish speaking audience, I use Polish language place names.  (By audience, I don't mean just the audience at a lecture, but also the readers of my written work.)  Language differences don't exist for all place names, however.  Warszawa in Polish is spelled Warsaw in English.  However, Nowa Wieś in Polish is never translated as New Village in English (although the kreska "s" ś is not used in English).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best regards,</DIV> <DIV>Stephen J. Danko</DIV> <DIV><A href="http://www.stephendanko.com/">http://www.stephendanko.com/</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma> <HR SIZE=1> <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> "Rolgeiger@aol.com" <Rolgeiger@aol.com><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> apgmembersonlylist@apgen.org; apgpubliclist@apgen.org<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Sun, October 24, 2010 12:01:59 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> [APG Public List] translate place names<BR></FONT><BR><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> <DIV>Hello, </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I wonder whether it make sense to translate place names from the origin language into my own. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Like German Koeln into Cologne or Niedersachsen into Lower Saxony. Or Bavaria which originally is Bayern.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think it leads into trouble once I have to do with orignal documents from that area for they will not have translated their names into any other language. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I realize that Cologne is about the way an English speaking person would pronounce the German sound "Koeln". But doing research about emigrants in upstate New York, I don't translate for example "Perkinsville, New York" into "Perkinsweiler, Neu York". Would not make sense for no records exist with "Perkinsweiler" but all with "Perkinsville".</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Same with names having a "sch" which are pretty much often transformed into the common Englisch "sh".</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mit freundlichen Gruessen</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Roland Geiger, St. Wendel, Deutschland (= Germany)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>PS: Sorry, I just got up and had had no coffee yet. Otherwise I may not have asked that question. </DIV></FONT></DIV></DIV></div></body></html>