Glossary entry

Albanian term or phrase:

Shkoder/Shkodra/Scutari

English translation:

Shkodër/Shkoder/Shkodra

Added to glossary by Jane Griffiths (X)
Oct 31, 2011 10:45
12 yrs ago
Albanian term

Shkoder/Shkodra/Scutari

Albanian to English Other Geography Place name
Hello,

I'm doing a translation from Italian into English (UK) with many references to the place Italians call Scutari (the city near a lake of the same name, in northern Albania). I hope it's OK to ask you - I feel that translators from Albanian into English are most likely to be able to answer my question.

I have found Shkodër, Shkoder and Shkodra in English texts - more than one spelling is often used in the same document.

References to Albanian grammar on the web explain why more than one spelling is in use. They are interesting but haven't solved my problem.

I would like to use a single version of this place name in my target text (for the city, the lake and the region). Which is to be preferred?
Proposed translations (English)
5 +4 Shkodër / Shkodra
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Ledja

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Proposed translations

+4
6 mins
Selected

Shkodër / Shkodra

The two words can be used interchangeably, the first one is in the indefinite form, the second in the definite form.

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Note added at 11 mins (2011-10-31 10:56:55 GMT)
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in case you want definitely one word, i would suggest "Shkodër".
Peer comment(s):

agree Ec Linguistic Solutions
2 hrs
agree Klementina Shahini
2 hrs
agree Ledja : Generally, when used in other languages, feminine Albanian names appear in the definite form, while masculine ones in the indefinite. (The same rule applies to people's names) Therefore, I'd suggest using "Shkodra" when translating into English.
4 hrs
agree Fabiana Papastefani-Pezzoni
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you all for your replies. Since asking this question I have seen a website relating to the project I'm writing about which uses "Shkoder", so that is what I will do. I expect that at some time in the future one spelling will become the standard one in English, but it seems to me that at the moment all three versions can reasonably be used. I have read quite a few translations about Albania this week, and in my view it is definitely advisable to use a single version of any place name when writing in English - readers won't be familiar with Albanian grammar, so varying spellings tend to look inconsistent."
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