Which anime are you currently watching?

[Elin]

No senseless honorifics I hope ?

Actually, yes. :/ Group's choice, not mine. Not a big fan of honorifics, but meeeeeh. When you're working as a team, you compromise.

[Slacker Magician]

Actually, yes. :/ Group's choice, not mine. Not a big fan of honorifics, but meeeeeh. When you're working as a team, you compromise.

My brain hurts every time I see a -san subtitled. What show were you subbing? Unless I'm mistaken, san is for people you don't know or people you don't address more specifically?

[Gare]

My brain hurts every time I see a -san subtitled. What show were you subbing? Unless I'm mistaken, san is for people you don't know or people you don't address more specifically?

God, mine tends to hurt, too. Even worse when they refuse to translate certain words in a sentence because... I dunno, why the fuck to they do that? Is the Japanese language so sacred that that you cannot possibly write "demon" instead of "akuma" in a bloody sentence, or "captain" instead of "taichou"? Those are mostly examples from the shitty Claymore translation I was exposed to recently.

Also, you might want to give this and its other parts a watch if you have some time. It's worth watching for comedy purposes alone, I think you'd enjoy it.

[Slacker Magician]

God, mine tends to hurt, too. Even worse when they refuse to translate certain words in a sentence because... I dunno, why the fuck to they do that? Is the Japanese language so sacred that that you cannot possibly write "demon" instead of "akuma" in a bloody sentence, or "captain" instead of "taichou"? Those are mostly examples from the shitty Claymore translation I was exposed to recently.

Also, you might want to give this and its other parts a watch if you have some time. It's worth watching for comedy purposes alone, I think you'd enjoy it.

NEVER TRANSLATE !

What's the name of the show? I'm at home at the moment, I can't exactly watch that .

[Gare]

It's not a show, it's just a Youtube video done by a professional translator about why some of these fansubs fail so hard. Called "Anime Fansub Documentary", it's 5 parts in total IIRC.

[Slacker Magician]

It's not a show, it's just a Youtube video done by a professional translator about why some of these fansubs fail so hard. Called "Anime Fansub Documentary", it's 5 parts in total IIRC.

I'll be sure to download it next week .

A great mystery of the internet: Why people think they can do a translation superior to a pro.

[Colamisu]

My brain hurts every time I see a -san subtitled. What show were you subbing? Unless I'm mistaken, san is for people you don't know or people you don't address more specifically?

Eh, it doesn't bother me that much, really.

Also, que? I've never seen a "san" added when it wasn't included in the JP dub. And it's not just people you don't know or don't "address more specifically" (whatever that means). It's a matter of respect. I.e. why you call your friend's parents Mr. Dougherty and Mrs. Dougherty rather than Phil and Janet. It doesn't matter if you're over there 7 days a week and they take you to all their family functions.

What I dislike more is when they take an honorific and bastardize it into some English slang. First example that comes to mind: episode 6 of HotD, 13:45ish, gg subtitles. Shizuka says "Kohta-chan!" to which he replies "-chan?" gg translated that as "Kohta cutie!" Now, alright, I suppose that's technically an acceptable translation, and they couldn't really leave it off as they usually do when "chan?" was all Kohta said in reply, but still. If it doesn't work without the honorific, just leave it as is.

[Slacker Magician]

Eh, it doesn't bother me that much, really.

Also, que? I've never seen a "san" added when it wasn't included in the JP dub. And it's not just people you don't know or don't "address more specifically" (whatever that means). It's a matter of respect. I.e. why you call your friend's parents Mr. Dougherty and Mrs. Dougherty rather than Phil and Janet. It doesn't matter if you're over there 7 days a week and they take you to all their family functions.

What I dislike more is when they take an honorific and bastardize it into some English slang. First example that comes to mind: episode 6 of HotD, 13:45ish, gg subtitles. Shizuka says "Kohta-chan!" to which he replies "-chan?" gg translated that as "Kohta cutie!" Now, alright, I suppose that's technically an acceptable translation, and they couldn't really leave it off as they usually do when "chan?" was all Kohta said in reply, but still. If it doesn't work without the honorific, just leave it as is.

It's not like it would be proper to actually translate it to an appropriate word or anything . What sub group actually translates honorifics, I've never seen it done?

[Colamisu]

It's not like it would be proper to actually translate it to an appropriate word or anything . What sub group actually translates honorifics, I've never seen it done?

It wouldn't be proper. There isn't really a proper approximation in most cases. It's like Naruto's English dub. They translated "dattebayo" which is basically nonsense to "Believe it!"

You've seen it before, you just didn't realize it. Almost any time they give someone a title (ie. Mr., Mrs., Lord, Prof., Dr., etc.) it's a translation of an honorific.

[Slacker Magician]

It wouldn't be proper. There isn't really a proper approximation in most cases. It's like Naruto's English dub. They translated "dattebayo" which is basically nonsense to "Believe it!"

You've seen it before, you just didn't realize it. Almost any time they give someone a title (ie. Mr., Mrs., Lord, Prof., Dr., etc.) it's a translation of an honorific.

That's all an honorific is. Leaving a word untranslated is bad form. When the titles are as broad as they are in Japan, they can only choose a word that seems fitting.

Sorry if I've been coming off rude; I woke up extremely early today and the heat didn't help my mood.

[Gare]

Eh, it doesn't bother me that much, really.

Also, que? I've never seen a "san" added when it wasn't included in the JP dub.

I doubt that's what he meant. Even if the character says -san, it has no place in the subtitles IMO, since such a honorific doesn't exist in the English language, and there are ways to translate it. As for HOTD - honestly, I'd take "cutie" over "-chan"; it doesn't sound bastardized to me (although I'm not a native speaker, as you know), and at least they tried. In the English dub, she says "darling", and that's also totally fine by me. If you're doing an Engilsh translation, you're doing it for an English-speaking audience - you don't assume that your audience knows about Japanese honorifics. I'd go into more details, but the video I posted above pretty much does it in my stead.

[Colamisu]

That's all an honorific is. Leaving a word untranslated is bad form. When the titles are as broad as they are in Japan, they can only choose a word that seems fitting.

Sorry if I've been coming off rude; I woke up extremely early today and the heat didn't help my mood.

It's not really the same as a title in English, since they're used with everyone. And leaving it untranslated is what most people would prefer, especially when you look at the wide variety of places they're used. For example, "tou-san" is "father." The "tou" is the only part that means "father," the "san" is just an honorific. But you don't see people translating it as "Mr. Father." The "san" is untranslated because there's not a really proper or necessary approximation in English.

[Slacker Magician]

I doubt that's what he meant. Even if the character says -san, it has no place in the subtitles IMO, since such a honorific doesn't exist in the English language, and there are ways to translate it. As for HOTD - honestly, I'd take "cutie" over "-chan"; it doesn't sound bastardized to me (although I'm not a native speaker, as you know), and at least they tried. In the English dub, she says "darling", and that's also totally fine by me. If you're doing an Engilsh translation, you're doing it for an English-speaking audience - you don't assume that your audience knows about Japanese honorifics. I'd go into more details, but the video I posted above pretty much does it in my stead.

Watch a Chinese movie dubbed in English and you'll find a whole new appreciation for the effort put into anime dubs.
Not that I have a problem with dubs for Chinese movies, I'll take what I can get.

It's not really the same as a title in English, since they're used with everyone. And leaving it untranslated is what most people would prefer, especially when you look at the wide variety of places they're used. For example, "tou-san" is "father." The "tou" is the only part that means "father," the "san" is just an honorific. But you don't see people translating it as "Mr. Father." The "san" is untranslated because there's not a really proper or necessary approximation in English.

Removing it altogether is a translation of sorts. There is no need to include something that doesn't suit a purpose.

[Colamisu]

I doubt that's what he meant. Even if the character says -san, it has no place in the subtitles IMO, since such a honorific doesn't exist in the English language, and there are ways to translate it. As for HOTD - honestly, I'd take "cutie" over "-chan"; it doesn't sound bastardized to me (although I'm not a native speaker, as you know), and at least they tried. In the English dub, she says "darling", and that's also totally fine by me. If you're doing an Engilsh translation, you're doing it for an English-speaking audience - you don't assume that your audience knows about Japanese honorifics. I'd go into more details, but the video I posted above pretty much does it in my stead.

Wow, they actually put out an English dub? I wasn't aware of that, but it's not surprising at all. Was it actually decently done?

Also, meh. The fact that some people want them translated, some want them left out, and some want them left alone is the reason why there are so many sub groups out there. If you want it a specific way, it's pretty simple to pick out a sub group that does it that way, especially since almost everything is subbed by several groups simultaneously. Like I said before, I don't care enough that I'll do that, but it does irk me when they just kind of pick an approximation for the idea it's trying to convey. You'll eventually pick up through context clues what the honorifics try to convey anyways, so if you've left them out up to that point but it's unavoidable, just put the honorific.

[Gare]

Wow, they actually put out an English dub? I wasn't aware of that, but it's not surprising at all. Was it actually decently done?

Also, meh. The fact that some people want them translated, some want them left out, and some want them left alone is the reason why there are so many sub groups out there. If you want it a specific way, it's pretty simple to pick out a sub group that does it that way, especially since almost everything is subbed by several groups simultaneously. Like I said before, I don't care enough that I'll do that, but it does irk me when they just kind of pick an approximation for the idea it's trying to convey. You'll eventually pick up through context clues what the honorifics try to convey anyways, so if you've left them out up to that point but it's unavoidable, just put the honorific.

Not sure. I only watched that one scene on Youtube to see how they translated that part. I don't really watch dubbed anime so I have nothing to compare it to in order to tell whether or not it's well-done.