Question Will people like an audiobook of an English translation?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by Karnika, Feb 2, 2020.

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Would you listen to an English audiobook of a c-novel?

  1. Yes

    5 vote(s)
    10.9%
  2. No

    24 vote(s)
    52.2%
  3. It depends on the quality of the audiobook

    17 vote(s)
    37.0%
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  1. Karnika

    Karnika Active Member

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    I know that there are audiobooks in Chinese for the raws of several novels, but those who don't know Mandarin but would like to listen to an audiobook are at a disadvantage, I think. I'm curious about why people haven't started creating audiobooks of translations rather than the original works.

    Would that be welcome? Would people even listen to them?
     
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  2. Amaruna Myu

    Amaruna Myu ugly squid dokja (●´∀`●)

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    I find the pace of audiobooks too slow

    plus foreigners butcher Chinese pronunciations, so I'd rather not
     
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  3. Liyus

    Liyus Laksha's Desu~ Cat

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    Trash.....this is the only world i will ever understand from a xianxia audiobook....
     
  4. Little Potato

    Little Potato Sexiest Potato Alive [SpaceBar's Master]

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  5. elengee

    elengee Daoist Ninefaps

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    I think we'd all like to hear actual usage of 'courting death' , 'not giving face', 'failing to recognize mt. tai' , 'coughing blood' and similar phrases more in real life. :aww:
     
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  6. Deleted member 25261

    Deleted member 25261 Guest

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    Nah, its so slow. In one eye step i'm able to read a entire paragraph.
     
  7. bromnath

    bromnath Well-Known Member

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    I pipe chapters into a Text-to-Speech program for driving/doing chores/gym etc. I find usually have it go at 140% speed, and it's pretty nice. Also a lot of series have filler and not having to fully commit to listening lets me get more enjoyment than just skimming real quick.
     
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  8. JadeWhiteSkin

    JadeWhiteSkin please rescue~

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    If its good quality in both production and selection of the novel (eg. not 2000 chpts of filler) it might be nice, as any other good audiobook. Not my kinda cup of tea though.
     
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  9. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    Whenever I remember how they pronounce Mang as Meng, or Lang as Leng, Xuan as Xuen... I just clicked X.

    So.....I just don't listen anymore unless something got really good reviews.
     
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  10. Westeller

    Westeller Smokin' Sexy Style!! Staff Member

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    Some people have made audiobooks. Some translators even release them.

    I could see myself listening to one at work or something, maybe, but I would rather read if I'm free to read.
     
  11. Jigoku Shounen

    Jigoku Shounen An Envoy From Hell

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    It's not that people hadn't but more like people didn't. I mean that there are those that did try to, but they weren't received well, so they just stopped, or they might still be going I don't know. Here are the 3 main problems:
    1. Speed. The time it took for the person to finish reading 1 sentence, then typically, people already finished the Whole paragraph. And if they increased the speed of their reading, then the listener might not be able to listen well to understand, or if the speaker might not be familiar with the increase in speed then they might made mistake. Either way, compare to the speed of listening to one read, then it's faster to just read it yourself, especially for the fast readers, and even more especially for CN novels with thousands of chapters, unless they are lazy and don't want to read themselves and have lots of spare time.
    2. Pronunciation and accents. There are words that when the speaker pronoun might not be correct, or if they have some kind of accents, then it's even worse.
    3. Voice and tone. The voice of the speaker might not be pleasant to hear, or might just be bland. The speaker might be trying to "act" like the characters of the novel they are reading, but if they didn't know what they were doing, then it would just fail Badly....That's why Voice Actor is a Job, because not everyone can do it, even if you think you can do it.
    There are also other reasons, but typically, this are the main causes. Perhaps, if the ones making the Audiobooks put more efforts in, then they might be good. But really, it's harder than you think. I don't know how the Chinese reciprocate there CN Audiobooks for novels or the quality of them, but generally, the quality of Audiobooks are horrendous, even after putting the money and efforts into making them.
     
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  12. Viola

    Viola Studio Ghibli Fanboy Mother of Learning Fanboy

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    The most prominent one I can think of would be Coiling Dragon on Audible right now. It has been done and as I see it people weren't sworn off of it after it got released so... some do ya.
    Me... wouldn't wait for it, anything I'd listen to I have already read so no.
     
  13. Shaiyamine

    Shaiyamine Reader of Novels, Slave to the Screen

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    Typically I find English text read out loud as awkward. I don't really like the feel of it. Especially so when I have a feel for the text that the audiobook might not match.
     
  14. SuchHappy

    SuchHappy Active Member

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    Most Chinese novels honestly have so much filler that I don't know if it would be worth it. With books, I at least have the option to skim or skip chapters if I get bored. With audiobooks that just isn't feasible so I don't see any point to it, and that isn't even mentioning the time commitment. The only usage I'd ever have would be the "hype" chapters where shit is going down.
     
  15. Rumby

    Rumby Rumbly Tumbly

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    Honestly I do listen to text readers on novels since it’s convenient when I multitask. But yeah I’m not willing to wait for ppl to release audiobooks and if I dislike the audiobook voice I can’t switch it....unlike in text readers.

    But I like being able to switch from audiobook to reading text too.

    And there are some audiobooks done of some chapters out there.
    Argo has done some on their thread https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/making-audio-books-of-web-novels-and-streaming.86691/
     
  16. Ai chan

    Ai chan Queen of Yuri, Devourer of Traps, Thrusted Witch

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    Will people listen to them? Probably.

    Will people pay for them? Unlikely.

    Especially if it's by an amateur. You see, audiobooks fill a small niche. VERY small niche. Those who don't like them won't care. Those who do like them will probably never come across your audiobook, unless you start selling in one of those big platforms. But that itself becomes a problem, because you probably don't have the right to release it in the first place, so your audiobook will be banned quite quickly.

    That being said, if this is what you want to do, then do it. You're doing it illegally anyway, so there's no need to depend on market analysis. If people like your work, they'll like it. Just do what makes you feel happy or important.
     
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  17. Amaruna Myu

    Amaruna Myu ugly squid dokja (●´∀`●)

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    xuan is supposed to be pronounced as xuen :blobpeek:

    unless I've been getting my brother's name wrong my entire life:cookie:
     
  18. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    So it's supposed to be Xuenhyuen?
     
  19. Amaruna Myu

    Amaruna Myu ugly squid dokja (●´∀`●)

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    hyuen?:notlikeblob:

    written as xuan, pronounced as xuen
     
  20. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    Xuanhuan.... Pronounced Xuenhyuen...
     
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