Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
I want to create some dual-language ebooks, and am trying to come up with the 'best' approach. I can think of several:
- Interlinear. A paragraph of language A, followed by the translation in language B
- Two columns (probably implemented as a table). Left column in language A, right column in language B (on a small screen, this might favor landscape display and preclude use of larger text sizes)
- Two parts. First part contains the entire text in language A, second part in Language B. Links with each paragraph to take you to the corresponding translation (or back).
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If these are dual language for language study, like Loeb or I Tatti books, then I would think it is important for both texts to be visible at once. To have to keep switching back and forth would not be ideal.
Ignoring technical issues, I would prefer 2 (this is closest to how the pBooks are published, on facing pages), then 1 (with numbered paragraphs). I'm not sure I'd bother reading 3, at than point a double-page image scan of the original would be prefered.
For a single known target device, I'd produce two-page landscape PDFs with languages on facing pages, laid out so that each page has the same content. Obvious downsides are that this fixes font and font size, ties you to a given screen size, and will not work well on smaller devices.
The ideal presentation for me would be via an iPad app designed to do this, where you feed it pairs of matching paragraphs and it ensures that they are on screen at the same time, while allowing the user to customise the display.