Harun Releaseshttps://mangahelpers.com/t/harun/rss2009-05-02T13:13:39+00:00/favicon.icoMangaHelpers Adminsadmin@mangahelpers.comhttps://mangahelpers.com/t/harun/releases/11943How-to successfully share a translation2009-05-02T13:13:39+00:00Harunadmin@mangahelpers.comHow-to successfully share a translation
Stunning stories and brilliant articles give joy to those who read them. For most people, the matter of sharing this information is easy. They can print it, email it, or tell it to friends. However, what if this information is in another language? The answer is simple: translate it for them. Some may be interested in translating for friends or others, but not know where to start.
The first step is deciding on what to translate. Try to make a rough estimate on the amount of time it will take to make a rough draft, to edit the rough draft, to localize the text, and to publish. Some may overstretch limits and try to work through a book in one month. Others may take an entire week analyzing, and a few days for each stage of a very small two-page project.
The second step is making sure the work can be translated. Scientific or technical texts are more challenging than a children's story. Does the translator have sufficient vocabulary? Does the translator need to put a lot of time into research? How much time is needed to read and comprehend the meaning behind what is written?
The third step is a thorough reading. If the text is hazy or confusing, the translation will be just as confusing as the original. Read it once at a relaxed pace and make notes. A second read through should be with a critical eye. Notice portions that may give difficulty, or sections that are easier to explain than others. If the work is very large, break it down into chunks. If it is literature, find logical acts and plan to work them one-by-one.
The fourth step after reading and understanding the material is research. Some concepts may exist in the culture that is read about, but not in the culture the translator lives in. One word in English may have three in Spanish. Counters are fine in Japanese, but need some attention if expressed in English. Names may carry puns or other connotations, and the translation should do the best to reflect this subtlety. Many aspects of culture also need to be looked at. Dates and calendars may use different schemes. Holidays may need to be explained.
Now that the text has been researched and planned, it's time for the fifth step: starting a rough draft. The rough draft consists of a quick, relaxed translation of the text. If it helps, use a literal translation technique. No one sends in the first draft for publishing. Editing and polishing are always needed.
When the rough draft is finished, revise it. In the revised rough draft, emphasis is placed on spelling, grammar, and inconsistencies. Editing shows professionalism. If the time has been taken to translate, then an equal or greater amount of time should be taken to revise and edit.
For the sixth step, the draft needs to be localized, or brought into the target culture. The story may sound great to the translator and make a lot of sense; but it may not have that feel of a native English piece. Have a friend who speaks only English read the revised rough draft. If they have problems with certain words or phrases, that may give hints about some of the changes to be made.
Finally for step seven, it is time to share the final. If it needs to be sent off by mail, be sure to make copies in case the final does not arrive.
Translation has been compared to bridge building. The translator, as architect, builds a bridge to connect two places. When people volunteer to translate something, they help both communities by bringing material together. The foreign now becomes known to the native, and everyone benefits. https://mangahelpers.com/t/harun/releases/11942Literal vs. Free Translation2009-05-02T13:12:34+00:00Harunadmin@mangahelpers.comLiteral vs. Free Translation
Many choices go into the translation of a text. One of the most important is the method employed. The final product should not read as a labyrinth of confusing jargon, nor should read as a useless gloss over important cultural differences. Since the dawn of translation, people have argued over the best method to use. Should it be faithful to the original, sticking to the source? Should it be beautiful, rendering the message of the text as the original audience would have understood it?
Literal Translation is the act of rendering as closely as possible the wording, structure, and grammar of a source document into the translation. Fluency is not as important as fidelity. This type of text is often made for students and scholars who have knowledge of the language they are reading. Ancient Greek translated texts into Latin used the literal word for word approach. A one to one basis of literal substitution was preferred. A modern example is in the two dialects of Spain, Catalan, and Mainland Spanish.
Scholarly editions of foreign literature often use special bilingual editions. Each sentence or paragraph will appear in the source language followed by a literal target language translation. If literal readings of idioms and puns give difficulty, footnotes will explain subtleties or confusion.
The German translator Friedrich Schleiermacher wrote in his 1813 essay On the Different Methods of Translating, "Either the translator leaves the author in peace as much as possible and moves the reader toward him; or he leaves the reader in peace as much as possible and moves the writer toward him." (Lefevere 1977:74)
Free Translation is the act of rendering the sense of a source document, rather than slavishly dragging source words and word order into the translation. Understanding of both cultures is also important in free translations. Fluency for target readers is more important than fidelity.
Imagine a children’s book. It uses a certain vocabulary, in a certain way, for a certain audience. The material needs a translation that children will understand. Puns, jokes, and idioms need reworking or rewording altogether to give the same feel. An advert that uses a play on words needs the same wordplay if brought into another culture.
A unit of translation is "the stretch of source text on which the translator focuses attention in order to represent it as a whole in the target language." (Lorscher 1993:209) A text produced with two similar languages can use word as the unit of translation. Other languages with different grammatical structures may use clauses or sentences as units of translation.
If the translation is literal, the units of translation may not split only by sentence, but also by word. If a source segment follows an SOV pattern, the target segment will also try to use an SOV pattern even if the target language uses an SVO pattern. A simple set phrase such as a greeting may show a strict literal adherence instead of common meaning. The Japanese greeting Ohayou Gozaimasu (Good Morning) may render as Early it is or it is early. This breaks the set phrase unit for word level unit. Likewise, Good Morning rendered as Ii Asa would lose the sense of meaning in the phrase.
Units in free translation will focus on sense of phrase rather than individual words. Conforming to the grammatical structure of the target language is also necessary. A source segment with an SOV pattern forms into an SVO pattern in an SVO grammar. Good Morning is more recognizable in English, and it keeps the same feel as the original; a greeting used in the morning.
The translator has at their disposal many methods of rendering a text. They can construct a specialized text that students use to study language or an easily readable localized text for the masses. https://mangahelpers.com/t/harun/releases/11941Translation Essay2009-05-02T13:10:30+00:00Harunadmin@mangahelpers.comProfessionalism. What does it mean to you? Why not 'go with the flow' of the modern scene? Easy routes are easy for that very reason, but they are rarely satisfying or challenging. Even among amateurs, there is a vicious cycle. If you are the first to acquire material, make sense of it, and share it with others in a way they understand, then you gain 'credit'. I'd never realized how futile these titles were, but there I was, battling it out for non-existent yet still looming 'credit'.
I wanted to become a translator when I started reading books on theory and literary translation. The first words that jolted me, "We build a bridge for others, to make something accessible where it would not normally be.", drove me to improve myself and what I knew of my craft. A translator needs people to translate for. Volunteer work seemed like a great idea to help orient myself and 'see the sights'. I could not see the cavern I was about to enter, and the differences of opinion that people held on what was to be expected.
The first text that I gazed at. The first text that I translated. The first text that started me on the journey.The first text I took on for them was relatively simple and straightforward, or so it seemed to me. It was a children's TV series summary. Looking back on it now, I cannot believe that I had so much trouble with it. Simple structure, simple grammar, and a simple story gave me so much trouble.
I handed the text into the editor when I finished. It took me three days. Now the same text takes me 20 minutes. The first journey begins with a single step. They looked it over. It was sent back with a very odd complaint: "Leave the names as they are in the original text.". I picked up the text and glanced at the names that I used, all from an official American website. I couldn't make sense of it. Why would these people want the original names of characters when they were easily available in English? I caved in and made the changes. Now, the text looked not foreign, but out of place. Most of the material was in fluid English, but the names were now sore thumbs that stuck out and poked the reader in the eyes.
But who was I? I was only the person in charge of building the bridge in understanding to those who could not comprehend the material in its native state. The new draft was sent back. A day passed, and I did research for the next project they wanted me to start. It was another very small summary, like the last. The speed was still painfully slow.
The draft was sent back with another comment: "Explain these references.". I was baffled. A few simple holidays were mentioned in the text. This was getting very odd. I took the references and added the dates in parenthesis, hoping that would suffice.
Round Three came at me as I realized the oddity I had fallen into. Another note fell into my inbox: "Change the sentence structure.". The sentences were in English, and one would expect them to hold an English sentence structure. However, there were certain particles and modifiers that I thought did not need to be added. And then it hit me: I was not translating this text, I was destroying it. It was different from a rewrite, because the same base story was kept. But it was not 'native'. This isn't to say there was foreignisation, as there was no need to exoticise for young readers.
An adorable story meant for young children was now attempting to be transformed into fodder for the brainless mass of fandom. If I handed this work to a child who could read English natively, they would have a hard time with it. And so, I would have failed myself. https://mangahelpers.com/t/harun/releases/8367TMD1612009-01-11T13:17:52+00:00Harunadmin@mangahelpers.comIRYU 161
男： フフ… カッカッするな！ オレも昔これが金に見えたことがあった。 Man: Heh… Such anger you have! I thought theese were money myself.
PP08 森田： … Morita: …
男： 飲まないか...? お前はオレのことなんか覚えちゃいないだろうが。 オレはおまえをよく覚えている。 何度か… ここで覚かけたなじみの顔さ。 おごるよ。 Man: Will you have a drink?. . ? You don't remember me? I remember you well. I've seen you here many times. . . I've grown accustomed to your face around here. Come on. My treat.
PP09 おとこ： 名前は？ Man: What's your name?
森田： 森田… Morita: Morita…
おとこ： 今何やってんだ…？ Man: What do you do now?
森田： てきとーさ… 日払いのバイトとかいろいろな… Ach. . . I do odd-jobs here-'en-there. . .
おっさん。 いっとくがな… くだらねえ説教きかそーて肚なら ごめん、こうむるぜっ…！ Look at you; a rish old man. . . An' a worthlesh prick like me. . . . . . bah, sorry for the ramblin'!
男： クク… そんな気はねえさ Heh… I don't mind.
PP10
男： 明朝…3時間ほど時間とれねえか…？ 日当は１０万だそう。 Could you help me out for about 3 hours tomorrow morning? I can pay you 100,000 yen.
森田： … それ…
密輸とかそういうこと…？ Is this. . .
Some kind of smuggling?
男：ハハハ… 何考えてんだおまえは…！ Heh heh heh… I don't know WHAT you're thinking of. . . !
PP11 森田： だって うさんくせえじゃねえかそんな臨 Well, it sounds kinda of shady to me.
男：まぁな… じゃあ日当をさげるか… Well then, I could lower the wage. . .
森田： まてよっ…！ オレはただ面倒はごめんだっていってるんだ…！ Hold on! I just don't wanna to get into any trouble!
男： フフ… 面倒なんでありゃしねえさ。 …ヤクザも出ないしオマワリもからまない。 ただ……ちょっと運ぶものが重いだけだ。 Heh… There's no trouble about it. It's not going to involve gangsters or the police. I just need you to help me move some heavy boxes.
森田： …！ うさんくせえな… …！ still sounds shady. . .
男： フフ… Heh…
PP12
Caption: 翌日、早朝 Next day, Early Morning
チヤチな軽トラでその男登場
しばらくしてもうー会くるーー
そのトラックの荷を
He showed up in an old beeter.
After abit, we met up.
We took the boxes from his truck,
PP13
Caption: 自分のトラックにしかえろ
みかん箱十個 and put them into mine.
In all, we loaded 10.
森田： これでおわりかよ Is that it?
男： そう… かんたんだろ Yes… That's it.
PP14
森田： … あの… … Oi…
男：うん…？ Eh…？
森田： あれ…何入ってんだよ… Those boxes. . . What's in 'em?
男： フフ… 気になるのか…？ Why, are you getting concerned?
森田： あたりまえだっ！ I'm just curious!
PP15
男： 不正融資って知ってるか…？ Do you know what 'illicit lending' is…？
森田： 不正融資…？ Illicit lending…？
新聞とかがさんざさわいでた 銀行のあれか…？ Like what the papers sometimes report on?