: Untranslated text with a work being translated I am translating an academic work (MLA style) which contains a untranslated section by the author. The original work is in Portuguese and the untranslated

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That would depend on why the section was untranslated.

If the "quoting author" merely choose not to translate the section, say, out of laziness, assuming "the audience will understand it" or he judged some wording conveys the idea better than a translation would, or the quote was a poem and the translation would break the rhymes - essentially, if the reason is unimportant - just translate it. (in case of poem, that's not a "just...")

If the section was left because the work analyzes the language, wording or the structure of text (e.g. like the Bible Code, seeking vertical and diagonal patterns between the lines, hidden words) you must preserve the original text. And unless the text is really a meaningless Lorem Ipsum, you should also include a translation - as a translator's note. This can be done in footnote or included with the text (say, in a box on a different background). The decision how to include it depends largely on size of the quote - a single sentence is good for a footnote, a few large paragraph should probably get a Translator's Note within the main text.

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