 |
 |
feeling: grumbly
listening to: Arashi - Kotoba Yori mo Taisetsu na Mono (Something More Important Than Words)
Ever since I started my translations blog, I entertained the goal of one day moving all the translations I put there to a real website and starting my own translations database. One of my biggest inspirations, and one of my favorite places to look for rare translations or even to look for help on ones that I was stuck on, was Centigrade-J. They've translated so many songs that most people would never even think of, and they even fansubbed some popular videos like Gackt's appearances on Utaban. I learned so much from the translations there and even referred to them at times for projects of my own that weren't lyrical in nature. I still hope to create a site similar to it someday and host all my translations there, and take requests from people so that a much larger variety of English J-music lyrics will be available to the world.
Then, as some people know, America's first ever J-rock magazine, Purple Sky, came into existence. For some time while it was still very new I had the idea in my head that I should ask them if they had any need for another hired translator. Honestly, while I do plan to seek a career that will utilize my Japanese, nothing would be as enjoyable to me as translating for just such a magazine. After being BLOOD's translator for almost 3 years I've become quite familiar with the Japanese music world and its language; I guess you could say it's my specialty. As opposed to, say... electrical wiring language or technical automotive industry language. Other people have suggested that I translate for a manga or anime company in the states, but I'm not really into that stuff as much as I once was. But a J-rock magazine like Purple Sky would be the closest thing I could imagine to a dream job. The timing was perfect too, as I'm going to be in desperate need of employment within the next couple months and, honestly, probably should have secured something months ago. I don't know why I didn't ask sooner if Purple Sky wanted another translator. Probably because I knew the odds were high that I'd have to move to their base in New York. But maybe not?
Anyway. Then just last night, I found out that a couple of the guys who alreay work for Purple Sky just happen to the the very same guys who created and maintain the Centigrade-J website. So much for the one thing I've ever encountered that I'd consider calling a dream job. :P
I might still ask eventually, I guess. Apparently the Centigrade-J guys are so swamped with Purple Sky work that they've been forced to neglect the site a bit this year. Maybe they wouldn't mind having someone to take some of the load off their shoulders. I wouldn't mind commission pay for just an interview or two every month. But again, I don't know the legal workings behind payrolls and all that junk, so I don't know if I could get away with working for them without moving to NY...
Oh well. I guess after the first of the year I'll go put in an application at YSK like everyone says I should. Will be the first time in my adult life that I've ever done what everyone says I should. If I'd done that during college I never would've even become interested in Japanese language and culture, and would probably have no skills now other than drawing or maybe writing. What a disaster that would've been. I already knew by the time I started college that I didn't have the inspiration or creativity to pursue a career in those fields. Languages turned out to be the one thing I both love and excel in. If it wouldn't take me the rest of my life and take too much time and concentration away from my Japanese, I'd try to learn Chinese and Korean too, and probably a handful of other languages. They just fascinate me. All of them. Even English, in a sadistic sort of way. I blame the linguistics classes.
Another thing I've thought about recently is that I'd really like to start my own little fansubbing operation. Only problem with that? It takes a group of at least three or four people to have any kind of success in fansubbing, and at least two of those should specialize in the translation itself. As well as I understand most of the videos I watch, there are always some things that I just can't figure out, either because they talk too fast or because it's some local slang or pun that I'd never know without living in Japan for half my life. There's also the need for people to code the subtitle files themselves, and time them, and attach them to the video files... etc etc. I don't know anything about all that. And since fansubbing is not a paying job, it would probably not behoove me to dedicate the majority of my time and resources to learning it. It's hard enough to motivate myself to learn the HTML I would need to put together my lyric translations website. I've only been putting that off for 3 years. Oh well... we don't live in an ideal world, do we?
I guess that last rant was brought about because last night I started to watch Nobuta wo Produce, and I'm actually nervous about finishing it and afraid I won't like it solely because it has THE WORST fansub job I've ever seen. Whoever did it knows Japanese better than I do, I'll give them that, but gah... to be a good translator you need to be proficient not only in the language you translate from, but also to the language you translate TO. And for Bob's sake, if you can't manage halfway intelligent English, you shouldn't be fansubbing. Seriously - no capitalization, no punctuation, typos in every other line, and in some places the idiot even used CHATSPEAK. You do NOT use chatspeak in a fansub for one of the most highly rated dramas of the past 2 years. Or any video for that matter.
Now, allow me a self-righteous moment. I believe I would make a good fansubber because I have a good understanding, if not fluency, of both Japanese AND English. I have excellent grammar. I know how to spell. And while my experience is limited, at least it's enough that I've come to learn where there's a line between translating Japanese directly and taking some linguistic license to mold the language into something that makes sense to English speakers. All that's holding me back, as I said, is that I'm not a coder or a timer - only a translator, and admittedly not a very fluent one. And unfortunately, as this Nobuta wo Produce fansubber apparently never realized, it takes more than fluency to produce a good fansub.
...Well, that was an annoyingly long and primarily aimless rant. Now I guess I need to go back to debating whether or not to ride along with mom when she goes to pick up my nephew in about an hour. She's been doing this on an almost weekly basis for a good couple years now, but for some reason she still always tries to guilt trip me into riding along with her. Can't understand it. I prefer my long drives to be embarked upon alone, personally.
comment! (2)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 12/01/2006 01:44:00 PM
|
|
