Discussion How Do You MTL?

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by weirdnshort, Jul 4, 2020.

  1. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    I was just curious how do non-native/not fluent speakers understand what's generated from Google translate for reading webnovels? I don't find that it's enough - for Chinese. In fact, if I read what's generated from Google, I just get even more confused.

    My own impatience and addiction to certain novels has led me to start using translation extensions.

    Personally, I use the following Chrome Extensions for translating c-novels (I've only attempted to MTL Chinese since I have a basic understanding of Chinese):
    • Zhongzhong: An improved Chinese Dictionary - I like this one more than Google Translate. I can hover over the words and it pops out with many choices and I can see which one makes the most sense
    • Google Translate - It's easy to translate entire pages. I use this as a reference if Zhongzhong isn't very clear when the words are piece meal.
    • Zhu Yin - well it's because I learned Zhu Yin - makes it easier for me to read. Really awesome extension if you know how to read it (in lieu of Pin Yin). I find that it's very subtle and isn't distracting. Zhu Yin - for those that don't know - shows how to pronounce the words. It uses characters as the alphabet and is written on the side of the word. It's a system that's based in Taiwan. However, most people read Pin Yin (which uses roman letters). I like Zhu Yin because it's subtle. This extension is only useful to those that can read Zhu Yin...

    I'm just curious - do most of the people that MTL use Google Translate? or is there other software or extensions that other uses?

    I also like Pelco Chinese Dictionary App (for Android OS) - but I find Zhongzhong more convenient for webpages. Pelco's excellent for translating actual books.

    Anyways, coming from a person who loathed learning Mandarin in school, it's miraculous that I attempt to read Chinese in my spare time. Thanks all translators and novelupdates for getting me addicted to webnovels :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2020
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  2. DiabolicGod

    DiabolicGod Well-known lazy Member

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    does/dry leave vigor heavy read (skillfull)
     
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  3. Lazriser

    Lazriser Well-Known Member

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    I never translated before, but I do use Google translations of CN and JP web novels I like to read ahead.
    It's all about semantics (if I'm using it correctly), since before MTL, I was pretty much reading CN and JP quality fan translations. You eventually get used to the awkward Google translation of names and gender switches.
     
  4. Tsukkin

    Tsukkin [is currently lurking]

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    Well it's true using g.translate made me confused at first, but now after almost 2 years of experiencing mtl effect, it was almost an instinct. Lol at that time i was so desperate to read the continuation of my fav novel but i can't wait for the slow translation so i decided to just mtl
    Practice makes perfect buddy~
     
  5. wookraeth

    wookraeth Well-Known Member

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    I'd like to know this as well. So far I've been using google translate but some things are just.. weirdly translated and I had to translate them manually word for word for it to make sense. Luckily we speak a bit of chinese at home so I could more or less understand basic pinyins, but I figure it'd be a lot harder for people who don't speak the language at all. Also thanks for the expansion recommendations! I didn't know they exist!
     
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  6. hansora

    hansora Someone Who Seeks Fluff & Heartwarming Stories

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    I just read what I can find on MTLnovel
     
  7. pocketbear

    pocketbear !!!!!!!

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    For me I use google translate for the first pass and Baidu translate for the second pass, Baidu gets 90% of the text right and google translate clarifies the last 10% it gets wrong. Some words are off and I'll use a dictionary, currently use this for chinese and like it: https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary . Also someone pointed out a plugin for me for chrome, the zhongwen chinese popup dictionary, that can help with some things. However I've found this only works when poetry/flowery language is involved. Once it gets flowery I have to really work hard to figure things out and kinda butcher it to get by.
     
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  8. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    The switching of genders (and lack of pronouns) bugs me. I didn't realize how much was implied when I read chinese and the sentence structure is so different...
     
  9. wookraeth

    wookraeth Well-Known Member

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    Haha I remember this one WN I've read. Keep calling the main male lead "Grandfather" after google translated. And I was like, wtf. Decided to read it manually, turns out they call him "Da ren".
     
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  10. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    Ooo I shall check out Baidu translate. Never heard of it. Is it better than Google translate?
     
  11. itsasecret

    itsasecret Well-Known Member

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    Well as for me, I mostly go at MTL sites (like MTLNovel, comrademao, and Babel) so that I won't have to manually copy the raw to google translate.. and I mostly I read only Chinese too, since korean and japanese raws were so hard to find and understand. But eversince I recently discover the spoiler threads here in NU, I stopped MTLing and just lurk here and there and wait for other's spoilers lol:blobrofl:. That way my brain won't get fried from too much from MTLing.
     
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  12. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    Is that like a novelupdate? Or is that a website where they post MTL versions (that's cleaned up)?
     
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  13. wookraeth

    wookraeth Well-Known Member

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    But nowadays google can directly translate your page without having to copy and paste them manually. Although sometimes the result is different from manual, manual is usually better, as in, making much more sense than the automatically translated page,
     
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  14. Chuki Yuuki

    Chuki Yuuki *lags in reading but keep farming in games*

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    This thread is suprisingly really informative. I thank all of the above commenters and the author of this thread, I've been wondering about the same thing too ever since I got hooked reading CN novels and the ones I got really into are still in the process of translating T__T and it makes me sad that I don't know chinese so I can read raws T___T
     
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  15. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    no problem. I just discovered them myself. lol.

    I read traditional Chinese and ZhuYin (I was taught by Taiwanese teachers and I don't really want to learn simplified) so there's less extensions for me. I think there's more Pinyin/simplified chinese extensions. Check out the chrome store...
     
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  16. Milanin

    Milanin [Reader] [???] [Freeloader]

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    I've mostly heard much of the language spoken, so I use Google Translate and press the Listen button to hear it. If I don't know a word, I stop there and look it up.
     
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  17. weirdnshort

    weirdnshort Well-Known Member

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    I suggest downloading chinese dictionaries from chrome and hover. lol. It take so long but I treat it like a puzzle...I find historical novels really tough though (I think I understand about 70% of the chapter). Maybe start with modern ones (unless -it's the historical ones is the one that you're addicted to). In chinese, they often speak in idoms/ 成語 which makes it tough but kinda cool. That's why I really like the Zhongzhong extension in Chrome because when you hover, they group phrases together, so you can sort of make out what's going on and which words belong together. Good luck!

    I'm very curious if anyone MTL korean. There are some really good korean webnovels out there - that were dropped because I think the original author told the translators to stop... I'm itching to read them.
     
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  18. etclair

    etclair Well-Known Member

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    When I MTL a novel I particularly like I sometimes process a chapter 3 times- simultaneously on Google and Baidu, while using MTLnovels because of the convenience of having the raw right next to its translation. For terms that don’t translate over correctly I do the thing where you can hold and then a pop up appears for “define” since I have the Chinese dictionary on my phone. Since Google Translate separates the translation and raws, I also occasionally listen to the audio of the raw while looking at the translation (though I eventually end up reading much quicker than the audio and give up ;-; )
     
  19. Chuki Yuuki

    Chuki Yuuki *lags in reading but keep farming in games*

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    I am addicted to both haha... bit yeah more on the historical side T^T and yes, I've already noted that Zhongzhong extension when you first mentioned it! This is the first time I knew that there was such a thing! Again, thank you~

    I wish you luck. I don't see much Korean novels out there either and the only Korean novel I have read is Solo Leveling/I Alone Level Up :blobsnow:
     
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  20. oblueknighto

    oblueknighto Blue Person

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    I shove text into Google Translate and listen to it. I then translate as I listen.
    Wait... that's not really MTL. It's very useful though because I can listen to the text and read at the same time.