Quote:
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Originally Posted by Quarkboy
sorry for the double post, but I thought I'd defend three, to a point:
It IS important to keep the audience in mind when translating, specifically any predudices they might have, so that you don't add unintended meaning to what's being said. Again, I site an example:
A literal translation was something like "I like chocolate so much I hope I am reborn as a chocolate!"
The notion of reincarnation is prevalent and common in eastern culture, but in western culture (the primary audience for english fansubs) it is often viewed as somewhat odd, and that statement probably would seem like a really dumb thing to say (even more so than to a japanese person).
I chose to translate it as: "I like chocolate so much I hope that heaven is made of chocolate!"
Completely nonliteral, but I feel it conveys the intended meaning (that she really really really loves chocolate) to the intended audience (namely, westerners) better than the literal translation.
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This is a perfect example of what I don't like!
I find that the original metaphor to be completely comprehensible. Everyone who saw "I like chocolate so much I hope I am reborn as a chocolate!" would understand it and probably get a chuckle out of it. It is just as clear and comprehensible as what you changed it to since everyone knows what reincarnation is even if they don't believe in it. I also like that it adds the flavor of the culture from which it came. (If I wanted to see a completely American viewpoint I'd watch the Cartoon Network.) By changing it, you removed all cultural context
and made the joke much less amusing.
Thank you for explaining so clearly why I chose option 1.