When Translated Works Appear in Malaysian Research
Malaysian postgraduate researchers across disciplines — particularly in Islamic studies, philosophy, history, education theory, and literature — frequently encounter foundational texts that exist in translation. Foundational works in Arabic, German, French, Latin, or Classical Malay that have been translated into English are commonly cited in Malaysian theses, and knowing how to cite translated works correctly in APA is a practical skill that goes beyond the most commonly taught citation types. The same applies when you read a contemporary work originally published in another language that has been translated into English for wider access.
APA 7th edition has a specific format for translated works that differs in important ways from the format for standard books or journal articles. Understanding these differences ensures that your citation accurately represents the intellectual provenance of the text — including both the original author and the translator who made the work accessible to you.
The APA 7th Format for a Translated Book
For a book that has been translated from its original language into English, the APA 7th reference format is: Original Author, A. A. (Year of translation). Title of work (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)
Example: Freire, P. (2018). Pedagogy of the oppressed (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). Bloomsbury Academic. (Original work published 1968)
Several elements require particular attention. The year in the main date position is the year of the translation you read, not the year of the original. The translator’s name appears in parentheses after the title, preceded by their first initial and last name and followed by “Trans.” in abbreviated form. The original publication year appears at the end of the reference in parentheses, beginning with “Original work published.” This final parenthetical helps the reader understand the historical context of the work — that Freire wrote this in 1968, even though you are reading a 2018 translation.
In-Text Citations for Translated Works
In-text citations for translated works follow the same author-date format as other APA citations, but APA 7th specifies that you use both the original publication year and the translation year separated by a slash. “(Freire, 1968/2018)” or “Freire (1968/2018) argued that…” This dual date format communicates both the intellectual origin of the idea — when Freire first wrote it — and the specific version of the text you are working with.
This is different from how some older citation guides handle translated works, where only the translation date is used in the in-text citation. APA 7th’s dual-date convention is more intellectually transparent: it distinguishes between when the idea was first articulated and when it became available in the language you are reading. For historically significant works like those of Plato, Kant, Ibn Khaldun, or al-Ghazali, this distinction carries genuine scholarly importance and communicates that you understand the historical layering of the text you are citing.
Citing Classical and Religious Texts in Translation
A specific category of translated works frequently cited in Malaysian postgraduate research — particularly in Islamic studies, comparative religion, philosophy, and history — is classical and religious texts. Works like the Quran, Hadith compilations, classical Islamic legal texts, works of Greek philosophy, or classical Malay manuscripts present specific citation challenges because they may have multiple translations by different translators, no identifiable single author in the modern sense, or no original publication date in the standard sense.
For the Quran cited in English translation, APA 7th recommends citing the translation as a book: Name of Translator(s). (Year). The Quran. Publisher. In-text citations should specify the surah and verse rather than a page number, since pagination varies by edition: (Quran 2:255) or (Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:255). For Hadith compilations, cite the specific compiler’s collection — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim — along with the edition or translation you used, following the same translated book format with the compiler in the author position.
Multiple Translations of the Same Work
When a classical work exists in multiple English translations — which is common for Aristotle, Descartes, Ibn Sina, or Ibn Rushd — it is important to specify which translation you are working with, since different translators make different choices that can affect the meaning of specific passages. Your reference list entry should clearly identify the translator and the publication year of the translation you used, and your in-text citations should be consistent with that specific version.
If you compare two different translations of the same passage — which some researchers in philosophy, religious studies, or literary analysis do — each translation needs its own reference list entry, and your in-text citations should clearly distinguish between them. This level of translational transparency is particularly valued in humanities research where the specific language of a text is analytically significant rather than merely a vehicle for content.
Checking Translated Work Citations During Proofreading
During your thesis proofreading pass on the reference list, check all translated work citations specifically for the following elements. Is the translator’s name included in the reference? Is the year of the translation used in the date position rather than the original publication year? Is the original publication year included at the end of the reference in parentheses? Are in-text citations using the dual-date format? Is the reference list entry consistent with the in-text citation in terms of which translation is being cited?
These checks catch the category of citation error that is most invisible during writing — when you are focused on engaging with the intellectual content of a translated work, citation format details are easy to overlook. Knowing how to cite translated works correctly in APA, and verifying those citations systematically during proofreading, ensures that your reference list accurately represents the full intellectual provenance of every source that contributed to your research.
