@Hito
I definitely think you should publish a complementary "Translator's Notes" to The Kids Are Alright. Both those who know nothing of translations and those who do it themselves eat up this content like it was the finest chocolate.
The feature might start with a few general comments about the translation process, then end with four or so examples of where certain freedoms were taken. The 'let a chocobo guard their greens' could be in this list. By choosing a limited number of examples you prevent the notes from becoming the size of a book in its own right, plus you won't become too distracted from the actual translation work.
Just sayin'. I'd love to see "behind the scenes" features like this on TLS.
When it comes to having a hard time deducing who says what in the English language (but not so in Japanese due to pronouns etc), how about including a name in brackets before or after a sentence?
{Bob} "Bla bla."
{Steve} "Bleh bleh."
{Anne} "Bluh bluh."
I see how this might not be aesthetically pleasing (and inconsistent because it's not always there) but with brief foreword that explains the reasoning behind such a step, I would personally welcome it. Would certainly make OtWtaS easier to read, at least. The translations also are not intended for printing, which is another reason why I would not mind an added name in brackets before some of the bits where it is difficult to keep track of who is talking.
I definitely think you should publish a complementary "Translator's Notes" to The Kids Are Alright. Both those who know nothing of translations and those who do it themselves eat up this content like it was the finest chocolate.
The feature might start with a few general comments about the translation process, then end with four or so examples of where certain freedoms were taken. The 'let a chocobo guard their greens' could be in this list. By choosing a limited number of examples you prevent the notes from becoming the size of a book in its own right, plus you won't become too distracted from the actual translation work.
Just sayin'. I'd love to see "behind the scenes" features like this on TLS.
When it comes to having a hard time deducing who says what in the English language (but not so in Japanese due to pronouns etc), how about including a name in brackets before or after a sentence?
{Bob} "Bla bla."
{Steve} "Bleh bleh."
{Anne} "Bluh bluh."
I see how this might not be aesthetically pleasing (and inconsistent because it's not always there) but with brief foreword that explains the reasoning behind such a step, I would personally welcome it. Would certainly make OtWtaS easier to read, at least. The translations also are not intended for printing, which is another reason why I would not mind an added name in brackets before some of the bits where it is difficult to keep track of who is talking.
And I'm not sure there's an appreciable difference in the pronunciations there, but I assume that's what they're referencing with the name.
+1!!
)
