[LANGRAGE]Context in Japanese vs. English

[Philondra]

I'm going to go absolutely nuts if I have to attempt to explain to a Japanese person one more time why a particular sentence cannot use "a" or "an" and instead should use "the" (or vice versa).

For those who do not know, the following are common issues that come up when translating from Japanese to English:

1.) Japanese has no defininte or indefinite articles (a/an, the)
2.) With very few exceptions, Japanese has no plurals
3.) Japanese has no capitalization
4.) Japanese has a word that loosely translates as "etc", except that it is used *much* more often than the English version.

Of these, the first and fourth are the hardest, because inevitably some asshole of a customer will ask to change things to something that reads horribly and makes a native speaker think that "those shifty Japs" are trying to hide something, when it's really a linguistic error that needs to be changed for the English version. I got a job today checking the English of one of our clients' in-house translation jobs, and here is the title of the document:

"Policy concerning sale, etc. of stocks by the company employee, etc."

First off, a great big "Fuck you," Ms. Native Japanese translator. Grats on putting so many goddamn "etcs." into the title that it now essentially means nothing.

That, and thank you too for deciding that your company only has one employee. Maybe if your translation didn't suck my balls you would have two or more.

*tears hair out*

[Lellybaby]

Phil is this mainly due to the translators, 'translating word from word' and not looking at the sentence as a whole?

I remember when i use to learn french that i would go through each word and then when i had the lot in English, I would have to re-evaluate the whole sentence in order for it to make sense.

[Evilelmo]

but shouldn't translaters have a ready grasp of the english language?

if they wanted everything translated word for word they could just use a computer program, internet or dictionary!


besides corporate documents aren't school projects!

[Lellybaby]

well from the ready increase in Phil's blood pressure over the time i've known him ^^ i'd expect that some people don't have a good grasp of English.

Also from a foreigns point of view the English languaged is 'fucked up'. One of the hardest to learn i've been told because of all our irregularities.

[Philondra]

Generally, it actually goes by the customer.

Japanese companies tend not to care if the English is readable. They want to be able to look at the English and be able to tell that it's faithful to the Japanese.
Western companies tend to place a huge emphasis on readable English, even if it means sacrificing adherance to the original text.

Here's where conflicts occurr:

1.) My company employs ~98% native Japanese translators to do J-->E translation. This means that the resulting English is almost always stilted.
2.) If I get a request to "brush up" a document, the translation coordinator almost invariably REMOVES all my styling corrections because "well, the Japanese version used quotation marks, so we have to use them in English" or something.

Number 2, obviously, results in in sentences like:

ABC company produces "safe" pesticide that can be used just before harvest.
(Yeah.... it's so "safe" its gives your customers cancer.)

Fortunately, I can usually dispel problems related to #2 by telling said Japanese person, "Well, in English this word is capitalized, so shouldn't we increase the font for that kanji character?" Which, of course, they always find ridiculous and look at me like I'm utterly insane. I use that lull in the conversation to comment that adding extraneous quotation marks is just as stupid-looking to me, so please don't do it.

So in case you were wondering if I was this curmudgeon-y at work, the answer is: yes, to the extent that I can get away with.

[Cartollomew]

I hear you Phil.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Btw - you seen any of the Canadian series Corner Gas?

[Philondra]

...or like this catch-copy phrase on a pamphlet for a solar cell-producing company:

"We want to expand your pleasure with our innovative technologies looking to the future of this planet."

NEW AND IMPROVED solar cells -- ribbed for her pleasure.

/cry
/wrists
/bleed

[Evilelmo]

...or like this catch-copy phrase on a pamphlet for a solar cell-producing company:

"We want to expand your pleasure with our innovative technologies looking to the future of this planet."

NEW AND IMPROVED solar cells -- ribbed for her pleasure.

or his!

[Xact]

or his!

You obviously don't understand the concept of ribbed condoms....

[Johnnyrico]

or his!

You obviously don't understand the concept of ribbed condoms....

pretty sure she knows how a vagina works

[Cartollomew]

pretty sure she knows how a vagina works

That makes one of us...

[Chappy]

LMAO

u know ribed condoms were made for the gay community...

ribbed = better traction in the mud
that is all

[Philondra]

@Native Japanese spakers translating Japanese to English:

No matter how horribly defigured a piece of metal tubing is, it is NEVER ok to refer to it as a "crack pipe".

[Cartollomew]

@Native Japanese spakers translating Japanese to English:

No matter how horribly defigured a piece of metal tubing is, it is NEVER ok to refer to it as a "crack pipe".

lawl.

[Takius]

bwhahaha ect.

I always have a peek ect, at this site at work ect. Check it out Phil....ect.

http://engrishfunny.com/