Discussion Do you think it's okay to complain a novel's translation quality?

I saw a lot of translators who translate novel to English (and Eng is not their mother language) got bad comments from readers because the translation quality isn't good enough for them. I'm not fluent in English too but I can understand their translation perfectly, that's why I'm confused when I saw a comment said the story is confusing because the translator isn't good at their works.

So ... my question is ... is it okay to do that? I mean, you can read them for free, the translator didn't get any money from translating the story, yet you keep complaining about the quality ... something about this didn't seem right for me.

 

They're not bad at English, they're bad at MTLing.

 

This is just my opinion, in regards to my own translations. People can complain, but they need to be specific about what they have problems with. So long as they keep a modicum of civility in the comments section. They can complain even if I disagree with their complaint.


What I take issue with, is berating a translator for their efforts or bullying them. This is of course for those learning the language, both the original source and target language.

 

if your reading for free and it's not their first language and they are really trying to do their best than no your not allowed to complain, but your allowed to help edit the novel that he tried so hard to translate for free.

If he is getting money for that translation and he is doing a terrible job of it your allowed to complain to till the heavens shake, because you paid good money.

 

I firmly believe in the saying that 'If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it.' Especially if translators are doing this out of charity.
The translator is not forcing anybody to read their works and if you do not like it, you can simply avoid reading it. There's also a difference between constructive criticism and insults. If you can't put your opinion across in a healthy and neutral way, shove your negativity back in your throat.

 

I guess part of the problem is sometimes it can be hard to tell if a story is badly edited mtl or if the translator put actual effort but have weak english.

 

As long as the criticisms are constructive and helps the tl increase their translation quality then it is perfectly fine, however if they are just complaining and bringing nothing to the table then there's really no reason for them to even comment.

 

Depends on how bad it actually is. If it's just a few mistakes here and there, no biggie, just mention the mistake and chances are they'll patch it right up. If it mostly makes sense but there are confusing parts here and there, again, not too bad. chances are English is their second language in this case, but they're trying hard to get it all to make sense. props to them. I start to get problems personally when the majority of sentences don't make much sense, I struggle to follow who is talking and who they're talking to, and so on. If they're posting literal MTLs with little to no editing, they may as well not post it in the first place, since anyone could literally do the same themselves with little effort.

Anyway, civility is key. Complaining about translation quality, whether valid or not, isn't helpful to anyone. You're just making them feel bad, and then they might just give up and stop. Giving them examples of what you think has been done badly and how you think it would make more sense, helping them to improve - that's much better.

 

I dont normally say derogatory things on a translator's page, I just stop reading their trash effort and hope someone better will pick up the novel after they drop it.

 

There is also this side of the coin. Someone better who could have picked the novel decide not to since "it have a "translation" anyway and 75% of the traffic I would get from translating it is lost" and there you have it. I don't mind bad translators and/or mtl translators as long as they are putting in the effort. Copy pasting crap without even fixing the little grammar mistakes is a good way to get in my "fuck no" list. But on the other hand a good mtl with proper editing is always nice to read.

 

misplacement of words

inverted words/meaning such as (i was shocked)(don't do it. when it really is. do it.)(but according to the story the one who was shocked was not i but someone else)(so it should be he was shocked)

grammar

names that are repeated in the same line
especially in chinese novels

name of the same person suddenly changing changing


These are the things that made readers head hurt. well not going to complain about translation quality but it is free eventhough it's infuriating. you can't blame someone that provides you free translations. you can help the proofread and revise or you can give tips and teach the translator where he/she made miatake. but never blame them because reading novels with that quality is your choice they just translate it then upload it.

 

The internet is filled with people who will complain, praise, positive, negative etc. It is, what it is. So just get used to it unless you want to have too may thoughts about something that should not really have been your problem.
Well, that's just me who has been lurking and lingering these parts for the last couple years. I don't complain and just move on if i can't really read/understand something. out of respect for the translator who took the time and effort of doing something without asking anything in return, i just keep my thoughts to myself.

 

Don't do onto others what you don't want the others do onto you.

 

If only the translation is incomprehensible, meaning it is worse than MTL.

An issue of nuances can be accepted, since not all are bilingual or multilingual. Name changing is usually settled through polling or comments, so no issue there. As for censoring, it can be civilly addressed through communication via comments or PM.

To those who say TL is doing it for free, there should at least be a standard in quality chapters, so the readers can comprehend what they are reading. If TL are doing it just for themselves, like reading it for their own consumption, then why bother sharing their "preferred" translations to readers whose "preferences" may not align with the TL. There is also the issue of novel slot, when a lot of readers have a legitimate reason to complain towards a TL translation "quality", but said TL does not offer or share translation with a better TL or opt to have an editor to edit the translation. The valid readers could only wait for the 3 month duration in NU policy or have the TL statement of abandoning the current translation.

To avoid confusion, I'm siding with valid complains. Anything else subjective to the subject, like hate, slander, or reasons not corresponding to the stories context or authors intent, are invalid by default. Don't feed trolls. Ban flamers. Ignore haters. Appease proper readers or fans. Communicate with the group. Settle contracts properly with fellow TL or editors. Overall, be a decent person and be open minded.

 

If I think it's bad I get to complain. If people want to complain about my complaining they're also free to do that.

 

If you do have problems about translation quality or incorrect translation, I personally would prefer a comment that specially points out the problem areas with the changes that should be made. Most of the time, when English isn’t your first language, you don’t have any idea where you go wrong.

Or even better, if you’re confident with your English skills, offer to edit it for them. Free editors are always appreciated by solo TLs.

Nobody minds some positive criticism. It’s when it gets abusive for no reason that it annoys me.

 

I never complain because they're doing this during their free time and sometimes a lot of translators improve over the course of their tl projects. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to enjoy the novels in english
But sometimes if they're doing a horrible job at MTL and preventing others from picking up the novel, it's quite upsetting.

 

Personally as someone who once tried MTL a few chapters, I still couldn't agree with the quality of many MTLs out there.

Unfortunately, I chose a complex novel to join in. That coupled with me using multiple MTL sites and checking up the meaning for each phrase, I took 10hrs or more (in a week) to translate a single chapter. I had to drop it as I have work 6 days a week.

I do not mind if that is the case. But I've previously encountered a group where the character names change every few lines or every chapter. That is totally unacceptable, even for free.

Wrongly labelled speech for half the dialogue is also much worse than not labelling them at all.

 

You are free to complain and rant however much you want. You'll just have to deal with the consequences.

I usually don't complain about a badly translated series... I just drop it. If I like the series and notice some errors then I will mention it in the comments hoping for the author to fix it. Unless I feel lazy...