Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! [2007-04-13]
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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My take on it is, "It's just a darned bird." If the TL is in the ballpark, I really don't care if the species of bird is a little off. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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You say potato I say potahto. Why is this such a big deal honestly? I don't mean just this stupid bird but any small minute difference with regards to translation? Why are so many of these small, and honestly inconsequential and trivial, differences such a freaking big deal? It may not be 100% accurate but who really cares? If you want 100% real, true, translated properly, factual entertainment watch the Discovery channel or read a copy of National Geographic and not anime. |
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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I had to remove my whole post. Good jon this week zac
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kolibri
 Posts: 712 Location: Vancouver |
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I think this is a very good point - just think about the arguments people have about different romanji spellings... Is it Alucard or Arucard? Well, Alucard is what makes sense to us, but they sure as hell say Arurcard... (And yes, I know that they use different phonetics and this one happens to be the cross between r and l which doesn't make it easier  )
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Ryusui
 Posts: 461 |
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Am I the only one who pretty much tuned out the rant as soon as the guy said he preferred them leaving in honorifics?...
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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It's supposed to be Alucard in English. Whatever it is 'supposed' to be in Japanese, the official spelling for him in Hellsing appears to be "Arucard". And I could care less about the whole Parakeet/Cockatiel thing, but I think that was an issue of it being 'wrong' in Japanese and the translations just sticking with that. |
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Steroid
 Posts: 329 Location: At home, where all good hikikomori should be |
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But those media offer no guarantee of being dramatically correct. In fiction--good fiction anyway--bad things don't happen to good people, they happen to those with flaws. The beautiful thing about anime in particular, and geek culture in general (SF, fantasy, story-based games, etc.), is that the dramatic elements combine with the work necessary to find the truth. You can be an amateur translator, or philologist, or historian, or sociologist, struggling to use method to determine the complete nature of the events in the element. To answer your question, why are bird-species such big deals to an anime fan, it's the same reason that species are big deals to taxonomists and biologists: it's one more fact, one more bit of truth, added to the store of knowledge. |
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Two of ANN staffs are, and at least one is biology-related. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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I was a Biology major before switching to Criminal Justice. Once I had my associates degree I was going to go more specifically into Zoology. I dunno how I went from that to Criminal Justice 
So, that being said I can understand your point Steroid. However, maybe it's just me but I fail to see the connection, in terms of actual importance, between anime and a biologist for example. In that field, or related, the slight difference in species or family an animal belongs to does make a world of difference. That's real life, flesh and blood, hands on examples though. Anime is just that, anime. It's not just a simple cartoon as many people's salary and work are in the world of anime. It is not though an exact science. I hate to be the one to ruin so many people's fantasy and be the grumpy old parent but kiddies the truth is anime will not change the world. There, I said it. Let the hating commence. The picture perfect translation of an anime is not going to change the world. It's not going to help someone discover a new species, find a cure for a disease, help us understand our environment and world. So when I rank, in terms of actual importance, the minute difference of a bird and it's species to the fields of Biology and Anime, then Biology is going to win. I am not trying to belittle the job of translators, or those in the field of animation, simply say that truth is it's not changing the world. It helps make us laugh and cry and feel better, but it's not going to help someone make some huge biological or technological advance that will shape the future. If anyone can show me an example where some minute anime translation, or other detail, has done this I will eat crow. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Ever heard of forensic entomology? |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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Yea I have heard about it, not until after I switched majors
The thing is that sort of CJ never really got me. What got me was investigation and criminal profiling. I enjoyed the more psychological aspect of it. Ya know, why does Bob A. go nuts and murder people while Bob B. is exposed to the same situations and environment but is happy and content. I also got turned off from forensics because so many freaking retards watch CSI and think OMG I can be just like them. Yea, it doesn't work like that people, sorry. I do think it's fascinating though how all of the different fields of forensics work to come up with clues and answers to crimes. My real passion dormact is cooking. You may have found a link between Biology to Criminal Justice, but try and link them to being a chef
Seriously though, please try and link them because I still have no clue how I got from each field to the other 
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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I don't want to put words in Steroid's mouth, but I think what he was getting at was that each element in a manga is important because every single tiny detail is part of the artist/writer's overall vision. The plot itself can be foreshadowed in something as minor as a bird's species. Perhaps it's symbolic in some deep metaphorical way. It's certainly an odd choice.
Of course, it probably means nothing, but you never know what small seemingly unimportant thing will become important down the road. It would certainly be a little bit of a problem if a very minor and seemingly unimportant element was changed in translation and later it becomes a major plot point. |
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Ryudell
 Posts: 1 |
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Usually i read the column without bothering with the forums, but this time I thought I'd see the responses... and write my own.
Japanese honorifics are unique in that there is no accurate translation for them in English. They indicate the level of relationship between characters that would take extra dialog to imply in English - provided you understand what the honorifics mean. Most of the time they can be left out, but when it becomes necessary in the story, translating them can make the dialog awkward. Personally I'd prefer them. It can be confusing to a new manga reader, but it's a problem that can be solved by reading more manga 
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