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Often when reading English translations I will encounter names of places or people that have been abbreviated. An example is in Catherine Hutter's translation of Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther":

A few days ago I met a man called V., an ingenuous fellow with a very pleasant face.

Is this because there is no English translation of the name?

Why not just use the foreign name?

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It's not an exact duplicate, but there is considerable discussion of this at Why, in old books, are dates often given with the years redacted? – Colin Fine Jun 8 '11 at 11:50
thanks that does appear to cover the same issues. I always just assumed it was related to translation but it seems to be more related to particular periods. Fascinating. – KennyPeanuts Jun 8 '11 at 12:10
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This is the fallacy known as "complex question": the question, as it is phrased, assumes facts not in evidence. – Robusto Jun 8 '11 at 12:16

closed as not a real question by Robusto, MrHen, RegDwighт♦ Jun 10 '11 at 10:42

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

3 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

Actually it's not a matter of translation.

I've checked the Italian version and the original German version (it should be the second entry), and they both had it abbreviated. So they just took it as is from the original work.

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Yes, I seem to see this most frequently in Victorian novels, and always assumed it was because the author didn't want to come up with another name if the character wasn't central to the story. Either that or they wanted to give the impression that they were alluding to a real, contemporary person. However, that's purely speculation on my part. – KitFox♦ Jun 8 '11 at 11:46
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@Kit There's a reference for that in the link from Colin: "Initials, blanks, or both were often substituted for proper names in nineteenth century fiction to enhance the illusion of reality. It is as if the author felt it necessary to delete the names for reasons of tact or legal liability." – j-g-faustus Jun 8 '11 at 13:40
@j-g-faustus I saw that, thanks. It's really interesting. – KitFox♦ Jun 8 '11 at 13:43
up vote 1 down vote

My German copy of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers does exactly the same thing:

Vor wenig Tagen traf ich einen jungen V. an, einen offnen Jungen, mit einer gar glücklichen Gesichtsbildung.

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Sometimes this can be because they do not wish to disclose their real names. As in your own example, as well as:

Mr. B. walked passed me this morning.

In a letter:

Sincerely yours,

V.

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