JP>EN groups that don't speak either natively, and groups that make up lines: Why?

[BuyVelomobiles]

Ever since I decided to adopt a doujin and fix it myself, I've been extra conscious of groups that clearly don't speak either language very well, and groups that failed to even run some lines past Google Translate, and instead resorted to making them up entirely. And I just don't get why either of those is happening. If nobody in your circle speaks English, then translate to a language one of you actually does speak. If you don't understand a line, or don't care to actually translate it, then don't do the chapter, or wait until you actually do get it to put it up.

Is there something I'm missing here? I know there's the obvious "Fuck you, you're not my dad. I do what I want", but I can't imagine any other reason you'd deliberately do a bad job here.

 

[Trobilobada]

Well, you could say that they're probably not very conscientious, that they have low standards, or that they're somehow kind of malicious, or even egodriven. But at the end of the day, the reality is very simple : they are retarded.

 

[ieatass69]

I can't imagine any other reason you'd deliberately do a bad job here.

Ego and too much free time
Anything is better than nothing
Thanks for the translation
Text is just complementary to the pictures, who needs accuracy

 

[Faralha]

Ever since I decided to adopt a doujin and fix it myself, I've been extra conscious of groups that clearly don't speak either language very well, and groups that failed to even run some lines past Google Translate, and instead resorted to making them up entirely. And I just don't get why either of those is happening. If nobody in your circle speaks English, then translate to a language one of you actually does speak. If you don't understand a line, or don't care to actually translate it, then don't do the chapter, or wait until you actually do get it to put it up.

Is there something I'm missing here? I know there's the obvious "Fuck you, you're not my dad. I do what I want", but I can't imagine any other reason you'd deliberately do a bad job here.

unpatient. dropped series by previous scanlator. many readers don't really care abt grammatical and shit. Reading bad eng tl is still better than reading raw jp manga.

 

[GipoScribantino]

Sometimes I change dialogues because they would lose purpose otherwise, e.g. jokes.

Reading bad eng tl is still better than reading raw jp manga.

It really ought not to be like that.

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

Sometimes I change dialogues because they would lose purpose otherwise, e.g. jokes.

I once ended up just tossing a joke and telling the audience it used to be a pun about soybeans. They seemed reasonably amused.

It really ought not to be like that.

It really isn't. You're just not reading the story if the TL isn't telling you what they're actually saying.

 

[GipoScribantino]

I once ended up just tossing a joke and telling the audience it used to be a pun about soybeans. They seemed reasonably amused.

Jokes are seldom translatable after all, which is why I tend to drop them and make my own if I'm able to.

It really isn't. You're just not reading the story if the TL isn't telling you what they're actually saying.

I think we are saying the same thing but I'm not sure.

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

I think we are saying the same thing but I'm not sure.

We're probably close. You're saying that reading bad translations shouldn't be better than reading good ones. I'm saying you didn't read the story in the first place if the TL didn't do his job right. Take Cheeky Gyaru Sister: The doujin I adopted. The first few translations butchered the dialogue so badly, you actually miss out on crucial characterization for FMC, where, for example, we find out she's actually been lured somewhere on chapter 2, and how she's actually taking some crude steps to avoid stepping into the apartment in chapter 4. The author is deliberately trying to paint her in a sympathetic light with the dialogue, but the translators, by incompetence and laziness respectively, drop the lines and add in something else.

Can you really say you've even read the actual story if you don't know what FMC is even doing, or what's happening to her?

 

[GipoScribantino]

You're saying that reading bad translations shouldn't be better than reading good ones.

Oh; no, the I person I was replying to said bad translations are better than reading the original, to which I replied bad translations shouldn't be better than anything at all, albeit not with this phrasing.

 

[abc003262202]

There are some lines you simply couldn't possibly directly translate without sounding awkward.

Many Japanese sentences and words can contain a lot of information while still being short. Not that English can't do the same, but there are times when this is just not possible.

Yeah I know I am off topic.

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

There are some lines you simply couldn't possibly directly translate without sounding awkward.

Many Japanese sentences and words can contain a lot of information while still being short. Not that English can't do the same, but there are times when this is just not possible.

Yeah I know I am off topic.

I rarely have this problem with anything longer than four kanji. The closest I come to having to change the line is when they do those ridiculous adjective dumps. You know the ones: Where there are two, three, four, or maybe even five lines of words dedicated entirely to describing the exact state and/or relationship of the subject before finally telling you who, or what. And even then, a TL note explaining the lost dialogue fixes everything.