Tracing one’s history in their own native language offers plenty of challenges. Changes in writing styles and in handwriting, problems with damage and discoloration, both added to transcription and indexing errors can make record finding and reading difficult at times. However, at some point most researchers find themselves with an even greater challenge: finding and deciphering records in another language. Once a genealogist traces his/her ancestral roots to another country, language barriers add to overall complexity in research. Following the Paper Trail: A Multilingual Translation Guide by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman was written to help researchers with this very problem.
Following the Paper Trail not only acknowledges the need for language assistance, but recognizes that many researches will need help in more than one additional language. This book looks at many languages, dividing them into linguistic families. Similarities within a single family make it easier to identify words and commonalities in other associated languages. For example, the Latin or “Romance” language include French, Latin, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish, which together make up one section of the book.
Each language appears in the book with their alphabet in both printed and cursive forms. Sample documents are provided with an analysis, including translation to English, of their components. Selected vocabulary terms round out each language. All the documents are representative of the typical records genealogist seek or that their immigrant ancestors may have had in their possession. The authors refer to this volume as “an introduction to the translation of such documents.”
As such an introduction, this book makes an excellent resources for those just starting out with their immigrant ancestors research, or as a volume for regular reference.
Table of Contents
About the Authors
Introduction
The Germanic Languages
German
- The German Alphabet
- The German Language
- German Pronunciation
- Document #1: A Family Record
- Document #2: A Birth and Baptismal Certificate
- Document #3: A German-Ukrainian Military Passport
- Document #4: A Death Certificate
- Document #5: A Contract for Passage on a Ship
- German-English Word List
- Personal Names
Swedish
- The Swedish Alphabet
- Swedish and the Other Scandinavian Languages
- Document #1: A “Moving Certificate” (Exit Permit)
- Document #2: A Report Card
- Document #3: A Swedish Passport
- Document #4: An Emigration Contract
- Document #5: A Swedish-American Baptismal Certificate
- Document #6: A Confirmation Certificate
- Document #7: A Marriage Certificate
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected First Names
The Romance Languages
French
- The French Alphabet
- Document #1: A Civil Birth Certificate
- Document #2: A Baptismal Certificate
- Document #3: A French Passport
- Document #4: A Steamship Ticket
- Document #5: A Death Certificate
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- French Personal Names
Italian
- The Italian Alphabet
- Document #1: A Steamship Ticket
- Document #2: A Civil Family Registration Booklet
- Document #3: Parish Family Registration Documents
- Document #4: Civil Family Registration Documents
- Document #5: An Italian Passport, Booklet Form
- Document #6: A Long-Form Birth Certificate
- Document #7: A Short-Form Birth Certificate
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Italian Personal Names
Latin
- The Latin Alphabet
- The Use of Latin in Genealogical Records
- Document #1: A Slovenian Birth Certificate (Latin-Italian)
- Document #2: A Polish Baptismal Certificate
- Document #3: A Slovak Baptismal Certificate
- Document #4: A Ukrainian Baptismal Certificate
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Personal Names
Portuguese
- The Portuguese Alphabet
- Document #1: An Identity Card from the Azores
- Document #2: A Birth Certificate from the Azores
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Portuguese First Names
Romanian
- The Romanian Alphabet
- Document #1: A Romanian Birth Certificate
- Document #2: A Romanian Passport
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
Spanish
- The Spanish Alphabet
- Document #1: A Civil Birth Certificate
- Document #2: An Identity Card
- Document #3: A Consular Records
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Personal Names
The Slavic Languages
Czech
- The Czech Alphabet
- Czechs, Bohemians, Moravians, Slovaks, and Their Languages
- Document #1: A Czech Birth and Baptismal Certificate
- Document #2: A Parish Family Registration Document
- Document #3: A Slovak Passport
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Personal Names
Polish
- The Polish Alphabet
- The Polish Language
- The Format of Long-Form Documents
- Template for Birth Records
- Template for Death Records
- Template for Marriage Records
- Document #1: A Long-Form Polish Birth Certificate
- Document #2: A Short-Form Polish Birth Certificate
- Document #3: A Jewish Birth Certificate (Polish-Hebrew)
- Document #4: A Polish/German Birth and Baptismal Certificate
- Document #5: A Passport Application
- Document #6: A Republic of Poland Passport
- Document #7: A Polish/German Passport from the Austrian Sector
- Document #8: A German/Polish/Ukrainian Employment Booklet
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Personal Names
Russian
- The Russian Alphabet
- The Russian Language
- Document #1: A Russian Orthodox Birth Certificate
- Document #2: Long-Form Roman Catholic Birth Record
- Document #3: A Short-Form Certificate
- Document #4: A Jewish Birth Certificate
- Document #5: An Islamic Birth Record
- Document #6: A Russian Booklet-Type Passport
- Document #7: A Single-Sheet Russian Passport
- Document #8: A Ship Ticket
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Selected Personal Names
Other Languages
Hungarian (Magyar)
- The Hungarian Alphabet
- The Hungarian Language
- Document #1: A Hungarian Birth Certificate
- Document #2: A Hungarian Passport
- Selected Vocabulary Terms
- Personal Names
Lithuanian
- The Lithuanian Alphabet
- The Lithuanian Language
- Document #1: Lithuanian Baptismal Certificate I
- Document #2: Lithuanian Baptismal Certificate II
- Document #3: A Lithuanian Passport
- Additional Useful Terms
Appendix A: Bibliography
Appendix B: A List of Genealogical Organizations
Following the Paper Trail: A Multilingual Translation Guide is available from Family Roots Publishing for $28.42; Item #: AV346.