So anyone who has tried translating onomatopoeias from two different languages have probably run into this kind of issue... I was just wondering how others dealt with it? Like are there some tricks (an onomatopoeia dictionary, maybe?) that helps, or do you just wait for a flash of brilliance? Specifically, someone pointed out (rightfully) that my translation of 噗 as "pfftt" was inadequate -- and I completely agree, as I remember spending quite a bit of time poring over it the first time it appeared trying to come up with something better. In this case, the 噗 has been used in two instances: once, when some arrows pierced a dude's flesh, and another time when a throwing knife did the same thing. So it's specifically being used when a weapon hits a soft, fleshy surface. What's an adequate onomatopoeia for that? If anyone can help, or provide any tips and tricks, I'd really appreciate it!
pretty much :') I usually end up rewording the sentence to avoid onomatopoeia in English because I can't usually think of an equivalent sound. So for example if it said (this is made up, excuse the inaccuracy) 噗的一聲鑽進他的胸口 I would rewrite it as "sank into his chest with a slick noise" or something like that.
After some point, if it really doesn't feel right, I just start using whatever it is in italics. Like sigh.
Well, if I'm correct then they do actually come from onomatopoeias that got turned into a proper word
The sound of flash getting stabbed is close to “ffft” I’ve seen ffft used. Or stab. Or like someone else said here made the translation not need the sound. (I know there is a dictionary for those from Japanese to English so I’m sure this type of dictionary exist for Chinese too)
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! And I would 100% try to reword it, except the author likes using sentences like, "The only sound that could be heard in the silence was (insert onomatopoeia here)" which doesn't really lend itself to easy rewording. And the origin of the sound is supposed to be a dramatic moment that's revealed afterwards (e.g. "everyone turned to look for the source of the sound and found a knife stabbed into so-and-so's back!"), so I can't really use "stab" either... ffft does seem marginally better than pfftt, so I might try using that... But if anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear it!
Apparently this is a thing if you google search it: https://thatdavidhopkins.com/that-blog/2009/07/22/the-sound-of-one-knife-stabbing
I feel like a 'shik' or a slightly meatier sound like a 'splt' or maybe just the reaction of the person like 'gugh' after being stabbed?
I like to go the nonsensical way of writing onomatopoeia, during the rare times I'm given the freedom to do so. The sfx for something sharp stabbing into flash is usually written as "pshht" or "pshck", replacing p with f if it's a thing thrown object. This is an old dictionary but it's one I still use at times.