Quote:
Originally Posted by jfs
I don't live in an English-speaking country. English is my second language.
I had never heard of those terms before watching anime fansubs, and they still confuse/annoy me.
Just don't assume your viewers are native English-speakers who live in the US, consider whether your viewers will actually understand the terms you're using.
Also, in the same vein, while second year of middle school is technically the 8th year of school, it seems odd to call it 8th grade when it really isn't. This is more important if transition from lower school to middle school plays a role in the story. (Even just something as simple as the story starting with the protagonist having graduated from lower school and entering middle school, it could seem odd that everyone is in "7th grade" but at the same time have their first day at that school.)
Suggested terms: 1st middle, 2nd middle, 3rd middle
Translators and editors should in general also just consider whether their target audience is an elitist group of long-time viewers, or a more general group, and use language based on that. Don't assume your viewers understand, or will care to learn, random Japanese words or family relation intricacies.
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That was the point. That's why I pointed out that the English terms being used were incorrect when used in most anime series. The proper and very non-elitist term for them are First Year, Second Year, and Third Year.
You'll notice that a student in anime will most often introduce him/herself as "Insert name here, such and such school, First, Second or Third Year." Or they'll name which classroom they are in. Have you noticed that the rooms are labeled for their year and then a alphabetic designation? i.e. 1-A, 2-B, 3-A, etc...
On your middle school portion, the Japanese do the same thing as they do in high school. First Year, Second Year, Third Year. Very generic and very
non-elitist(especially in translation). They usually add middle school to the end of that as well.
On a side note - When I was in my 8th year in school, they actually did call it
8th Grade. And when referring to any other grade, elementary or higher, they would use the number designation most of the time. Only when I entered high school is when we started using name designations like Sophomore, Junior, Senior and such.
So for you, as a English as a second language person, learning this information should actually be good. The old, you learn something new everyday adage.