BombermanBoard

Bomber D Rufi · #6 Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:00 pm

Razon wrote:

Nice to meet you too, indeed many people think that it may be easy to learn the language. When it comes to dislikes, I'd have to say that I also don't like japanphiles. They seem quite immature, and they give off the impression of a poser that doesn't respect the language- they certainly don't seem to be the kind of people that would take it seriously and learn anymore then the few basic words that they know.

As for learning the language, it's not like I'm skipping or ignoring stuff. I'd like to learn the entire language too if I had that kind of time, I just said that I was choosing to spend time learning the words before the kanji since there's too much to kanji. Bit by bit I do intend to learn it though, learning an entire language 100% is near impossible or very difficult- besides vocabulary even the japanese don't know near all of the ridiculous amount of kanjis.

I know what you mean about some phrases sounding odd when translated, and I know about the 'I', 'we' and 'you' and such not needing to be used along with a lot of japanese. I was just pointing it out for the people that were reading it that don't know japanese, and to try and better properly explain what was being said in the sentence. As for phrasing stuff differently, there's nothing too wrong with localizing something so that it doesn't sound odd. The point is to convey what was said while exact or very close and also not sounding odd, something like bringing localized phrases into the translation starts to sway from what was actually said a bit(for example 'hitting the nail on the head')- though it doesn't hurt to change it a bit.

However when it comes to changing sentences completely from one thing to something else, if you've watched a lot of animes or jdramas then surely you've come across one that's translation was just so far off for near all of the stuff- that it would of taken away from the show if you didn't know what was actually being said. Many times phrases are changed needlessly when they sound just fine and probably better with their actual meaning, I've thought many times when watching subbed stuff that if I was subbing it then I would of translated it properly. Fansubbers and people that translate stuff are doing it for free though, so you can't complain about it- if they were being paid then that would be another story. Most subbing places stray from exact translations to try and make it seem more enjoyable for the audience probably(unless it's mis-translated or they just don't know what's being said), localizing it is what you'd call it in most cases I suppose. For the people that don't know japanese, besides them possibly hearing the same phrase translated differently each time- it isn't anything for them to worry about really. Something like that does show people that the translation isn't proper though, more noticable if an entire show is a language- compared to there being some korean in a jdrama for example and it's not so often.

Well I prefer exact as can be but that's just me, if you asked people you'd think that they'd want their translation to be 'exact and changed to sound right' over 'changed around a lot and starting to stray from what's actually being said', though places will sub stuff and translate how they want- so what it comes down to is if you want to know what's actually being said then you have to learn the language.

This is true. Again I didn't have a problem with what you were saying as much as how it sounded when you said it. But after reading this post I realize that you didn't mean to sound condescending, and maybe I was hasty in my response. I'd like things to be as close to the original as possible, but when translations stay close to the original but stop making sense in another language, they're not effective. Sure I could type up exactly what was being said in the Videos I translated, but what would the point be if they came off awkward and stiff?

The minute you begin translating something, you've got an audience in mind. Think about it, If you didn't feel like sharing something with someone else who may not understand the language, you would simply keep it to yourself. But once you start translating, it's because you want to share. But if you start using Jargon and technical terms that only you as the translator or people in the original language understand, then the point of translation is lost.

I'm sure people would prefer exact over slight 'localization' but when they say that sometimes they forget some things, such as some phrases don't make sense from language to language. The Japanese especially are fond of puns that don't carry over in English. Another thing is sentence and word structure, and lastly the fact that no one wants to read a clunky translation that is theoretically 'exact' but offputting because the English is more a Replicated Japanese than actual English. I feel that slight localization is fine, and even putting in English idioms and phrasings are fine too, just as long as the original meaning is conveyed. I agree that it is wrong to completely change around a phrase just because one doesn't understand what is being said (or written), and that translation should try to be exact when it can be...but sometimes it's impossible to get it exact, or it is possible to....but there is a more effcient way to phrase it and get the point across. Like the Japanese phrase 'Nani mono da?!' Which literally means 'What is?!' That phrase is often used when the speaker encounters a person he or she doesn't know. YET it sounds like he or she is reffering to an object or animal. Would it be best to translate it directly as 'What is that?' when we know the speaker is talking about another human being or would it be better to write it as 'Who are you?' That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you wanted to add emphasis it can be translated as 'Who the hell are you?!' Although there's no hell or who in the sentence. Which sounds less clunky? The direct 'What is?!' or the slightly localized 'Who are you?!'

All I'm saying is translation is usually for an audience, so you have to think of them and their understanding when working more so than being exact. For if it doesn't reach the audience, then no matter how exact the translation is...it has failed.