Discussion Do translators have a style and how does this affect the story?

Just something I'm curious about...

Currently I am really enjoying novels translated by rainbowturtle and fudgenouget (love you guys )

Feel free to say who some of your favourite translators are

 

Reading Charm of Soul Pets:

Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly, Ostensibly

 

[D]

 

Erm. Dare I ask... what's going on?

 

Of course, one book can take many forms depending on the translator. Especially when you go from an Asian Language to Latin one. For example, some books have specific styles of narration that simply don't exist in English, and it's up to translator to adapt those in what he believed is the most fitting way.
Then you have idioms, expression, onomatopoeia, catchphrases, behavioral traits. For example, when a character is acting casual in Japanese, it's still as respectful as a American would be in a very formal setting. Some translators will decide to keep that, giving priority to the cultural aspects of the novel, and some will make the dialogues much more casual to preserve the story-telling, or a character's traits. And both ways are correct. Because it would be unnatural for a person in Japan or such to behave so casually, because they're often still somewhat respectful, but then again, if other characters in the story behave a certain way towards this character because he's being 'too rude', when he's actually pretty polite in writing, it won't make sense for the reader.

As for my Favorite translators, I'd say Yoraikun.

But of course, I'll always tend to prefer my own work over anyone else's, since I write it in my personal 'favorite' style.

 

Then I'm curious do you think there is a way to give a sense of the culture while preserving the story telling?
Also out of the translations from Chinese, Korean and Japanese to English which do you find the most difficult to achieve a balance in those elements mentioned?
In a sense I think of translators as an editor or second author. They can really shape a character or create the mood of a setting from the way they translate the story. I wonder if translators sometimes feel a lot of pressure because they want to do justice to the original... I wonder how much they are influenced by the comments and their peers to translate passages of text in a certain way...

I think I understand what influences their translation but...I still don't know what styles translators have

 

There is a way, but if the culture is not important to the story, then I think the reader's experience should be the number one priority.
For example, I've been translating a novel called "Population Control", where the main character starts giving a small anecdote that involved a concept that would be completely foreign to anyone outside of Japan, a very specific point system that they have in their stores and whatnot. I could have translated that and then taken my time to explain it, but having read the novel, I knew that was a very small anecdote that would never come up again and that shouldn't be dwelt on, so I just switched the 'points' system for good ol' coupons, and it worked better for the story.
As for your second question, I wouldn't know, I only translate Japanese, but from my experience, a lot of Chinese translators have trouble with idioms. As a reader, I don't really care about 'mount Tai', you know? But in a way, that became part of the xianxia brand.
As for your third question, I personally do feel a lot of pressure and waste a lot of time trying to make things 'just right', and to stay true to the author. I once spent over an hour translating a single pun.
A second author? Well, from Asian languages to latin languages, I'd say so. But when I translate from English to French, for exemple, it can sometimes feel more like menial work.
We are sort of influenced by our peers, as they're the only people who can actually judge the 'translation' part of our work. As for the comments? Well, sort of. After all, there was a time when every translator used Japanese honorifics like '-sama' and '-san', until readers showed they didn't like it. But a single reader probably won't have that much influence. Like I said, our own work is often our favorite work.

 

Don't you just love it when the TL didn't bother to translate a 2 sentence long title? Also some TLs rather use localized jargon, which break off my immersion most of the time coz' I have to use translate google all the time.

 

I understand the frustration. I feel like Google translate is the baseline that everyone rates the quality of translations by. It's getting more difficult for quality translations since Google translate's algorithm is improving year on year

 

I just hope for a perfect G-TL so we can read as much as we want. I'm gonna read the sh*t out of those novels raw.

 

I appreciate and agree with your enthusiasm. But using "sh*t" and "raw" in the same sentence makes me feel strange XD

 

Lol yeah, and then when someone else picks up the project, he's forced to keep the butchered title.

 

Is the title that important?

 

Well, it's the first thing people see, it's what determines whether they'll click or not.

 

I guess that was a stupid question. Thinking of a good title must be really hard. What's the most unique title you've read?

 

You can request for the title to be changed on NU.

 

Yup, nowadays that's not an issue anymore, but it used to be a problem.

My Death Flags Show No Sign Of Ending immediately caught my eyes. Long title, well written, well translated.

But sometimes shorter titles are better. Isaac caught my eyes for its simplicity.

 

I thought The Bathroom Goddess was really creative in both title and plot.

 

That is a good title...although I worry that the more interesting the title the higher the expectations...