Discussion Translators failing to work together and that disgusting 3 month rule

Yeah....
Chapter 3 is 61.601 words or 114 Microsoft Word pages with Meiryo font 12 pt, 1,15 pt linespace, 4pt paragraph space, and standard A4 paper with 2,5 cm margin on all four sides.
It's not something for a faint heart...... I once tried to translate 30000 words, but it took me 3 weeks......
Luckily, Reene is a nice girl, so I wasn't that bored...... Imagine if I had to translate something that I hate.

 

Why are you even comparing it too QI? They get fixed amount of salary based on the translation or whatever they have on their contract so they are obligated to do it for the sake of MONEY.

 

Everyone thinks that all translator is the same........ That translators are greedy humans that withhold translation unless the readers pay them some money....... I want to read me chapter now! And you must comply! Since readers are the Kings! Submit to my whim and obey my demand!
And the ones who complain are not the people who paid it in the first place.

 

someone snapped

 

And that's why we don't translate stuff we hate!!! >.<

That's the weirdest part tbh... But mostly true as well...

 

You're really just looking at us as machines.

Translators can't get into trouble. Translators can't have a job that they take care of in their day life to support their livelihood. Translators can't, rather, they mustn't, invest time into anything else, for they are supposed to churn out quality translations daily.

Look, we're human. And most of us just took this damn translating gig up as a hobby. If we get into financial trouble or get involved in family trouble, it's not like we can just tra-la-la translate our ways out of the situation. Some (maybe most, I don't keep track of this kind of shit) of us earn money out of this, sure. But it's just a tiny fraction of the translator community who truly earn enough to support themselves. The others would either have to rely on their job or find a different way to get through their problem. Seriously, translating novels aren't viable for most of the people in the community. Most of us (hopefully) recognize this, and still translate anyway for the sake of getting satisfaction of some sort.

And it's not like all of us here are really great at the languages we translate. I hate to say it, but it took me an average of 1-2 hours to translate a chapter of a story most of the time (be it ISBBTW or King Shura). Others take around thirty minutes to do it. Some, on the other hand, might have to invest a whopping 8 hours to get a single chapter done.

And what do the readers say when they look at this? They praise the translator who can do a chapter once every thirty minutes. Praise be the translator who actually is proficient in the language he translates! They then shame the translator who is unable to translate fast enough. Who ever cares about translators who are slow? Now, I understand your sentiment. You really don't want to wait decades before a novel is finished. But what you're essentially doing is taking a person who is sincerely trying to learn something new, and crushing his dreams. You might as well be going to your baby brother and tell him that his dreams of becoming an artist is hopeless, and he would do much better as a doctor.

Point is, most of us are just here to learn something from this experience. Most of us aren't scummy little bastards who stoop down to dirty little tricks to try to get the most money out of someone. We're just here to learn what a language is capable of, and see what we're capable of ourselves. If you can't respect that, then you might as well get out of the community while you can, since it's not like you're really going to get to read some life-changing novels anyway. Go read something that's actually good. Why not try catcher in the rye for a change? I heard that book was decent.

tl;dr: I'm not here to translate to suck your dick. I'm here to learn the fascinating language that is Korean, and at the same time show the Western community what the Korean literature community is capable of. If you don't like what I do, I suggest you get out while you can and pick up a good book.

 

I'm starting to think that translators should put up a disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I am translating this purely as a hobby / to practice language. I have full-time University studies/work, have real life to deal with, and other hobbies including reading other novels, spending time with friends, internet, tv and games. I am translating this on a non-contractual basis. Though I accept donations, these will only be considered tips towards work that has already been performed, and not an obligation to continue translating on a long-term basis. As a reminder, I take about x hours to translate a chapter, server costs are xx, the minimum wage is y, and the market rate for translations is z, so what I receive from donations is insufficient for me to consider a proper profession. As such, when I have real-life matters including but not limited to, exams, work deadlines, family obligations etc., I reserve the right to decrease the speed of translations, or to stop completely. If you wish to take over, feel free to contact me, but be aware that after I've stopped translating a series, it is unlikely I will pick it up again where another translator left off should he choose to drop the series one day. If you are a reader who cannot comply with the above conditions, please find another series to read.

 

As a translator that has translated over 2000 chapters through various novels over the past 3 years, I can tell you that doing it in a team usually slows down translation. When your main goal is fast release, it is better to have multiple editors.

You cannot compare translation to anime sub. Even for doing subbing scene, there would generally only be 1 translator per series.

One of the main reason for this is the change in writing style. People write differently. Secondly, people translate words differently. Thirdly, you might want to invest in a translation checker or have the main translator check the secondary translator's work. While this might provide better accuracy, it will also waste a lot of time.


PS.

There are always people that say, hey, I'm a translator too and I feel that the other translators are being dicks by not working in group and charging people for work.

I do not know if you are a translator, but if you are, do show us your work,quality and speed. Then we can talk. Else, you are nothing than a fraud. Anyone can be a translator. Heck, I can paste some words onto google translate and call myself a translator too.

 

I'll put this in my blog.

 

You know, your pose actually reminded me that there's this one novel that I really liked and wanted to translate, but I basically didn't even try because most of its chapters are 80+ pages long.

You know what, I'll consider putting this up if I ever dedicate myself to my blog.

 

You all make very good points but last time I checked, this thread was created because you have translators who take money for sponsored chapters and disappear without a word. It's not a majority but it is enough to cause concern .
And let's be fair, it's usually Chinese translators, so greats like Yukkuri Onisan are not included so please continue translating novel whose name is too long to remember the romanji/hepburn

 

I love Renee so I am glad @Yukkuri Oniisan is translating that.

 

I feel a lot of anger in this thread. Anyone complaining about slow translators should just pick up the language (CN, JP, KR, whatever) and read the novels themselves. Ta-da~! Problem solved!

In all seriousness, though, most translators are translating as a hobby. If you were their employer, it would be fine to act as entitled as you want. But you're not. And no, donating doesn't make translators obligated to you at all. Just stick to novels with daily updates and pretend the rest don't exist.

 

17 pages and counting ~~ *sips tea*
i propose!!! To take down languages barriers! !!!
Tough there is certain fun in studying diferent kinds of language~~
I propose !!! To promote english novels too!!!
If you cant wait for translations of asian ones~~
I propose!!! Nothing just bored....

 

Well, that was not what the OP was talking about though, even if that was the reason behind his post... >.>

Honestly, if the person is already making sponsored chapters, then they already have a responsibility of delivering the chapter in time... Quite different from most other people...

Try checking this: http://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/the-nuf-book-club-for-english-original-web-novels.21994/

 

so someone get stab on da butt?
really~ this is why I really hate when donation come~ it will lure someone who think like OP~
sure you can take da project~ any project~
unless it already have legal translation, prepare for da legal consequence(if da one who hold it wanna smack you like BT case)~
still~ rather than wake up why I feel this just like cat fight? or child who throw tantrum?
perhaps cuz I remember konjiki wordmaster? or da usage of words?
fumu maybe~ collaborate and bye bye~
hey it hard to work with other you know~
unless you get paid then you have responsibility cuz you are paid~
well if you wanna run away after get da money~ then that's your own problem~
hey it hard to find people who wanna tidy up and supervise group of translator you know~
oh it seem OP have run away~
what a weakling~

oh also sorry I'm late~ really busy~

what history teach us? human never learn from history~
on past I think cuz people make same mistake now I assume human never learn or never known history on first place~ or misinterpretation da history

ah also History is full of surprise~
wonder where I learn that~

 

he cant take your cuteness aka cuteness overload!

 

In the end, Asriu-chan's cuteness is too big for anyone to resist. *nod nod nod nod*

*hugs and spins Asriu-chan*

 

I think there has been enough input about various things so there's no need for me to bring up anything else.

But I want to speak out on quality vs quantity.

For my part, I wish I have all the time and money in the world to produce the best quality translation I can possibly do. Because I feel that it's a disservice to the original authors not to do so, and that it's a disservice to the fans. I can't speak for others, but I'm picking out webnovels that I think are good in a certain way and translating them for the sake of allowing other readers enjoy them. I have 4 freaking series, 4! This wasn't even an issue two years ago, but I guess I should have seen this coming.

I mean, just think about it. These CN webnovels are like drugs and if it somehow cuts off in the middle or slows down, you're going to get withdrawal symptoms. If it happens another ten times where ten series do the same thing to you, I'm sure you're going to get angry and upset. That's how it is, and I get your pain, but a lot of translators have their own lives to live. If you go beyond a certain point where you shame and rebuke translators for going "too slow", this is the time to take a look at whether you're being affected by crack.

There's a certain pride and respect that I hold when it comes to translating webnovels, because I was literally inspired by a single webnovel (which was Mushoku Tensei) to go back to school and pursue a diploma to get my dream job as a digital artist. There's a Chinese proverb, 饮水思源, which roughly means "When you drink water, think of where it originates from. When I started translating, it was the purpose of sharing a great novel with everyone. Then it became even a life-changing event where I went to an art school and studied painting, while basing it around what I'm translating.

And so I translate with the belief that my works would some day inspire or entertain people the very best it could. It's a passionate hobby, but there's no way I'm treating it as a job, and I don't want to have the idea of someone else coming in with anything less than a 110% attitude. Money isn't that important of an issue, and seriously if anyone like the OP thinks that money should be the reason why a translator should translate these webnovels...... Stop. Now.

It really annoys me to see people pursuing quantity over quality.

Would you hurry George R.R Martin with his game of thrones book? Call him out and say FU, wake up your bloody idea, we want more quantity over quality?

I mean, saying something like the community doesn't want to wait ten years to wait for the translator to finish a book..... and then calling them cancer and acting like rats, with 50 people agreeing with the OP. Maybe you guys who agree with OP need to do some soul searching, because there's more to life than this accusatory shit.

It's disrespect at the highest level.