Originaalteksti

Originaalteksti is the Estonian term for the original text, referring to the text as created by the author before any translation, adaptation, or other modification. In linguistic, literary, and publishing contexts, originaalteksti denotes the primary source document from which derivative works are produced.

The concept is used to distinguish between an originaalteksti and its translations (tõlge), adaptations (kohandamine), abridgments, or summaries. In academic work, citations typically reference the originaalteksti when discussing the author's ideas, while translations may be cited when focusing on the target language version. The term helps to clarify the relationship between versions and to indicate the most authoritative form of the work.

Copyright considerations are closely tied to originaalteksti. In many jurisdictions, the originaalteksti is protected by copyright, with rights to reproduce, translate, or adapt belonging to the author or rights holder. Derivative works require permission or licensing, and the status of the originaalteksti can influence fair use or scholarly exception analyses.

In digital workflows and metadata, originaalteksti may be marked as the source text to preserve provenance, manage version control, and coordinate localization pipelines. When multiple authors or editorial revisions are involved, the originaalteksti often refers to the version originally authored before subsequent changes.

See also:

- Source text

- Translation

- Adaptation

- Copyright

- Localization and localization workflows