Translate or Not? Foreign Terms in English Academic Writing

When writing in English for academic purposes, you’ll often face a question: should you translate foreign terms into English, or leave them in the original language?

This applies to place names, cultural concepts, institutions, and even everyday words. For example, should you write Lisbon or Lisboa? Library or biblioteca?

Handled well, your choices make your academic writing clear, professional, and credible. Handled poorly, they confuse readers or create inconsistency.

Here are six practical tips for translating foreign terms in academic writing.

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1. Use the Accepted English Form for Foreign Terms

If there’s a widely recognized English version of a place or term, use it.

• University of Helsinki (not Helsingin yliopisto)
• National Library (not Kansalliskirjasto)
• Moscow (not Moskva)

If no English form exists, use the original:

• Tampere — because English has no other name for this city in Finland

👉 Using the English form makes your academic writing more accessible to international readers.

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2. Translate When an English Equivalent Exists

If the term has a direct English equivalent, use it.

• university, not universität
• library, not biblioteca
• church, not kirche

👉 Translation keeps your writing smooth, natural, and reader-friendly.

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3. Keep Foreign Terms that Don’t Have Direct English Equivalents

Some words carry cultural meaning that doesn’t translate neatly. In these cases, keep the original term to preserve its nuance.

• samizdat (underground publishing in the Soviet Union)
• hygge (a Danish concept of coziness and well-being)
• mökki (a Finnish country house)

👉 Don’t replace these with clumsy English approximations. Keeping them adds precision and authenticity to your writing.

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4. Explain Foreign Terms the First Time You Use Them

If you keep a foreign term, define it briefly at first mention.

Example: “The Finnish concept of sisu (resilience and inner strength) is central to this study.”

👉 After the first definition, you can use the term freely throughout your paper without re-explaining it.

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5. Stay Consistent with Your Translations

Choose one form and stick with it. Don’t switch between English and original terms.

❌ Wrong:
“After completing her Abitur, Anna enrolled at the University of Heidelberg to study history. During her time at the universität, she also took courses in philosophy.”

✅ Right:
“After completing her Abitur, Anna enrolled at the University of Heidelberg to study history. During her time at the university, she also took courses in philosophy.”

👉 Consistency builds clarity and trust in your academic writing.

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6. Consider Your Audience

Make your choices based on who will be reading:

• General audience: use English forms wherever possible.
• Specialized academic audience: they may expect and understand original-language terms.
• Grant reviewers: clarity always wins — Warsaw is better than Warszawa.

👉 Ask yourself who your audience will be and base your decisions on your response.

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Final Takeaway 🚀

Aim for clarity, consistency, and credibility.

• Translate when there’s a clear English equivalent.
• Keep the original when the word carries unique meaning.
• Always define unfamiliar terms.
• Consider your audience carefully.

Your academic writing will be clearer, more professional, and more persuasive when you handle foreign terms thoughtfully.