Recruitment Machine Translators and Abandoned Projects

Hello! I run Betwixted Translations, and this post is open to everyone!

Do you get sick and tired of waiting for updates? Have you started seeking out raws? Maybe you make yourself sick with digesting Google's poor translation? Some of you may have gone a step further and made that google translation readable (even if only to yourself).

I know you might feel that it's nothing decent, that it's not even worth the time you put into it. However, I can guarantee you, even if it's not perfect, it helps save time. So if you're not feeling confident enough to do anything with it, please, I would love to help!

Seeing all these orphan projects running around, I know that there aren't enough translators to make up the deficit. I want to absorb them but I don't have the man power. If you provide even a first level machine translation, I'll handle the rest! It might not be perfect, but it'll be passable. Of course, credit will go where credit is due!

(For the readers out there: if you've ever read a translation and gone "Wait, that's not good grammar!" you would be a Godsend.)

If you have an abandoned project that you're especially attached to, please!

I can use all hands and eyes on deck to make all our wishes come true!

Even if you're not confident, even if you haven't done it before, give me a shout out. All projects welcome!

 

Amazing you are simply amazing

 

Oh wow... what a saint! There are way too many abandoned good translation project out there and your effort is certainly wonderful! There are a few novels that I tried to use MTL myself but it messed up my mind too much (especially chinese novel because the name itself will be translated to English) that I decided to drop it altogether. Japanese light novel is doable and I'll see if I can at least provide some help to this. I will come back and drop a few abandoned project that I think worth translating. Thanks again for doing this!

 

Ok, so here are a few novels that I was actually waiting to be translated but sadly they have been totally abandoned.

Dragon flies, Phoenix dances
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/dragons-flies-phoenix-dances/
My favourable rating does not rise
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/my-favorable-rating-does-not-rise/?grr=1
Noble girl living in debt
(Actually I don't know if this novel has been dropped by the translator or not, but because the last update was 4mths ago, I assume they are not keen on translating this novel anymore)
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-noble-girl-living-in-debt/

 

Awesome! I see no problems with them. The third one is a bit iffy, but I would contact all translators before making a decision.

Can you locate the raws? Which would you be willing to machine translate? Or do you know someone willing to machine translate one of them? I'll take on just about any project, but it has to come with a machine translator, or I'll end up sitting here with my fingers in ten different pies.

 

Unfortunately, I only know the link to the first one and since I wrecked my brain trying to read it using MTL, I stopped doing it altogether. But, if it can be of any help to you I can do it. I can help with proofreading as well (though not on literary level) as long as you can provide me with a comprehensible translation. Here is the link to the first novel;
Dragon flies phoenix dances.
Raw Link: https://www.136txt.com/tishenniangzi

I did try to find the raw for the second one, but I think it has been officially published now and adapted to manga so the host deleted any free link to the novel. Such a shame since I think this is quite a good story to read, but anyway I feel happy for the author since her work got recognised.

 

Please don't touch Debt Girl. I am currently testing a new translator to translate it... if it doesn't pan out, I will take it up myself.
Unless we announce anything, usually most projects are not dropped on Ainushi... merely on hiatus due to our busy work life. Our translators usually pop back up once they're done with the hurdles in their lives (example: when Debt Girl resurfaced again last time).

 

That is the problem with Japanese novels, I've discovered. They are much more likely to get licensed and become unavailable after a while.

Hmm. I like Dragon Flies, and I'm a lot more familiar with Chinese at the moment. There are less than a hundred chapters and looks like the chapters are all under ten pages. As long as you can provide something that's legible English, I'll fix it up to par. Doesn't matter how bad it may look, just so long as it's. . . better than google. Do you feel up to a test run? If it doesn't work out, no harm, but hopefully we can find a happy medium where you don't get headaches and I don't have to crunch too much either.

Also, no worries, Krrizis. I wouldn't touch anything without seeking out the original translator. Dragon Flies Phoenix Dances has so many though, that I'll probably just run with it, especially since it's been over a year. If anything, I'll wait a week after posting the first update to see if anyone protests. I'll go see if I can get in touch with Asian Hobbyist since they seem to be the last one?

Edit: It does appear to have been totally abandoned, so I will consider this seriously as an addition to our website. The decision ultimately lies with whether a machine translator is willing to work on it.

 

Wait, is this like a recruitment for machine translators?

 

Yes! I am always open to working with machine translators. I am willing to work with any level of translation ability, and I'm more than flexible. Wherever you're at, I'll pick up the slack!

However, this is also a recruitment for abandoned projects. If the project has a machine translator willing to work on it, I'll accept just about anything!

I can accept a machine translator without a project, but not a project without a machine translator. I am not willing to overwork myself or my partners in an attempt to foster all the orphan projects out there on our own. But, I do hope to increase the completion rate of these projects through this outreach.

 

Pardon me, but what exactly is a machine translator?

 

A machine translator is someone that does not read/is not fluent in the novel's original language but uses a variety of tools to translate. Some use Google Translate to translate the text, then restructure the result into something that better resembles English. There are several sites out there that can help with the process, but it still requires the human element to make it anywhere close to something English. I would then take that and "beautify" it into something English speakers would find easier to read.

 

I'm pretty interested in being a machine translator now, even if I have no experience. There's some novels I'd like to see translated, but I'd doubt anyone would want to pick them up.

 

Feel free to drop a link to the NU page if it exists and to the raws. I cannot guarantee anything, but someone might show an interest in them! If you have one in particular that you really want to try your hand at, send me a message! I'll gladly coach anyone willing to give it a try.

 

Well, here is a few of the novels I'd like translated
NU: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-ancestor-of-our-sect-isnt-acting-like-an-elder/
Raw: https://m.hongyeshuzhai.com/wapbook2229_1/

NU: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/yotogi-no-kuni-no-gekkouhime/
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4138ck/

I'd actually like to try a hand at the first one, but I'm not able to do it right away.
(And yes, I do have weird taste in novels)

 

I do have to admit I prefer completed novels, as it eliminates the possibility of the novel going on hiatus or being dropped partway through. However, both novels are not bad. The first one is a little scary, even I haven't worked on a novel that has over a thousand chapters yet, but I would be willing to take it on if you are. Let me know when you feel up for trying your hand at translating!

 

Thanks, I'll let you know when I'm up for it.
Fun fact, while looking for the raw of the first one, I discovered that it has webcomic.
https://www.iqing.com/book/4669/

 

I believe now is a good time for me to start if you do not mind

 

editor over here

 

TT^TT *cries happy tears

Hello, editor! I'm hoping that by posting here you mean to say you're interested in lending a hand? Are you interested in any particular project?