Translation Roundtable at New York Anime Festival

[andy khouri]

When you're turning Japanese into English, there are certain things a translator needs to know, and translators and editors from Del Rey and TOKYOPOP shared their knowledge at the New York Anime Festival.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/ne...m.cgi?id=12550

[Tom]

Speaking as someone who owns and runs a translation agency, that was one distressing article to read. These people wouldn't get hired by any reputable agency based on some of the things they were saying. Specifically this:

He also said that TOKYOPOP tends to stay away from native Japanese translators, as the resulting translations often require further rewriting to edit out stiff constructions. "It's better to have someone who speaks perfect English and knows enough Japanese," the editor said.

They're going about it completely backwards. The Japanese should be translated by a native-speaker and then edited by a native English-speaker who understands Japanese. That's how you get the most accurate translation.

I just sent this:

Kirsh said that, often, Japanese people don't believe foreigners can learn their language--even when Kirsh is speaking to them in Japanese. "They're scared, thinking about how they're going to need to speak English, but they're not listening to what I'm actually saying--yes, I speak Japanese--so I have to say things over and over."

to one of my Japanese translators and she was appalled. "We're not that provincial. If he has to repeat himself it's probably because his pronunciation is terrible."

[Dom]

Speaking as a person who translates from French and Italian into English and back again, I agree with Tom 100%.

Always get a fluent speaker to do the grunt work first.