translating non-english titles

True, but IMDB is primarily an English language site, so therefore, English.  As I commented, a better attribute could be either "informal literal English title" or "informal English title" or "literal English title"

IMDB is primarily an English language site, so therefore, English.

True, so maybe all of us non-English-speaking contributors should stop contributing to the site and head off to others that cater to our particular tastes...

I've been trying for years (and the bigwigs here know this all too well) to get my country to recognize and adopt IMDb as its go-to Spanish-language movie site—as opposed to Filmaffinity, which dominates here—only for us to now revert to IMDb's outdated, Anglo-centric concept.

Again, that's just my opinion, but in the meantime, you must follow the site's rules, just like any other contributor, whether you're an English speaker or not, and the rules clearly state this: authentic titles that have been publicly used ("títulos genuinos que se hayan utilizado de manera pública").

@ljdoncel​ 

My two cents: 

"authentic titles that have been publicly used." , 
can also mean that you can't invent a new tilte. 
Adding a translation of a title does not necessarily mean that you add a new "alternate title", you just translate the existing public one.

An the help page also says: or "rules clearly state" as you put it: 
" If an unofficial translation (i.e. one not used by the filmmakers on promotional materials) is used, the attribute field should indicate that the title has been "transliterated" or is "informal"."

Hi, Kristin:

Thank you for your reply, that's an interesting observation. However, I think that the key word in the IMDb rule is, precisely, used... an unofficial translation that's publicly used, that is, supported by a newspaper article, or multiple references on social media, or commonly used among speakers of that language who easily associate that "alternate title" with the film in question.

For instance, in Spain, practically no one refers to First Blood (1982) by its official Spanish title, Acorralado; instead, most people call it simply "Rambo." Or, probably the most notable example in my country: if you mention Atrapado en el tiempo , a lot of people will be completely baffled and won't know what you're talking about; however, if you tell them you've just seen “El día de la marmota,” they'll immediately recognize Groundhog Day (1993) with Bill Murray.

Besides, when you're translating a title to another language, there are many ways to do it so you're somehow "inventing" a new title. For instance, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) was released in Spain under the title ¡Olvídate de mí! (Forget about me!), but I can think of several ways to translate the original title into Spanish, all of which are valid:

• Luminosidad infinita de la mente inmaculada.
• Fulgor incesante del pensamiento puro.
• Claridad eterna del cerebro límpido.
• Eterno destello de la conciencia pulcra.
• Aurora perpetua del intelecto limpio.
• Irradiación constante de la psique sin mancha.
• Sol eterno de la mente impoluta.
• Claridad perenne del pensamiento incorrupto.
• Eterna claridad del entendimiento inmaculado.
• Perpetuo fulgor de la razón sin tacha.
• and so on...

And that's why I think it's essential to have evidence supporting the general public's use of that alternative title, because otherwise the section could turn into a free-for-all where everyone would just add whatever translation they liked best.

Cheers!

 @ljdoncel​ I think the language of the original release should still be the primary title, though a subtitle could be in English.   And as Kristin pointed out, there seems to be allowance for a translation that has not necessarily been used (i.e., " If an unofficial translation (i.e. one not used by the filmmakers on promotional materials) is used, the attribute field should indicate that the title has been "transliterated" or is "informal".).  That seems to be what I should be using.  And it is true that there are many different ways to translate a language, and some that are clearly inaccurate.  So the "informal" or "transliterated" designation would alert people to that possibility.  

I would like to see more support on IMDB for foreign characters that are not allowed - I'm not sure the accent marks of spanish are allowed?  and certainly not many of the special characters of Eastern European languages.  So I can't accurately enter someone's name, for instance, because I have to remove all the "special" characters of that language, sometimes probably rendering it unintelligible to someone who speaks that language.  

@musicglenn​ 

I would like to see more support on IMDB for foreign characters that are not allowed

I completely agree with you on this. And yes, IMDb has long supported Spanish accent marks and special characters (ñ, Ñ, á, Á, é, É, í, Í, ó, Ó, ú, Ú, ü, Ü, ¿, ¡).

There seems to be allowance for a translation that has not necessarily been used.

Believe it or not, I actually partly agree with you on this, because, to be honest, the IMDb guidelines still allow a literal translation of the English title as an alternative title (under no circumstances the “informal” option, because it requires the public recognition I mentioned above).

However, I get the impression that these “English language variants” are remnants of IMDb's Anglo-centric approach, which it did indeed have several years ago, before the site set out to become truly global. And that is why it has gradually been doing away with features or elements that were specifically aimed at an English-speaking audience, such as the now-forgotten (voice: English version) or the rule that only English dubbing actors in animated films were allowed to list their credits, who are now treated the same as voice actors who dub into other languages.

There are still a few other things “from that time,” such as only allowing the translation into English of taglines that are in another language.

Anyway, while I fully respect your opinion, I would vote against allowing those literal translations of titles into English (there are thousands of online tools for that), and if such submission are accepted, I ask that the rest of us be allowed to add literal translations into our respective (and widely used around the world) languages.

Cheers!

@ljdoncel​ I believe IMDB allows multiple "AKA" titles - so using the "informal transliteration" option or something similar maybe anyone could translate into any language??

@musicglenn​ 

ljdoncel's first reply was liked by an IMDb staff member and the thread marked solved. This is an indication that the reply was considered correct (though it would be clearer if they would just say so).

Hi @musicglenn​,

Thanks for raising this, and thanks to everyone who contributed thoughtful perspectives here.

We appreciate contributors wanting to make titles more accessible. However, our guidelines on alternate titles should be followed as summarised below:

All alternate titles should represent authentic titles that have been publicly used. This applies regardless of which attribute is selected. A personal translation, even a well-intentioned one, doesn't qualify for submission unless there's evidence it's already in public use (in press, online, or widely among speakers of that language).

Attributes like "literal English title" or "informal English title" exist for titles that are already circulating publicly. They aren't a pathway for adding new translations that haven't been used anywhere. If you come across a non-English title that already has a widely-used English translation in articles, reviews, or online materials, you're welcome to submit it with the appropriate attribute.

Regarding special characters: IMDb supports a wide range of diacritics and non-Latin characters, including Spanish accent marks (ñ, á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, ¿, ¡). Alternate titles can also be contributed in Japanese script and Hindi script. If you're running into issues with specific characters, please let us know and I can pass on suggestions for consideration. Although please be aware, we can promise no guarantee of implementation at this time. 

Cheers!