It is really thorough! Every year there's one class that is really in-depth and has a lot of work but I still end up learning a lot from it. I wish it wasn't English, though--I don't really like it as a subject, I'd prefer a really good class in biology or history. I actually have a timed essay tomorrow in Lit...
I haven't watched Inuyasha, but if they're gearing a show towards a younger demographic that's there for the action, it would make sense to just drop everything and speak in a modern way that they'd understand. That doesn't fly very well with me because although I really enjoy action, I also like historical pieces that capture the time period, and some movies think it's okay to mix in modern stuff with an older era. Like the new Great Gatsby movie that came out this summer, it had hip hop music playing during party scenes, and that was not okay; I had been hoping for some smooth 20's jazz.
Frankly, I don't think translators should take the liberty of changing some original dialogue to suit what /they/ think it should be interpreted as. For instance, I read the official English translated Battle Royale manga and I heard that the translation absolutely butchered it, so it's nothing like what the original was. For instance, the English translation actually had the characters mention that The Program was videotaped and then televised, kind of like the Hunger Games, whereas in the original and in the book it's not like that. Also the translation is riddled with American pop culture references and slang terms which carry with them that feeling of adults trying to imitate teenager speak and failing miserably. So after I found thaat out, I don't feel like I really read the manga at all.
Subtle changes in translation don't seem like they could be avoided though; for example there's more than one way to say 'thank you'--you could say, 'my gratitude', 'I am thankful to you', 'You have my thanks'--which all mean similar things and are all valid translations of 'thank you', but each one has a different tone behind it and where one translator can think that 'my gratitude' carries the appropriate tone, another might disagree in favor of 'You have my thanks'.
I would frown upon that FMA novel. I feel like if a translator starts putting more 'me' into it, the work won't be the author's own work anymore. All of the text is there for a reason, and by changing it, any intent behind putting it there is lost.
Is there a special way you translate to make sure that nothing's lost in translation?
no subject
I haven't watched Inuyasha, but if they're gearing a show towards a younger demographic that's there for the action, it would make sense to just drop everything and speak in a modern way that they'd understand. That doesn't fly very well with me because although I really enjoy action, I also like historical pieces that capture the time period, and some movies think it's okay to mix in modern stuff with an older era. Like the new Great Gatsby movie that came out this summer, it had hip hop music playing during party scenes, and that was not okay; I had been hoping for some smooth 20's jazz.
Frankly, I don't think translators should take the liberty of changing some original dialogue to suit what /they/ think it should be interpreted as. For instance, I read the official English translated Battle Royale manga and I heard that the translation absolutely butchered it, so it's nothing like what the original was. For instance, the English translation actually had the characters mention that The Program was videotaped and then televised, kind of like the Hunger Games, whereas in the original and in the book it's not like that. Also the translation is riddled with American pop culture references and slang terms which carry with them that feeling of adults trying to imitate teenager speak and failing miserably. So after I found thaat out, I don't feel like I really read the manga at all.
Subtle changes in translation don't seem like they could be avoided though; for example there's more than one way to say 'thank you'--you could say, 'my gratitude', 'I am thankful to you', 'You have my thanks'--which all mean similar things and are all valid translations of 'thank you', but each one has a different tone behind it and where one translator can think that 'my gratitude' carries the appropriate tone, another might disagree in favor of 'You have my thanks'.
I would frown upon that FMA novel. I feel like if a translator starts putting more 'me' into it, the work won't be the author's own work anymore. All of the text is there for a reason, and by changing it, any intent behind putting it there is lost.
Is there a special way you translate to make sure that nothing's lost in translation?