To write a citation for a non-English source, you must provide the original foreign-language title in your reference list, followed immediately by an English translation of the title enclosed in square brackets.
When incorporating international research into your literature review, citing foreign language articles correctly is essential for academic integrity. While the exact formatting depends on your required style guide, the general rule is to give your reader both the original title so they can locate the source, and a translated title so they understand what the research is about.
APA Style
In APA format, you will include the original title in the reference list, followed by the English translation in brackets. You should not italicize the translated title inside the brackets.
- Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Original title in native language [English translation of title]. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page numbers.
- Example: Piaget, J. (1966). La psychologie de l'enfant [The psychology of the child]. Presses Universitaires de France.
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MLA Style
MLA style requires you to provide the original language title first. If your target audience is unlikely to know the original language, you should provide an English translation in square brackets immediately after the title.
- Format: Author Last Name, First Name. "Original Title of Article" ["Translated Title"]. Title of Journal, vol. number, no. number, Year, pp. xx-xx.
- Special Rule: If the source is written in a non-Latin alphabet (such as Japanese, Arabic, or Cyrillic), MLA recommends transliterating the title into the Latin alphabet (Romanization) so English-speaking readers can read the characters.
Chicago Style
The Chicago Manual of Style follows a very similar approach to APA. You provide the original title, followed by the translated title in brackets.
- Format: Author Last Name, First Name. "Original Title [Translated Title]." Journal Title Volume, no. Issue (Year): Page range.
Handling In-Text Citations
For your in-text citations or parenthetical references, you do not need to include the translated title. Simply use the standard author-date or author-page format (e.g., Piaget, 1966) exactly as you would for an English source.
If you are quoting the foreign text directly within the body of your paper, you should provide your own English translation in the text. It is best practice to add a brief note in your citation or a footnote indicating that the translation is your own.
