[Game] Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Translation Project

[cmos]

Speaking about editing. I was looking how the red text is presented in the original and I noticed something:

Spoiler for episode 5:

Here's all occurrences of the word 'corpse' in red in translation:

When anyone is referring to a corpse in red she uses the word 死体. But when Erika and Dlanor are referring to the "corpses" of cousins they use 遺体. And when Erika used 死体 (7) she just repeated the previous Cornelia's statement (4) which is referring to all genuine corpses in general. Now, I don't really know Japanese, but from what I've googled it seems that they are close but still a little different in terms of use. Maybe that is intended to further show that they were not really 'corpses-死体', but 'corpses-遺体', i.e. weren't dead. It also denies some theories based upon Erika being able to say 'corpses' in red, despite that they were alive. So I think 遺体 should be translated somehow differently, maybe 'bodies' or 'remains'.

[Leafsnail]

Just out of interest, how would you bias a translation towards, say, the Shkannon theory?

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Leafsnail

Just out of interest, how would you bias a translation towards, say, the Shkannon theory?

Like any other possible bias: omitting certain words or constructing some sentences in such way that there is no rebuttal to X or Y points, thus giving "more" grounds to a given theory.

Ever since Chrono posted his thought for a year, I noticed a lot of people jumped on the gun and were pretty much making such assumption for Episode 6.
Strangely enough, his theory about Nanjou's granddaughter became "WH theory". It is sort of ironic people claim they all have their own interpretation and theories, yet they basically use a tunnel vision on a group, while they don't even try to think about the opinion of the remaining members of that group.

[TTR]

I think cmos brings up a good point that we should bring up to Chrono. I personally favor the idea of itai being remains and shitai being corpses. That's my personal opinion though.

[chronotrig]

No, itai means a corpse just the same as shitai (both, annoyingly, look like completely different words without the kanji)

From what I've gathered, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, itai is more respectful, treating it as the body of a person, whereas shitai treats it more like an object. Other than that difference in tone, the words are more or less exactly the same. There's no possible way for an itai to be alive, if the use of the word is accurate.

[cardslash02]

Using "remains" would do just that, chronotrig. In English, it also means a person's dead body but is more respectful than "corpse". At least, I've always heard it have that connotation.

[TTR]

Yeah but I think his point is that they mean the same thing. i.e. in the Japanese there isn't that big of a possibility of shitai/itai being a wordplay of some sort.

"remains" has an extra level of metaphorical sense (i.e. you COULD argue that remains could be like the legacy of a person and NOT a body) that just doesn't exist in Japanese.

I take back what I said, chrono is right hahaha

[cmos]

Of course, I'm not saying that it means 'alive', it just adds a little variance (which can have or have not a significance) because the words used are not the same, though very close. Therefore maybe it'd be better to change it to some English synonym of the word 'corpse' either. Though it's up to you to decide its importance, of course.
Anyway, I think I'll keep it in mind if I'm ever going to use these reds.

[Renall]

If you were going to do any variance, only "body" vs. "corpse" would really work, and "body" has unfortunate connotations because it's actually used in a different context in some important text, so I'm assuming they don't want to confuse that overly much.

[June 1983]

I'm replaying Ep 5 with the latest Ep 6 patch -- one typo I've spotted:

Spoiler:

The first chapter, right after Kinzo's death, after Natsuhi has brought Krauss into her bedroom, the text reads "under the assumption that a woman had no business knowing". Should really be "knowledge" or possible "know-how". It's possible maybe you could use "knowing" in that sense but it sounds wrong to my ears.

[Graskell]

Originally Posted by June 1983

I'm replaying Ep 5 with the latest Ep 6 patch -- one typo I've spotted:

Spoiler:

The first chapter, right after Kinzo's death, after Natsuhi has brought Krauss into her bedroom, the text reads "under the assumption that a woman had no business knowing". Should really be "knowledge" or possible "know-how". It's possible maybe you could use "knowing" in that sense but it sounds wrong to my ears.

You read it wrong. Business does not in this case refers not to the type of knowledge but rather her right to know it. Have you never heard the phrase "It's none of your business"?

[chronotrig]

If any of you stopped by AX today, Hobibox was there at the Mangagamer booth, selling Japanese copies of Umineko and Higurashi along with:

Spoiler for size:

(Of course, they asked our permission first, and Mion and I helped write the fliers).


Also, on the translation front, everything in EP6 is translated except for the last quarter of chapter 18 (the final, largest, and trickiest chapter in the game) and the first tea party, which is tiny. Hopefully, the editing will proceed quickly this time, and we'll release an update patch to cover anything that slips by on the first round. The GameFAQs group has told us that they'll help edit before the patch is released, but the one member we've been in contact with so far is apparently out of town, and the rest haven't yet responded to my emails (so if any of you see this, let me know how to reach you).

Because of that, it's hard to get a good read on the editing progress, but the translation would probably fall on about 90-95%.

[Thunder Book]

That's pretty cool. Great to see the Witch Hunt getting advertisements like that.

[June 1983]

Originally Posted by Graskell

You read it wrong. Business does not in this case refers not to the type of knowledge but rather her right to know it. Have you never heard the phrase "It's none of your business"?

!!!!!!! Oh my god, you are right. Wow. I can't believe I did that!

[ameskitty]

Originally Posted by chronotrig

If any of you stopped by AX today, Hobibox was there at the Mangagamer booth, selling Japanese copies of Umineko and Higurashi along with:

Spoiler for size:

(Of course, they asked our permission first, and Mion and I helped write the fliers).

Heh, that's pretty awesome. Too bad they'd never make it to a quieter con like the one I go to : P.

I wonder how many they sold?

[Renall]

Were they selling ep6 as well, or just 5?

[theplane2]

Originally Posted by chronotrig

If any of you stopped by AX today, Hobibox was there at the Mangagamer booth, selling Japanese copies of Umineko and Higurashi along with:

Spoiler for size:

(Of course, they asked our permission first, and Mion and I helped write the fliers).


Also, on the translation front, everything in EP6 is translated except for the last quarter of chapter 18 (the final, largest, and trickiest chapter in the game) and the first tea party, which is tiny. Hopefully, the editing will proceed quickly this time, and we'll release an update patch to cover anything that slips by on the first round. The GameFAQs group has told us that they'll help edit before the patch is released, but the one member we've been in contact with so far is apparently out of town, and the rest haven't yet responded to my emails (so if any of you see this, let me know how to reach you).

Because of that, it's hard to get a good read on the editing progress, but the translation would probably fall on about 90-95%.

+ Respect points for MG, I know a lot of people were ticked off about the apparently QUALITY translation of Higurashi/Kai, but they seem like really nice people. Was this in an 18+ only section of the con or whatever, or just a normal booth (sorry, I'm not well-versed in these sorts of things, I've only been to two cons and they were both small =P)?
Also glad to hear about the translation progress! Hope the editing goes smoothly.

EDIT: @Renall - Um, isn't that the cover to EP6 in the photo?

[TTR]

Anyone know if they were selling EP4? I'm going to have some people I know check it out to see, I hope the prices aren't to bad! I'm might see if I can get a friend to buy it for me and I'll pay them later...

[Renall]

Oh, so it is. I got confused because of the long-haired Beatrice and forgot to even notice the pairings.

EDIT: Well then I hope people don't buy it expecting the patch to be quite finished!

[lesengirz]

Originally Posted by chronotrig

If any of you stopped by AX today, Hobibox was there at the Mangagamer booth, selling Japanese copies of Umineko and Higurashi along with:

Spoiler for size:

(Of course, they asked our permission first, and Mion and I helped write the fliers).


Also, on the translation front, everything in EP6 is translated except for the last quarter of chapter 18 (the final, largest, and trickiest chapter in the game) and the first tea party, which is tiny. Hopefully, the editing will proceed quickly this time, and we'll release an update patch to cover anything that slips by on the first round. The GameFAQs group has told us that they'll help edit before the patch is released, but the one member we've been in contact with so far is apparently out of town, and the rest haven't yet responded to my emails (so if any of you see this, let me know how to reach you).

Because of that, it's hard to get a good read on the editing progress, but the translation would probably fall on about 90-95%.

Thanks for the update, I'll try not to get too hyped up. Good luck