[ SECRET POST #268 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #268 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Hey, "Hint Hint ^_^"? If your secret's not a secret and was never posted, maybe you should, you know, have made it a secret instead of bitching about it afterward. Logic, right?

Go on, be angry! It's fun to watch. (:

Secrets Left to Post: 09 pages, 210 secrets from Secret Submission Post #039.
Secrets Not Posted: 0 broken links, 0 not!secrets, [ 1 2 3 ] not!fandom.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Sunday, September 29th, 2007.
Current Secret Submission Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

25

[pts.livejournal.com]

You're never too good at Japanese to appreciate a good translation. If you think you are, then the reality is that you are not good enough yet to properly appreciate a good translation. I had a similar phase. Then I learned more and realized how wrong I was.

The reality is that many translations are shit, many are flawed but good, and a few are simply brilliant. If you can't recognize that, you need to study more. The percentage of fans who can criticize translations with any kind of authority is very, very low compared to the number of fans who actually do.

I guess what I'm saying is that not only are you a hypocrite like you admit, your sense of superiority is misplaced as well.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't say there weren't translations that were good. There are. I just can't equate them. There are some things that can't be translated. How do you translate a person's tendency to use "...ssu" instead of "desu" or a Kansai dialect or the subtle change between "ore" and "boku" when a character is letting his real self show? You can come up with rough equivalents, but they'll never be quite what the author was intending. And now I know too much to be able to enjoy translations when the original intention is manifest.

I am not superior to anyone. I just feel like an idiot for trying sooo hard to bring manga over and then being unable to enjoy it now that it's here.

And quite frankly if you're telling me this I'm assuming you consider yourself one of those fans who "can criticize translations with any kind of authority" and I have to wonder which one of us is playing superiority.

Re: OP

[pts.livejournal.com]

There are any number of ways to convey those nuances in English; we don't have exact analogues, but a skilled translator can do a lot to get the senses across. English is a wonderfully flexible language. Relying on the crutch of "it's untranslatable" is the sign of a limited vocabulary and a small imagination. Read Hofstadter's "Le Ton beau de Marot" and see if you still feel that "boku" vs. "ore" is untranslatable.

(Actually, it turns out that there ARE things that are really hard to translate, but it's never the personal pronoun or honorific shit that fans get so up in arms about. That's child's play to anyone remotely competent.)

And hi, I'm a professional translator. I am qualified to have an opinion.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, I see. You took it as a personal insult. Don't. It has nothing to do with you or any translator. It's my personal feeling.

I used simple examples because I figured they would be the most likely be recognized.

And since you assumed I was just complaining and had no qualifications, can you blame me for doing the same?

As for "a limited vocabulary and a small imagination..."

You are a fucking pig who knows nothing about me. How do you know you're soooo much better? STFU.

Not replying to anything else you have to say, so feel free to rant about how I am such an uppity wannabe fan. But just know that your attitude is not endearing me toward "professional translators," so if you're looking for more respect for your field, way to not get it.