Things that annoy you in TM

[pinetree]

As a translator, I'm a firm believer in dynamic equivalence. If "goshujin-sama", for example, carries different connotations depending on the character Tamamo is addressing, you use different English words each time, maybe even pick up the slack somewhere else in the text, but you shouldn't leave it untranslated. I can understand unpaid fan translators not going that extra mile, but the companies responsible for official should strive for better.

(I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. I haven't even played "Extra".)

I completely agree

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Sadly the companies involved will say "but that is inconsistent with what you used two lines ago, fix ur shit"

[TheSeaDragon]

but it really depends

For example, "Mr" or "Mrs" instead of Sensei for a teacher is totally interchangeable,you dont lose anything but again, havin Sakura calling Shiro by his name is the best you could if you dont leave it, but you lose something. In a character like her, the "Sempai" is more than an interchangeable word

[SpoonyViking]

Sadly the companies involved will say "but that is inconsistent with what you used two lines ago, fix ur shit"

Ah, quite true. Either that, or Quality Control will "fix" your translation.

For example, "Mr" or "Mrs" instead of Sensei for a teacher is totally interchangeable,you dont lose anything but again, havin Sakura calling Shiro by his name is the best you could if you dont leave it, but you lose something. In a character like her, the "Sempai" is more than an interchangeable word

Then you make up for it elsewhere in their dialogue.
Yes, that is difficult, but no one said translating was an easy business.
Well, Google did, but sod Google.

[Reign]

Senpai is an interesting one because nobody in English just addresses someone as "senior" like that. I don't mind it being left untranslated because of that, but I do think if it's the only Japanese term you're leaving untouched it rather stands out. If it's not left untouched, then I think it should just be omitted instead of given an equivalent since in English that sounds more natural than Sakura saying "Mr. Shirou" or "Mr. Upperclassman" or something.

[Walnut Sparks]

To my mind, yes, translate every word for which there is an English word that means the same thing, but I don't see the point in excising words for which there isn't. It's a foreign production; why pretend that there isn't the occasional foreign concept in it?

[TheSeaDragon]

Senpai is an interesting one because nobody in English just addresses someone as "senior" like that. I don't mind it being left untranslated because of that, but I do think if it's the only Japanese term you're leaving untouched it rather stands out. If it's not left untouched, then I think it should just be omitted instead of given an equivalent since in English that sounds more natural than Sakura saying "Mr. Shirou" or "Mr. Upperclassman" or something.

i will miss your jeanne Av, lol

- - - Updated - - -

To my mind, yes, translate every word for which there is an English word that means the same thing, but I don't see the point in excising words for which there isn't. It's a foreign production; why pretend that there isn't the occasional foreign concept in it?

Exactly .

[Canon]

Thanks, Del Rey, you ruined everything

[mewarmo990]

when I leave honorifics untranslated it's just because I'm too lazy to hammer out a style guide for whatever I'm working on.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, that is difficult, but no one said translating was an easy business.

idk, it's pretty easy.

I could be intubating someone instead

or trying not to get bitten by a drug addict

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Translating is easy. I could translate, with my five year old C-grade Japanese.
Localization is hard.

[mewarmo990]

i'm sorry mang

[Reign]

i will miss your jeanne Av, lol

I have a real problem with swapping out avatars too quickly on forums I frequent, I'm never happy with them for long.

[TheSeaDragon]

I understand, lol. And Shake is cool enought

[Mcjon01]

when I leave honorifics untranslated it's just because I'm too lazy to hammer out a style guide for whatever I'm working on.

- - - Updated - - -



idk, it's pretty easy.

I could be intubating someone instead

or trying not to get bitten by a drug addict

Or you could be intubating a drug addict while trying not to get bit and interpreting for his next of kin

[mewarmo990]

Or you could be intubating a drug addict while trying not to get bit and interpreting for his next of kin

I have done two out of three of these things at once

[SpoonyViking]

Translating is easy. I could translate, with my five year old C-grade Japanese.
Localization is hard.

That's an artificial distinction, one which devalues the profession ("We don't need a professional translator, just get someone who knows the language").

- - - Updated - - -

To my mind, yes, translate every word for which there is an English word that means the same thing, but I don't see the point in excising words for which there isn't. It's a foreign production; why pretend that there isn't the occasional foreign concept in it?

Because that's often much more rarely the case than initially assumed. The Brazilian manga translation of "Rurouni Kenshin" had no problem with "senpai" and "kohai", for instance, or even with Kenshin's "sessha" pronoun.

Sometimes you may need to leave things untranslated - for instance, here in Brazil certain professions often employ their technical jargon while it's still in English (even though Portuguese has perfectly fine terms for the same concepts *grumble* *grumble*), so it would actually be counter-productive to translate it -, but more often than not, that's not the case.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

No, the distinction is very much pertinent and even important to separate. Translation itself is not actually difficult per se so much as time-consuming. A machine can translate for you, too. Which Google Translate will do. But actually interpreting what is being said beyond the literal and localizing it is very much a different beast. A good translator may do both.

A better comparison would be learning a language, then being adept at writing or communicating proficiently in that language. Your average high school student is going to know words and sentence structure to function (maybe), but they're not going to necessarily be skilled at writing or communicating professionally. Your example is apt, but that's the thing: most people are actually looking for someone who is skilled at interpreting or localizing, not translating. Even if they don't know it.

[SpoonyViking]

I see your point, but I maintain a proper translator - not even a good one, necessarily - has to do both.

ETA: And not just for literary texts, either. Contracts, academic papers and technical documents also require what you call localisation skills.

[Walnut Sparks]

Because that's often much more rarely the case than initially assumed. The Brazilian manga translation of "Rurouni Kenshin" had no problem with "senpai" and "kohai", for instance, or even with Kenshin's "sessha" pronoun.

I don't think I follow you, but are you saying that they found terms in Portuguese that mean the same thing as senpai and kouhai?

[SpoonyViking]

I don't think I follow you, but are you saying that they found terms in Portuguese that mean the same thing as senpai and kouhai?

In the specific context of the relationship between Kenshin and Shishio, yes.