Q. How do you cite a book that is a translation using MLA style?

This doesn't go over if and how we should translate the author's name - for example, if it's in a foreign alphabet. Do we also put the author's name twice?

Hi, Rhiannon. According to sec. 5.30 Translations of titles in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook, page 133: "For titles written in non-Latin characters, it may be useful to supply a transliteration in addition to a translation, especially if the list of works cited includes more than one work in the same non-Latin alphabet under the same author or title. Translations or transliterations of book titles are italicized, but title sin non-Latin characters are styled roman. Separate a transliteration and translation with a semi-colon." You should alphabetize titles by the transliterated title.

Hi! I'm citing a book that is both translated and selected/edited by a team of two individuals. (It's The Essential Rilke, translated and selected by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann.) In this instance, do I simply say "Translated and edited by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann" after the title, or do I cite the translation and editing separately, repeating both of their names, like so: "Translated by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann, edited by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann"? Thank you!

@RT: The MLA Handbook provides an example of how to handle this on page 152. You should list the contributor roles together. The example used is written as ". . . Edited and translated by James Strachey, . . . "

How do I cite if I used Google Translate to translate a book in a foreign language?

@Erica: That's a good question. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be specific guidance in the MLA Handbook related to this question. That said, the MLA Style Center provides some additional guidance related to generative AI that connects to translations, even if it still doesn't directly address your question . It says, "acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location." So the good and bad news is you have options to choose from. I'm going to suggest that noting Google Translate in your reference as the translator, could meet the criteria for "another suitable location." If you are quoting from the translated text where nuances to the translation might have significant impacts then using a footnote might be more appropriate, so your reader can understand the nature of the translation.