Quote from Grumpy
Speaking as a translator....
I've actually seen a number of translations where someone messed it up pretty bad and the message being delivered was incorrect. Though, they aren't that common.
And then there are things with bad flow enough though the meaning is right. But how much "liberty" you want to apply not only falls on the translators but also QC. And I don't think there's ever a correct amount. When there's some play-on of language for example. You have the option to ditch the original completely and substitute your own or just make no sense. First option clearly makes things more enjoyable (if you're good at it), but then again, it's partially your doujinshi now....
There are often also times where bubbles are laid out so each bubble says one things which builds suspense and the "tada" at the end. But when you put it into English, you may have to flip the words to make sense due to different ordering. Then, you just have to go with bad flow... You just have no choice. Cuz the pics won't match anymore...
The worst of times in translation is when there's "mysteries". Where people speak on and on with the themes being shrouded largely in mystery and you have no clue what's going on. To add to the 'mystery' that the author is trying to give, they tend to use words where meanings are questionable. That is, it could mean 4 different things that all apply at the moment. Given the full context, you can translate properly, but you also can't go into the future to read the next 5 volumes.
So, I think there's a lot of "too bad" areas in translation. But clearly a lot of effort goes into them, especially series where you have two translators doing double check of each other.
I've actually seen a number of translations where someone messed it up pretty bad and the message being delivered was incorrect. Though, they aren't that common.
And then there are things with bad flow enough though the meaning is right. But how much "liberty" you want to apply not only falls on the translators but also QC. And I don't think there's ever a correct amount. When there's some play-on of language for example. You have the option to ditch the original completely and substitute your own or just make no sense. First option clearly makes things more enjoyable (if you're good at it), but then again, it's partially your doujinshi now....
There are often also times where bubbles are laid out so each bubble says one things which builds suspense and the "tada" at the end. But when you put it into English, you may have to flip the words to make sense due to different ordering. Then, you just have to go with bad flow... You just have no choice. Cuz the pics won't match anymore...
The worst of times in translation is when there's "mysteries". Where people speak on and on with the themes being shrouded largely in mystery and you have no clue what's going on. To add to the 'mystery' that the author is trying to give, they tend to use words where meanings are questionable. That is, it could mean 4 different things that all apply at the moment. Given the full context, you can translate properly, but you also can't go into the future to read the next 5 volumes.
So, I think there's a lot of "too bad" areas in translation. But clearly a lot of effort goes into them, especially series where you have two translators doing double check of each other.
As a reader, I'd say taking more liberties is better than not taking enough liberty. That's my main problem with most translations. They're far too literal. Keeping it close to the Japanese shouldn't be a major objective. As long is it's accurate, then it's fine.
It's better to take liberties and give a translation it's own flavor than to get stuck up on the "that's not what it originally said" mentality. Because in the end, the readers of the translation have not read the source material. A good translation tries to hide the fact that it's a translation and successfully appears to have been written in the language that's being translated to. For example, when translating to English, the resulting translation should seem like it was written in English. It's not a bad thing to make the translation "your own".
Anyways, that's just how I feel. Translations are way too literal, which is why I marked the "they're horrible" box.