Dex-chan lover
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 2,629
This totally isn't a complaint, but hey, @blackr0se ?
Ya see, there's this thing, and it gets me every time; it is a small, honest (mis) translation that just yoinks me out of the story every time I read it.
The exact translation is
"Is that alright?"
And it's exactly what the words say; it's very precise, and it's not wrong in any grammatical sense.
But those words have a different meaning in English in the context in which they are used.
In the context they are used, the actual words in English would be any of the following:
"Really?"
"Seriously?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Are you serious?"
"For reals?"
"No shit?"
See, the problem is that when somebody says, in English, "is that alright?"
... they are suggesting that it is improper for them to be treated like a human being; that they should not be allowed to do the thing; that it is morally wrong to thank them.
"We decided to do a nice thing for you!"
"Is that alright?"
The above statement is WRONG, even if the translation is perfect.
"We decided to do a nice thing for you!"
"Seriously?"
This is how it works in English, because direct translation of a colloquialism does not make any damn sense.
(Of course, this is compounded by the fact that the same words in English are used to ask if it is acceptable, and if things are "good" with the other person... 🙄😭)
I'm on a crusade to fix this, obviously... 😅😅
But, really; please, somebody, pay attention to this.
Ya see, there's this thing, and it gets me every time; it is a small, honest (mis) translation that just yoinks me out of the story every time I read it.
The exact translation is
"Is that alright?"
And it's exactly what the words say; it's very precise, and it's not wrong in any grammatical sense.
But those words have a different meaning in English in the context in which they are used.
In the context they are used, the actual words in English would be any of the following:
"Really?"
"Seriously?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Are you serious?"
"For reals?"
"No shit?"
See, the problem is that when somebody says, in English, "is that alright?"
... they are suggesting that it is improper for them to be treated like a human being; that they should not be allowed to do the thing; that it is morally wrong to thank them.
"We decided to do a nice thing for you!"
"Is that alright?"
The above statement is WRONG, even if the translation is perfect.
"We decided to do a nice thing for you!"
"Seriously?"
This is how it works in English, because direct translation of a colloquialism does not make any damn sense.
(Of course, this is compounded by the fact that the same words in English are used to ask if it is acceptable, and if things are "good" with the other person... 🙄😭)
I'm on a crusade to fix this, obviously... 😅😅
But, really; please, somebody, pay attention to this.
Last edited:
