The Story of a Waitress and Her Customer - Ch. 17

[fazrulamin]

glad it's the usual ones

 

[CBFlap]

It's cute, but just why the use of "the customer " / "that customer" so often? Doesn't she know his name? Or is this another kind of roleplay Japanese enjoy, like calling Senpai all the time instead of the actual name?

Or she just wants to get close to a random customer, just by curiosity, that's why?

 

[Cmiitjinze]

@WhiteEkans She knows his name, although it seems like she refers to him as customer in her thoughts. It could just be habit; some workplaces put an emphasis on word choice, and that practice can even bleed into daily life. I still catch myself saying "guests" rather than "customers" from an old restaurant job. I could imagine a similar thing happens in Japan, especially since work ethic is such a strong thing there.

Maybe it also helps define who is who in the dynamic for readers who pop in partway through? I know quite a few series tend to lead in with narration that follows a pattern deliberately, and maybe it has to do with that. The type of series that you can jump into partway through and still reasonably be able to follow what's going on, and refers to characters as their occupation or status in the dynamic rather than the name.

 

[Tearsax]

Those beers must be freaking salty with all that sweat and tears.

 

[Tatherwood]

@CBFlap @Cmiitjinze This is something that's bothering me too... I mean, my Japanese isn't quite good enough, but something here doesn't track.

Yes, Japanese have words they use to talk to others, like "senpai". And some words that are kind of untranslatable, like "okusan" (meaning something along the lines of "Ms. Married Lady").
And certainly in the title they use the kanji for "kyaku", customer. But I'm not sure how common it really is to keep going "that customer this", "that customer that"...

In a worst-case scenario, it's acceptable in Japanese, but not in English. It just doesn't flow.

 

[Cmiitjinze]

@Tatherwood It's something I could see being altered in a localization, although I think it does work in a few spots where it comes off as more of a nickname-y kind of feeling. Perhaps the emphasis on using those titles "waitress" and "customer" implies something about these kinds of blossoming romances being regular, everyday things around us? Since it's a very light slice of life type of romance. It's a bit of a stretch, I guess, but I'd like to think that's the intention, as awkward as it is written in English.

 

[Tatherwood]

@Cmiitjinze That'd be fair, but then there's such a thing as context. In some cases it works, but in some you just HAVE to go for "him" or use his name...
I mean, one thing I've always liked about fansubs vs official translations is that we can all be more...shall we say, lenient. Both the translators and the readers. We can read "ojiisan" and 99% of us know what it means. It's a way to learn about the culture. In the official translation you CANNOT leave "ojiisan", period.
But even for fansubs, some things have a limit... If it sounds fucking awful you can't just leave it there...

 

[Rexxroselo]

Ok, I'll forgive last chapter's unexpected gay surprise since this one's very very wholesome.