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How I translated one of the jokes
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Author:  Recca [ Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:58 am ]
Post subject:  How I translated one of the jokes

Whew, first let me just say that translating two games one after the other while beta testing another was no walk in the park! I probably over did it a bit as I'm completely burned out at the moment. Because of this, I doubt that I'll be taking on any more Romanian translation projects for a while, but I'm still available to help out with any English projects if needed. Special thanks goes out to Taskforce for editing those graphics in the title screen, as well as the monster select and naming menus. Anyway, now on to the topic at hand.

There's a certain joke during the Kraken fight where Dyno pokes fun of Lim over her comment of not liking "slimy rubbery objects". I translated this joke a bit differently and went with it in another direction. I'll post the two below for everyone to see.

The original version:
Quote:
Lim: I... don't like slimy rubbery objects!

Dyno: You're not fond of rubber, Lim?

Lim: D-Darn right! Wh-Wha-? Got a problem with that?

Dyno: Oh, nothing. Hee-hee!

My translated version (in English):
Quote:
Lim: I hate octopuses!

Dyno: Why, did you ever have a negative experience with one?

Lim: Are you trying to make fun of me or something?!

Dyno: Nope, hee-hee!


By the way, is the plural form of octopus "octopi" or "octopuses"? I always thought that it was "octopi", but most people seem to use the spelling "octopuses" instead online. Perhaps this is another one of those alternate British/American English spellings like defence/defense or colour/color.

So, which joke did you all like more and thought better matched the scene with the Kraken fight overall? When I asked two of my friends about this, they both had an almost completely opposite reaction to it. One thought that it was hilarious while the other thought that it was a bit too risqué. Although, to be fair, he thought that both jokes went a bit too overboard (he's one of those clean-cut, no-nonsense type of guys).

I also slightly changed another funny scene in my translation, during the next fight. In this one, Dyno tells Neina that she's becoming a real slave driver like Lim. In my version, Neina says that they can rest a bit after Dyno complains about being tired and he thanks her for it, saying that "she's much better than Lim", which obviously upsets her. The next line of dialogue is the same as the one in English, in which Lim says "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" and Dyno replying by simply saying "Nothing!". It was kind of funny to see these two poking fun of each other while Aleph and Neina are hopelessly trying to stop them from arguing.

This was a very fun game to work on, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The battle system was very simple for a strategy game, a lot like Galaxy Robo in that regard as well. It's a nice change of pace after playing so many games with much more complicated systems and menus. These types of games with simple gameplay styles are a good starting point for first time players and those that just want to take things a bit easier for a while. That's not to say that they can't be challenging at times, but the difficulty is no where near as brutal as some of the games in the Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre and Langrisser series, among others.

Author:  Wildbill [ Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How I translated one of the jokes

Super job! As for the mollusk question, either plural is correct. The “s” ending is a more common usage. The “i” ending is becoming archaic, perhaps more often employed by the scientific community.

As for levity, since you’re the writer, you have artistic license to shape the scene to please your target audience (read: YOU!). The English translation is just one version of the story, as was the Japanese. The exact words that originally existed in any language in a given line is irrelevant. Liberating yourself from that crushing mindset is the key to crafting a more titillating story and high quality localization effort.

To translate literally stifles artistic creativity and frequently yields stilted, repetitive gobbledegook. However, people who prefer to read a translated story that replicates what a foreign language writer penned, as closely as possible, have every right to his or her opinion and are at leisure to take up the hobby and write the story in any style that tickles their fancies.

Finally, you are not a mere “editor” of translated script. An editor, frequently a failed writer, is someone ostensibly well trained in grammar, a reviewer who is able to tweak story flow, correct spelling, adjust word usage, fix punctuation, and smooth syntax. Frequently, a skilled writer schools himself highly in editing functions, too.

Happy writing!

Author:  Recca [ Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How I translated one of the jokes

Thanks for the kind words, Wildbill! And you're absolutely right, I've often found that conveying the meaning and feeling behind each scene in a game often yields better results than getting hung up over trying to translate each word and sentence literally. I've had both an easier time and better experience doing so rather than taking the "purist" approach, which a lot of people seem to prefer these days. That's not to say that it's a bad way to translate something, just not always the best decision. In my opinion, the theme of the game is what affects the choice between a "purist" and "localized" translation effort for myself, personally.

For example, if the game had an Eastern/Asian theme with let's say, Feudal Japan as a setting, then I would prefer a more "purist" style translation that more accurately conveys the historical significance of this geographical area. On the other hand, if the game's theme is a more of a Western/European one, such as a setting during the Medieval Period, then I would usually prefer a more "localized" approach that better matches this specific place and point in time. Many JRPGs such as Power of the Hired, do have this theme in mind, which is why I went a bit more with the "localized" approach.

I did the same as well with Galaxy Robo, using the knowledge I had gained from watching and reading various films and books that were translated professionally in Romanian. This was so that I could get a sense of what type of language and terminology was being used for this type of media. I tried to stay as close as possible to the English script in my first four translated games, without ever attempting to change anything. This resulted in a lot of the text in these games to appear a little "stiff" and not having the best sounding lines at times. The method I used for translating the meaning, and not the words themselves for these last two games resulted a much smoother script which definitely sounds better overall.

I realized this after reading quite a few articles written online about translations and story writing. And of course, playing through the games that you worked on Wildbill, has also helped inspire me a lot to improve both my translations and writing style. I've also found a short, but educational video about three tips for interpreters and translators in general. The third tip that this person gave in this video was definitely the most useful one: "Interpret the meaning, not the words."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAUxzW_gyKw

Edit: And I forgot to also mention that I changed a lot of the instances when Neina says "brother" to simply using his name, Aleph. Though this is common in Japanese media, it sounds a bit strange to have someone constantly calling out "my brother" in Romanian. I did leave a few of these lines as they were however. It's just that "fratele meu" really doesn't have the same ring to it as "my brother" or "nii-san" does in English and Japanese respectively. This line could also be confusing at times since it's the same as the expression "oh, brother" in English (which is used to express frustration, disgust, disbelief or incredulity).

Author:  Wildbill [ Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How I translated one of the jokes

Recca wrote:
Thanks for the kind words, Wildbill! And you're absolutely right, I've often found that conveying the meaning and feeling behind each scene in a game often yields better results than getting hung up over trying to translate each word and sentence literally. I've had both an easier time and better experience doing so rather than taking the "purist" approach, which a lot of people seem to prefer these days. That's not to say that it's a bad way to translate something, just not always the best decision. In my opinion, the theme of the game is what affects the choice between a "purist" and "localized" translation effort for myself, personally.

For example, if the game had an Eastern/Asian theme with let's say, Feudal Japan as a setting, then I would prefer a more "purist" style translation that more accurately conveys the historical significance of this geographical area. On the other hand, if the game's theme is a more of a Western/European one, such as a setting during the Medieval Period, then I would usually prefer a more "localized" approach that better matches this specific place and point in time. Many JRPGs such as Power of the Hired, do have this theme in mind, which is why I went a bit more with the "localized" approach.

I did the same as well with Galaxy Robo, using the knowledge I had gained from watching and reading various films and books that were translated professionally in Romanian. This was so that I could get a sense of what type of language and terminology was being used for this type of media. I tried to stay as close as possible to the English script in my first four translated games, without ever attempting to change anything. This resulted in a lot of the text in these games to appear a little "stiff" and not having the best sounding lines at times. The method I used for translating the meaning, and not the words themselves for these last two games resulted a much smoother script which definitely sounds better overall.

I realized this after reading quite a few articles written online about translations and story writing. And of course, playing through the games that you worked on Wildbill, has also helped inspire me a lot to improve both my translations and writing style. I've also found a short, but educational video about three tips for interpreters and translators in general. The third tip that this person gave in this video was definitely the most useful one: "Interpret the meaning, not the words."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAUxzW_gyKw

Edit: And I forgot to also mention that I changed a lot of the instances when Neina says "brother" to simply using his name, Aleph. Though this is common in Japanese media, it sounds a bit strange to have someone constantly calling out "my brother" in Romanian. I did leave a few of these lines as they were however. It's just that "fratele meu" really doesn't have the same ring to it as "my brother" or "nii-san" does in English and Japanese respectively. This line could also be confusing at times since it's the same as the expression "oh, brother" in English (which is used to express frustration, disgust, disbelief or incredulity).
Yep, interpreting an idiom and conveying the point in another language is a very tricky task in deriving and conveying a meaning. I had a Guatemalan girlfriend years ago ask me on a date why this girl in the dorm said someone's father "kicked the bucket" and the bereaved daughter began crying hysterically. When I stopped laughing long enough, I explained.

Author:  Sherkel [ Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How I translated one of the jokes

I see, so the "power of the hired Romanian" is the power to translate octopus jokes! :lol:

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