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PR: JManga Translation Battle 2012




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Khooni



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 99
PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:57 am Reply with quote
IS there any association for anime's that is similar to Jmanga???
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:23 am Reply with quote
I read the first 5 pages of each translator's version of Copellion. And only one of them didn't make me want to gouge out my eyes.

How is it that people don't proof-read this stuff? How can someone think that "I, *name*" is at all how people talk? How can someone use "moron" when they're referring to more than one person?

It's a shame that they had to translate the entire chapter. There's a clear winner for me after just the first few pages.
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samuelp
Industry Insider


Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 2228
Location: San Antonio, USA
PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 11:18 am Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
How can someone think that "I, *name*" is at all how people talk?

How about you check out the original Japanese for that line?

I just checked the first page of Coppelion and indeed, that sentence the characters are speaking in obviously overblown self reference. That style of speaking matches the original Japanese.

This is why you can't have non-translators evaluating translations. Note, I haven't checked anything other than the first page so maybe there are a ton of errors later on.
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reehaley



Joined: 10 Nov 2012
Posts: 4
Location: Ohio
PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 10:16 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
How can someone use "moron" when they're referring to more than one person?


I think that must be my entry you're referring to. That part didn't sound unnatural to me until seeing your comment (and looking at how the other entries handled that line). I guess I was thinking of it as Ibara replying specifically to Aoi. Although since I put "y'all" in that same line... I have to agree, it does sound odd.

There are other lines that I'd change after the fact, too, especially now that I can see everything lettered on the actual pages. But I don't think I'd ever stop feeling that way.

I hope we'll get to see specific comments from the guest judges...
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osakaedo



Joined: 13 Aug 2004
Posts: 66
PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 2:34 pm Reply with quote
samuelp wrote:
This is why you can't have non-translators evaluating translations.


THIS!

I don't even think the entire set of judges are qualified either, but what do I know...
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maaya



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:50 pm Reply with quote
Totally agree that having Aoi and Taeko refer to themselves with their names is a no-go in English. Especially if in the same translation you let them use "I" later on oO

samuelp wrote:
How about you check out the original Japanese for that line?


Can you still access it?

Quote:
This is why you can't have non-translators evaluating translations.


Mmh, why? Sure, another translator can maybe tell where a certain way of (unnatural) phrasing comes from, but an editor doesn't need to be a translator to evaluate if a text sounds good in the language it's being translated to. Knowing Japanese might even make you more likely to stick to a more unnatural, literal phrasing, because you're used to it from Japanese?

reehaley wrote:
I think that must be my entry you're referring to.


If it is, I think you found a good way to include Aoi's and Taeko's names on that first page without it sounding too unnatural.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:30 pm Reply with quote
maaya wrote:
Mmh, why? Sure, another translator can maybe tell where a certain way of (unnatural) phrasing comes from, but an editor doesn't need to be a translator to evaluate if a text sounds good in the language it's being translated to. Knowing Japanese might even make you more likely to stick to a more unnatural, literal phrasing, because you're used to it from Japanese?
Or possibly that's how the line's supposed to come off, which is the problem with not being able to read the source material: you just don't know.
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samuelp
Industry Insider


Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 2228
Location: San Antonio, USA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:18 am Reply with quote
maaya wrote:
Totally agree that having Aoi and Taeko refer to themselves with their names is a no-go in English. Especially if in the same translation you let them use "I" later on oO

samuelp wrote:
How about you check out the original Japanese for that line?


Can you still access it?



Jmanga's player lets you switch languages.
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hyojodoji



Joined: 08 Jan 2010
Posts: 583
PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:59 am Reply with quote
I read Coppelion in the original and in the paper edition.
As to the first person at page 3, Aoi uses illeism. Since she has a childlike/not-so-brainy-girl-today personality, her referring to herself by name 'Aoi' fits it.
Also Taeko is using illeism in that scene, but probably she is just spoofing/quoting Aoi's illeism there. She usually speaks in a polite and serious way, which doesn't fit illeism. In fact, later she uses the first person '私'. Probably the author got Taeko to adopt illeism there in order to introduce her name to readers in an early stage.
Speaking of the way of talking, each of the principal characters has different ways of speaking, and they contribute to suggesting the characters' personalities.
Some readers may want also their speech's stylistic feel to be reflected in the translation.
 
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1255
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:20 am Reply with quote
maaya wrote:
Mmh, why? Sure, another translator can maybe tell where a certain way of (unnatural) phrasing comes from, but an editor doesn't need to be a translator to evaluate if a text sounds good in the language it's being translated to. Knowing Japanese might even make you more likely to stick to a more unnatural, literal phrasing, because you're used to it from Japanese?
If you're an editor, you have access to the translator so you can ask why that line got translated that way and discuss whether it's a good way to do it. Totally different from random Internet commentary made without context.
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