: Aside from judging by ear, when should repetitions (he, she, they, a character's name, etc.) be excised? In a recent issue of the London Review of Books, a professional translator of French

@Michele605

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In a recent issue of the London Review of Books, a professional translator of French into English writes, "In the field of translation studies, it is a commonplace that that good English doesn't mind and often prefers repetition, while good French prefers and often insists on synonyms--a habit sometimes referred to in English (not always in a positive way) as "elegant variation." He notes that when translating, he frequently finds himself replacing French synonyms with English repetitions in order to create good English style. In writing programs such as ProWriter, repetitions are noted and implicitly discouraged. No proximate repetitions seems to be the goal. Aside from judging by ear, when should repetitions (he, she, they, a character's name, etc.) be excised?

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