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Crunchyroll to drop honorifics?


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Ahab



Joined: 20 Mar 2010
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 4:46 am Reply with quote
Not sure if this has been announced or discussed on this site elsewhere but, it would seem that Crunchyroll has announced that they are going to discontinue using honorifics in their subtitles...

http://www.mania.com/mx-media-to-eliminate-honorifics-subtitles_article_125601.html

personally, I am very happy with the news and heres a fantastic article explaining why!

http://www.colonydrop.com/index.php/2010/10/06/operation-british-phase-seven?blog=1
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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1517
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:17 am Reply with quote
Hm. Don't know how I feel about that.

Besides FUNimation, CR keeps honorifics in their subs and I really liked that. It just feels kind of awkward without seeing them there.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:23 am Reply with quote
Good for them. I only hope this is the first step toward more natural, less rigid subtitles in general.
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Generic #757858



Joined: 03 Nov 2008
Posts: 1354
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:39 am Reply with quote
More power to them. I can tolerate honorifics in a series with a Japanese setting, but otherwise leaving them in is inexcusable. Good translations shouldn't resort to using them and let's not even mention 'untranslatable' terms like nakama, baka or kawaii.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23769
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:43 am Reply with quote
Here's my favourite bit from the Colony Drop link that the Ahab provided:

Quote:
In most cases, the “complicated” social relationships that anime fans prattle on and on about aren’t even that important within the context of the story. You know that no matter what Koneko-ちゃん calls her older brother, he’s still going to want to fudge her. Instead, it serves as a way for anime fans to pretend like they’re Japanese culture experts who can speak Japanese.


Laughing Troof dat.

Honorifics have always meant shit to me, so I won't miss them.
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ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:32 am Reply with quote
Ahab wrote:
personally, I am very happy with the news and heres a fantastic article explaining why!

http://www.colonydrop.com/index.php/2010/10/06/operation-british-phase-seven?blog=1
The article points out that honorifics are just a tiny part of how the language does speaker-addressee relationships. The point though is that (unlike choice of verb, for example) it's a tiny part that is very easily preserved,so why not?

I feel there are many different philosophies of translation, and different tastes, and people shouldn't be too snobby one way or the other. Personally I like a few preserved honorifics. After all, what's a school romance story without a sempai or two? Smile
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber



Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3874
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:46 am Reply with quote
If the title they translate for is in a non-Japanese setting, I could certainly see the need to ditch honorifics considering how awkward it would be to translate for any title that takes place in a Western setting have people addressing each other with "san" or "sama" at the end of a name. On the other hand, the honorifics are a form of formality used for the culture where should be emphasized for titles that take place in a Japanese setting where they tie in to the type of relationships people have with one another and approaching the translations of such titles from a Western mentality might lead to some awkward moments of translation.
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Olivine



Joined: 01 May 2010
Posts: 197
Location: Sol 3
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:20 am Reply with quote
Remember, kids. If it ain't broke, you damn well better fix it until it is.

How will they translate the difference between something like this?
1. Random girl walks up to guy
girl: おはよう (surname)さん!
everyone else: *crickets*

2. Random girl walks up to guy
girl: おはよう お兄ちゃん!
everyone else: ????

Ok, I know they COULD translate it, but it would take more backflips and awkwardness than just putting in the honorifics that pretty much everyone understands anyway. This is just lazy pandering to the lowest common denominator.

For more fun, time to translate without the honorifics!
1. Good morning. Mr. (surname)!
2. Good morning, ...honored adolescent male person...thing...teehee?

This will not end well.

Edit: Fixin' the daily fail.


Last edited by Olivine on Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
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Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:35 am Reply with quote
I'm completely in the "Keep 'em" camp. In some series, no, it doesn't matter, but in others, ones with romance in particular, it can be an actual plot point when a girl/guy starts using a different form of their interest's name.

And because these are weekly simulcasts they do not know in advance if the use of honorifics will be important later on so it's best to just leave them.

Besides, does dropping of honorifics also mean they'll be replacing spoken last names (with honorific) with written first names? That's a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I hate hearing one name and reading another.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:52 am Reply with quote
One of my favorite things with subs that do not include honorifics is how frickin terrible they are when honorifics are actually brought up in conversation.

Like I love looking at such subs when a character says "drop the honorific" or "use X honorific when addressing me".

I imagine they're also going to switch to referring to everyone by their first name, because that's how practically everyone in the English speaking world colloquially speaks to each other?

Oh boy. Viz-styled subs. I can hardly wait =\
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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1517
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:57 am Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
I imagine they're also going to switch to referring to everyone by their first name, because that's how practically everyone in the English speaking world colloquially speaks to each other?

Man, I can't tell you much that annoyed me during Asura Cryin'

I can clearly hear the girl calling him "Natsume-kun" and each time, I was reading "Tomoharu." It's like "Hello? At least just leave his last name in!"

There are usually plot-related reasons why honorifics are left in from time to time and in full translation without those, it would sound/look awkward
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7983
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:28 pm Reply with quote
Good. I've always been one for the advocation of dropping useless formalities.
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SDS



Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:21 pm Reply with quote
Man I really hate when a wife calls her husband "Anata" and they translate it as "Dear."
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Spastic Minnow
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Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4609
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:51 pm Reply with quote
Kruszer wrote:
Good. I've always been one for the advocation of dropping useless formalities.


Is this sarcastic?

How is it useless if it's a plot point?

I'd say over half of the shows I've watched have had characters talk, however briefly, about the honorifics someone uses.

"please don't call me -chan"

"You now have to call me -sama!"

"can I call you -kun?"

"can I call you my your fisrt name?"

etc.
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ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:19 pm Reply with quote
garfield15 wrote:
I can clearly hear the girl calling him "Natsume-kun" and each time, I was reading "Tomoharu." It's like "Hello? At least just leave his last name in!"
That kind of thing is the pits, and always always makes me wonder if you've accidentally selected some "English-dubtitles-for-the-hearing-impaired" option by mistake!
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