What is a well known 'public secret' in the industry you work in that the majority of outsiders are unaware of? - eviltoast
  • merc@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Proper translation is really, really hard, especially for something like Anime.

    Not only do you have to get across the same message in a language that works completely differently, you have to time what’s being said so it matches the timing from the original language. And then there’s the fact that there are many cultural differences. If you just translate the words, sometimes the meaning doesn’t make sense to the new audience because what’s happening relies on a cultural understanding that’s different.

    Too much “creative liberty” is a problem, but it’s just as bad to get rid of it entirely. That’s why it’s so refreshing when someone makes the effort to do it right. Doing it right is really hard and takes a long time. It’s often a labor of love because doing it acceptably well is much faster and normally pays the same.

    • Hanabie@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Absolutely. The problem arises when the source material then gets translated from English, which already suffers from losing nuances.

      It’s also often debatable if something counts as liberty or is really a lazy shortcut, when it’s clear that something could have been done in better ways.