09.27.06
WoW Patch 1.12.1
Other half was looking at this MetalGearSolid4 video, and I happened to peep over his shoulder. I attribute this perfectionist streak in me to my race, but um, couldn’t they have translated it a bit better? About half way through, the words: “No Time for Heroes” flashes by. Trust me, in Japanese, it says “No time left for the Hero”; “No Place in Time” (as confusing as that sounds) should say “No Time to Be”; “No Time to Die” should become “No Reason to Die”; “No War for Snake” to “It’s not Snake’s War” (I know my way would erode the poetic license of the previous translators, but seriously, doesn’t make sense otherwise!); “Some Legends Must Die” to “Legends, sooner or later, ends”. I honestly think my way makes things a bit clearer for non-Japanese speaking folks.
A small-ish patch for WoW today, except I can’t find the patch notes on their site yet. It’s mainly bug fixes to do with enchants, certain armour sets, and World PVP. I closed the damn window before pasting – sorry.
Alex said,
September 27, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Your translations almost imply that the next game will be the last, or the last with Snake in as the hero, whereas the official translation is a bit more ambiguous.
Djoaniel said,
August 1, 2007 at 4:15 am
if you’re saying that you’re better than the japanese in every way, then stop ranting.
honestly, everything made sense. dont take things you read literally, especially if it’s a thick glasses japanese guy named kojima, its bound to be metaphorical. i dont speak japanese but what he said made perfect sense to me.
“No time to die” it means snake dont have time to be dead. He’s rapidly degenerating and Liquid must be stopped.
“No war for Snake” means he’s too old to be doing “war” things. Also, he’s going to war, but he’s not really the one who’s going to war.
“No place in time” means that he’s too old to be in that situation, he got no place in that timeline.
maybe you got too much WoW ing going on. video games doesnt need epic dictionaries or grammar corrections. at least the japanese ones.
yuka said,
August 1, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Djoaniel, as you so obviously don’t speak or understand even a bit of Japanese, you should refrain from making such comments. Actually, you can make them, just don’t expect me to listen. What the ad said may have made sense, but it was still ambiguous. Trust me, the original and the translated bits were not the same… as you assumed.
Translation’s a hard enough job without some random people mucking it about. And erm… I have never claimed that I’m better than the Japanese in every way. That’d be an oxymoron. I am one, but their translation, and their way of learning English seems to me to be a bit on the stunted side.
By the way, I’ve had quite a few people asking me for some game translations. From Japanese to English, as it were. If your claims that ‘video games doesnt need epic dictionaries or grammar corrections. at least the japanese ones’ is true, please feel free to tell those people that. I’m sure you’ll be able to ‘translate’ those things in my stead?
djoaniel said,
August 18, 2007 at 11:11 am
apparently, even without translation, some things are understood bluntly.
inconsistency has always been a subject matter, from the “thought” to the “literal”, cultural barrier furthers the gap if not increasing the disarray caused by foreign languages.
some things are “lost” in translation. some can be gained back with knowledge of a foreign culture. maybe i’m just exposed to a lot.
i’ve work for a japan-based company, my direct art superior is japanese, barely speaks english, and i barely understand japanese, we use a translator program(man its horrible) to understand each other or i force broken english to make him understand events that happened “before time” when he ask me to “can making” . fortunately, after 2 years i learned about taking things in “context” and in “literal”
i think the translation for the video not only sounded “bad-ass” but is also appropriate.
we owe inconsistencies a lot, without them, roses may be #ff0000, and violets may be blue, but all your base wont belong to anyone.
for the record, just because i made a point doesnt mean i provide a “solution” in your stead. sure you can continue to translate things “literally”, well at least know your target audience. to the culturally aware, maybe you can get away with it, but to the n00blars, that’s gonna be a different story.
good luck with the game translation. yes, some people cant wait for ports.