Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A Using the grammatically correct way or the casual way to express the same idea in another language?

Technically, not ending a sentence with a preposition is a rule that Latin-obsessed 17th-century nerds tried to impose on the English Language, as a part of a larger attempt to make English grammar...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:29Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39708
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:02:25Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39708
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:02:25Z (almost 5 years ago)
Technically, not ending a sentence with a preposition is a rule that Latin-obsessed 17th-century nerds tried to impose on the English Language, as a part of a larger attempt to make English grammar work exactly the same as Latin grammar. This rule wasn't true for English grammar before the 17th century, and doesn't really reflect modern usage either, though it is taught, and some official texts insist on it. **It is perfectly alright to end sentences with prepositions**. (Sources: [Oxford Dictionary blog](https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/28/grammar-myths-prepositions/), [Merriam Webster Dictionary usage notes](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/prepositions-ending-a-sentence-with))

To the broader question of tone vs. correctness, when translating text, **you want to preserve the language register of the original text** , the tone of what is being said. If you alter the register, you are changing what the situation "feels like" - you're changing who the characters are - how they talk, how they interact with each other.

In some languages and some situations, some grammatical errors are more acceptable. Those "errors" have become part of everyday usage, whereas the "correct" form is "formal". When that is the case, the usage is what it is. If your characters were speaking English, that's how they would have said it, right? They would not have used the formal form? Then don't use the formal form.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-10-29T14:43:39Z (about 6 years ago)
Original score: 3