So Many Chinese Stories Poorly Translated

[RedMuffin]

Other people: *Complains about trans...(lations)*
Corty: Let's eradicate them (the stories).

lol jk

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Maybe they aren't translated poorly, but written poorly and translated perfectly? I have to think that is the case with some of the audionovels my wife listens to...
There is one where the "in that very moment" "just at that second" comments are so plentiful it became a punchline.

 

[Lonely_Melons]

If you really like chiggaist stories then just get an mtl and do some minor changes(just some pronoun correction and some change of words) and then read it and there ya go?

 

[3guanoff]

I feel that many of those translators are not native speakers of English, possess a poor command of the English language, and are unaware that each translation is an interpretation of the original.
If you understand both the target and the original language poorly, your translation will at best end up funny.

Chinese culture and Western culture are still very different. Thus, if you want to make a good translation, you need to be creative, especially if you are translating historical novels.
MTL is always overly literal. Rather than translating the words, you need to transfer the meaning from one language to another. Which combination of English sentences will convey the message of the original Chinese paragraph?

People tend to do this when translating spoken language, imagine you are on a trip with a native English speaker and another friend who only speaks OtherLanguage. Try translating the following paragraph into your native/best foreign language:
"Mate, that was sick! You wiped the floor with those meatheads. Jeez, they shoulda taken a chill pill earlier. Bet if you meet them in the future, they'll move so fast you'll be parting the sea like Moses! Anyway, wanna go grab that Kentucky Fried Chicken now?"

You understand that this means:
"<Friendly form of address>, I enjoyed what happened/what just happened was impressive! You outmatched your <derogative> opponents. <exasperation>, they should have calmed down earlier. Should you meet them again, they will take great care to move out of your way. Moving on, can we get that <popular brand of Chicken-focused fast food> now?"
And translate it so that your friend gets the meaning.

Shoot me your translations! I'm curious.

 

[beast_regards]

"Mate, that was sick! You wiped the floor with those meatheads. Jeez, they shoulda taken a chill pill earlier. Bet if you meet them in the future, they'll move so fast you'll be parting the sea like Moses! Anyway, wanna go grab that Kentucky Fried Chicken now?"

This is either slang or idioms, and such things never translate well, to any language.

They are never mutually understandable.

I am not translating, though. Far too many vulgarisms if I tried to translate it, with far too many f-words and w-words, so I am not.

At least we could agree on what KFC is...

 

[3guanoff]

This is either slang or idioms, and such things never translate well, to any language.

They are never mutually understandable.

I am not translating, though. Far too many vulgarisms if I tried to translate it, with far too many f-words and w-words, so I am not.

At least we could agree on what KFC is...

I respectfully disagree. You can just translate the meaning. That's why I included the second half. You don't need to match the idioms or slang. You just need the reader, or in this scenario, your friend, to understand.

You can use your own slang to make it sound as formal or informal as the original. Of course, it will be different, but a good translation always is. Anything else is a scholarly work with hundreds of footnotes.

 

[beast_regards]

I respectfully disagree. You can just translate the meaning. That's why I included the second half. You don't need to match the idioms or slang. You just need the reader, or in this scenario, your friend, to understand.

You can use your own slang to make it sound as formal or informal as the original. Of course, it will be different, but a good translation always is. Anything else is a scholarly work with hundreds of footnotes.

You should, otherwise it would sound at least absurd to the point it is better to leave out the bits to keep the meaning.

I suppose it is what the most translation done by people does. They will shrug and decide it is not worth explaining.

The machines translate word to word instead.

 

[3guanoff]

You should, otherwise it would sound at least absurd to the point it is better to leave out the bits to keep the meaning.

I suppose it is what the most translation done by people does. They will shrug and decide it is not worth explaining.

The machines translate word to word instead.

Yes, you should only explain if it is necessary. Is it necessary for your friend to know the full story of the phrase "take a chill pill"? He might be interested in learning about it later while you are eating fried chicken, but right at that time he doesn't need to know.
That's what translator's notes are for, fun facts that readers might find interesting.

Likewise, unless Moses makes frequent appearances in your life (the story), your friend (the reader) does not need to know about him.
But maybe you don't translate some concepts, like "mate" and add to the foreign feel of the translation. Just explaining the meaning once should be enough. That's why some translators choose not to translate words like "shifu" and why they absolutely must not translate "Dao" or "Qi".

 

[Alski]

To me in the past year or two the amount of stories in Scribblehub has increasingly been of these Chinese translations. This a bit of a problem considering I see no attribution and many of them beg for patron money. What makes this even worse is that most seem machine translated so you get stories where even the title is in a poorly translated state. These stolen and poorly translated stories should be removed from scribblehub.

When i stumble across them i usually ive them a 1 star rating and report them (with linked evidence), even if they dont get delete they fall in to obscurity if you catch them early enough.

 

[Golden_Hyde]

Nah, I'm a chill guy?
Idc what you gays blabber about me. Btw, absolute denial was no chinese shit! It was my shit that didn't turn out in a great shape and I think this thread somehow canceled my permission to post a thread....

Man, I had so many jokes to share?

I swear dude absolute denial isn't a translation??????

Hero quest isn't a translation too! Only one skill point and supreme wayseeker was translated?

If you can find other 2 titles in any site then ping me, sting me, or do whatever you want?

Even going on a site that doesn't let you copy, ss paragraph by paragraph of a chapter, then use lens to copy and then wait for free gpt 4 to get a good chapter enhance and than post it on scribblehub, is not very easy.

Respect MTLers?

you're still in the wrong place for that. If you want, you should build your own blog using WordPress or Wix and the post it there, before moving to SH's sister site, Novel Updates.

No hate against MTL peeps, just know your place.