Good books come in all sizes, colors, lengths, and languages! Oftentimes, popular texts are translated into many languages, connecting authors with readers who don’t share the same native tongue. For example, the French children’s book “Le Petit Prince,” or “The Little Prince,” by Antoine Saint Exupéry has been translated into 300 languages!
Translations are great in the sense that they make work available to more readers. But how do you cite a translated work?
Believe it or not, citing a translated source isn’t all that different than citing a work in its original language. There’s just one extra step required!
Here is some of the information you will want to locate before starting to create your citation:
- Book title
- Author name(s)
- Translator name(s)
- Date published
- Publisher name/organization
- Place of publication
Below, we walk you through the process of citing a translated work in three common citation styles: MLA formatting, APA and Harvard. For each style, we’ve included a formula citation and a corresponding example for the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Formula for citing a translated source in MLA:
If you are trying to emphasize a particular translation, use the following format:
Translator Last Name, Translator first Name, translator. Book Title. By Author First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year Published.
Example:
Clarke, Alan, translator. The Alchemist. By Paulo Coelho, HarperCollins, 1993.
If you are trying to emphasize the work, and the translation is incidental, use the following format:
Author Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Translated by Translator First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year Published.
Example:
Coelho, Paul. The Alchemist. Translated by Alan Clarke, HarperCollins, 1993.
Formula for citing a translated source in APA:
Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year Published). Book title (Translator First Initial. Last Name, Trans.). City of Publication, State/Country: Publisher.
Example:
Coelho, P. (1993). The alchemist (A. Clarke, Trans.). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Formula for citing a translated source in Harvard:
Author Last Name, First Initial., Year. Title of book. Translated by Translator First Initial Last Name. Place of publication: Publisher.
Example:
Coelho, P., 1993. The alchemist. Translated by A. Clarke. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
If you need additional help with this citation style, visit our Harvard referencing guide.
Did you know that Cite This For Me has more than just a citation generator for formats like APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style? We also have a blog and guides that can help you create an in-text citation, cite a mobile app, learn how to write an annotated bibliography, and other bibliographic tasks.