I hate people who translate without thinking
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 17:26
... because it leads to some really misleading translations. The ones that are usually posted on engrish.com are so bad that they cause little harm, because it's obvious that no one should take them seriously.
The problem comes when the translation is good enough to pass a simple logic test, but actually says something different than what the original said. Today I am translating a powerpoint presentation about a company that makes videogames for mobile phones. Most of their games are published in English too, so they have English names already and I cannot change them.
One of them is a semi-erotic video game that is supposed to provide dating tips for successful businessmen. The word in Japanese is "Mote" (pronounced moh-tay", which is an adjective generally applied to someone who is popular with the opposite sex. The Japanese title, if I romanize it without translating is Dekiru Otoko no Mote Raifu, which literally translates to A Successful Man's Popular Life, or more eloquently, something like How A Successful Businessman can Become a Ladies Man ... but no. The company ALREADY has an English title that they cannot change:
Dekiru Otoko no Motel Life, which is something like How to Live in a Motel as a Successful Businessman. If you discount the English-Japanese juxtaposition,you're left with the only phrase an English speaker can understand as "Motel Life". Grats on making people think the videogame is about business travel on a budget.
The problem comes when the translation is good enough to pass a simple logic test, but actually says something different than what the original said. Today I am translating a powerpoint presentation about a company that makes videogames for mobile phones. Most of their games are published in English too, so they have English names already and I cannot change them.
One of them is a semi-erotic video game that is supposed to provide dating tips for successful businessmen. The word in Japanese is "Mote" (pronounced moh-tay", which is an adjective generally applied to someone who is popular with the opposite sex. The Japanese title, if I romanize it without translating is Dekiru Otoko no Mote Raifu, which literally translates to A Successful Man's Popular Life, or more eloquently, something like How A Successful Businessman can Become a Ladies Man ... but no. The company ALREADY has an English title that they cannot change:
Dekiru Otoko no Motel Life, which is something like How to Live in a Motel as a Successful Businessman. If you discount the English-Japanese juxtaposition,you're left with the only phrase an English speaker can understand as "Motel Life". Grats on making people think the videogame is about business travel on a budget.