Qualitative data collection through interviews and focus groups yields powerful insights into realities and lived experiences of often marginalized and vulnerable subjects. During language translation, researchers are faced with issues not only concerning the accurate representation of speech and ideas in a second language, but also with ethical issues surrounding the portrayal of incorrect or deficient verbal communication. This presentation will explore the nuances of quoting social subjects in another language, including the appropriateness of literal translation. The aim is to outline some author principles for conserving data integrity and the faithful expression of hidden and explicit meaning within the spoken word. This includes a discussion of how reviewers and readers should receive attempts to preserve data richness while portraying language which is either unwieldy or aesthetically lacking. The presenter will draw on experience from qualitative studies in the social sciences in Ecuador, including an analysis of the lived university experiences of indigenous students.