PeachyDoodle Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I am transcribing my husband's grandfather's WWII diary. We plan to have it professionally printed and bound as a gift for his grandmother for Christmas. He was well educated, and the writing is not bad. But there are still some occasional spelling and grammar errors (I guess being shot at constantly will do that to you). Should I correct the errors? Or since this is a primary source, do I leave them as is? Dh's grandmother has mentioned trying to publish this at some point, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 This is just my personal opinion --- I could see fixing obvious spelling errors, but I would be inclined to leave the grammar as is since it is a personal journal. The grammar is "his voice", but the spelling is not, and may detract from readability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I am not a professional editor, but the mom of an English major.... I do think a diary is in the realm of quoting someone, so I vote to keep it as is. Also, your grandmother/his wife will probably know words he misspelled, phrases he used, and it would mean a lot to hear his "voice" again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 This is just my personal opinion --- I could see fixing obvious spelling errors, but I would be inclined to leave the grammar as is since it is a personal journal. The grammar is "his voice", but the spelling is not, and may detract from readability. I agree. I'd correct spelling and possibly glaring language errors but would not change most of the grammar and sentence structure of a diary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 A lot of what I'm seeing are punctuation issues. I'm inclined to fix them if they impede readability. I definitely don't want to change his voice or syntax!! They are what make it so special. To further complicate matters, what I have is not the original, but a handwritten transcription SHE made of his diary. According to her, his handwriting was so bad she was about the only person who could read it. So she copied it out longhand and made copies for the family. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 At that point I would definitely fix the spelling errors and the punctuation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 At that point I would definitely fix the spelling errors and the punctuation. I agree with this given you're not working from the original. If it were the original I'd vote to copy it exactly as is. Any chance you can borrow the original? Then you could see what quirks were part of the original. (So I wanted to teach the kids about primary sources, can I borrow the diary?") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 You could preserve a sample of the original, if you can get it, in the front material of the book. Archive it as you would any other photographs or documents that you might be using to supplement the journal. And then let the rest be corrected for punctuation, spelling, and readability, but do not edit for grammar or syntax. IMO. I've often seen this method used in published diaries. It would be best if you get a page or fragment of the true original, but if not you could still showcase a sample of your grandmother's transcription. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I'm a professional editor, and my answer won't help much. The company I work for defers the decision to the client. So the good news is, your decision won't be wrong whatever you do! I think all of the above advice is great. When I have edited diaries, I made changes to retain consistency (for example, dates written in the same format) and small punctuation changes to aid readability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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