Update on the NLM translation projects: French Language success and Italian need

Just an update and further encouragement on the NLM Translation Projects front that I mentioned a day or two ago.

I'm pleased to report on that on the French language side of things, one of our readers, an extremely competent translator, has come forward and offered to do a translation into English of the study of Dom Denys Buenner, O.S.B., L'Ancienne Liturgie romaine. Le rite lyonnais (Literally: The Ancient Roman Liturgy. The Lyonese rite.) -- pending the proper rights and permissions are in place of course.

(On another front, a friend of the NLM is also pursuing translation of an important French study of the Premonstratensian rite. Something else to look forward to.)

Italian Studies of the Ambrosian Rite

We are still in need on the Italian front as of yet -- and that is an important front as well, since these are significant studies.

Here again are the titles:

Il Rito Ambrosiano, Pietro Borella, Brescia, 1964.
(Pietro Borella, incidentally, is the former Archiepiscopal Master of Ceremonies during Blessed Ildefonso Schuster's time to give you a sense of the importance of these works)

Il Breviario Ambrosiano, Enrico Cattaneo. Milano, 1943.

Intendere la Messa. Dogma - storia - spiritualità nella liturgia ambrosiana della Messa, Ernesto Teodoro Moneta Caglio, Milano, Ancora 1939.

The general principle of good translations is this: a translator should be translating into their native language from another language. In other words, they should be a native English-speaker.

So if you are an English speaker and can work your way through Italian texts, that is actually ideal. In other words, one needn't be a fluent Italian speaker, or speak Italian as a first language to pursue this.

However, if you're still uncertain, please download this sample page from Il Rito Ambrosio and give your hand at translating these two pages. Nicola de Grandi has kindly offered to review your translation work. Please email it to me.

On the issue of rights, I am presently in the process of beginning the queries about the necessary permissions. Anyone who can help assist with that in Italy and France is certainly welcome to contact me as well. One never knows what issues will arise after all.