relentlessflame |
2008-12-07 15:56 |
Quote:
Originally Posted by nave4pres
(Post 2092652)
I read the sample of the translation project, and it said I'm not sure if that's how it was like in the alpha patch, (I didn't really notice anything) but I just felt like crying when I read that. I hope they don't butcher the game by dubbing voices....
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Well, voice dubbing they won't do. Too costly, and it just isn't worth it at all.
And in terms of the use of "Brother" vs. "Nii-san"... most people in the fan-translation scene choose to stick with the Japanese naming and honorifics because: a) it's a preference, and b) you aren't worried about limiting your target audience (since it's free, you expect people to get used to it). I assume they figure here that they don't want to alienate outsiders who might not appreciate that there's Japanese left in the English game they purchase. I mean "Nii-san" isn't some magical word -- it's just another way of saying "brother" (granted, a very specific way). I personally think that it's very hard to re-create the same feel when you translate every honorific and metaphor, but it's a stylistic choice. There are some people who think that it's absolutely wrong and lazy to leave any Japanese words or sayings in a translation (every metaphor should be replaced with a local equivalent, and so on)... I guess it depends on your goal. If you're approaching this as "this work is fundamentally Japanese, and the best we can do is help English-speakers see it from a Japanese perspective", or "English-speakers shouldn't perceive this work as being fundamentally Japanese, because we want the reader to be able to personally relate to the story". Or, of course, "I don't care anything about the characters or the story, and am just translating the words in the script without regard for the audience"... but I like to believe that's the less likely of the options.
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