Translating and things

[Uchikina]

Hello everyone, reading VNs has been a recent hobby/craving/life consumer, well okay maybe not recent.. Anyways, I have been watching anime since I was very little and reading some manga/light novels from time to time and I have also made a few trips to Japan. Now that I am headed to university and in a course to learn Japanese next semester, I've begun to ask myself about translating. (When I am capable of giving a proper translation quite a long time down the line from now of course) Why? Actually every time I finish a route or VN or even watch an episode of anime I always think about how some nice individual/individuals took the time and effort to translate it even though they are under no obligation to. Unless they were paid to I guess. Perhaps my interest in translating is the cause of my desire to give back to the community, perhaps some of it is hating that feeling of wanting to start a VN but there is no translation, I don't really know myself. What I do know is translating is hard work, yet I don't truly know of what it entails, the processes, the time commitment, etc.


Point: If you are a translator how exactly does your day go? How many hours do you commit a day? Could you explain to me more about how it all works? For all I know this could be something I want to do now, and not when I learn Japanese or maybe I won't be able to handle the effort I don't really know what to think.

Thanks. -Uchiki

[Fiddle]

It probably depends on the translation group, as well as what you're actually translating. As a VN translator, and never having been anything else, I will say that my schedule is just about as flexible as it can get, and my hours are determined by my personal motivation. However, I'd imagine that things are the most lax with VNs considering that unlike anime and manga, they don't come out regularly (well, when they do come out, it usually takes a while before somebody decides to translate). If you're part of a VN translation group that's forcing you to pick up the pace as if you're on wages or something, I suggest you leave of your own volition. -_-

[Heizei_koukousei]

Here's a thread you should read through

https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/2792-learning-japanese-useful-resources/

[Uchikina]

Thank you for the info Fiddle, another couple questions that came to my mind is how hard is it to start a translation project? And is it possible for one person to do the entire thing? Or would that take a ridiculously lengthy amount of time? Also I will definitely make use of the thread you linked Heizei, much appreciated.

[Fiddle]

Thank you for the info Fiddle, another couple questions that came to my mind is how hard is it to start a translation project? And is it possible for one person to do the entire thing? Or would that take a ridiculously lengthy amount of time? Also I will definitely make use of the thread you linked Heizei, much appreciated.

If you're talking specifically about a VN, I imagine it'd be very hard for one person to do the entire thing, but it depends on your capabilities. A visual novel translation requires at least a hacker and translator, and if you want it to be of the slightest good quality, a checker, editor, and image editor (personally, I believe that image editing is a prerequisite, but Staircase Subs seems to posit otherwise). It's worth mentioning that it's easier to get some beta testers to look over spelling errors, though.

Also, yes, it certainly would take a lot of time, but of course, it depends upon the project. For a 50-hour long VN, I estimate that it would take at least a year - and I emphasize "at least" - for one person, even if they have plenty of free time and experience.

 

If you want to give back to the community in the most efficient manner, I suggest joining another group. Not only because it's difficult to do something alone, but because the main culprit of inefficiency in the VN translation community is that we're too divided. An active fan can name numerous projects that have made great progress but were eventually dropped. Yet, people so often start up new projects instead. Joining a group will make things much easier and faster. If you want to be by yourself for whatever reason, at least pick up on another project.

[Heizei_koukousei]

Im actually thinking about picking up Supreme Candy ~Oudou niwa Oudoutaru Riyuu ga Arun desu~ if I can get a hold of the leader of the old project. You might be able to come join my project I have one other possible translator, and an image editor so far

[Cyrillej1]

Why? Actually every time I finish a route or VN or even watch an episode of anime I always think about how some nice individual/individuals took the time and effort to translate it even though they are under no obligation to. Unless they were paid to I guess. Perhaps my interest in translating is the cause of my desire to give back to the community, perhaps some of it is hating that feeling of wanting to start a VN but there is no translation, I don't really know myself. What I do know is translating is hard work, yet I don't truly know of what it entails, the processes, the time commitment, etc.

Point: If you are a translator how exactly does your day go? How many hours do you commit a day? Could you explain to me more about how it all works? For all I know this could be something I want to do now, and not when I learn Japanese or maybe I won't be able to handle the effort I don't really know what to think.

Thanks. -Uchiki

I wanted to try translating for the same reasons you mentioned.

 

I only briefly translated for a project and was new to doing it. I didn't really have any strict schedule.. it was up to me how much I translated, but it's nice to do enough to at least keep making some progress. The project I volunteered for gave me separate scripts of special events for a certain girl's route (couple hundred lines each). So I made it a goal to at least finish one script event a week (sometimes 1-2hr a day until finish, and took a break.. or just did it all in a day, break). The way I did it, I typed up my own translations on a separate text document.. and once I it checked over and was happy with it, I re-typed it up on the shared document project (where all other members had access to it).  Overall, the translating process didn't seem too complicated.. just translate what you can, transfer it over, and the editors, w/e will check it, and maybe get a hold of you if anything is wrong.  Other projects might work differently, but I'm guessing it's mostly similar.

 

From that experience... I learned, it's a lot harder than I thought it'd be to fan-translate xD. It's different to do it for fun vs. translating for a project (more pressure). I can say for sure, it's best to choose something you are really excited/want to translate, otherwise it's easy to lose motivation.. it just becomes busywork and added stress. If you love it, there's more motivation to stick it all the way through. Also, make sure the level of the VN/game you're translating is the right difficulty for you.. because if it's not, you will easily get burnt out from the frustration and feel demotivated... plus it'll take longer to translate.

 

You can join a project where everyone has a role. It helps you get involved and contribute to something you wouldn't be able to do yourself, and probably faster since more people helping out. You could also choose to do it yourself if you have the knowledge/tools.. it'll be nice to do everything at your own pace, but also more work/time (I've seen people do this well too).

 

I suggest you try translating some things on your own for fun first, and see how you like it and to also get a better grasp of your Japanese level before finding something to seriously translate^^  Just my own personal experience/thoughts though!

[Uchikina]

Unfortunately my Japanese skills are pretty underdeveloped so I don't think I'll be joining any projects just yet, although in the chance that I learn relatively quickly I will be sure to let you know.But I will study as hard as I can so I can join something soon. I wasn't really thinking about doing anything all on my own I was just curious if it'd actually be possible but now that I think about it, nothing is really impossible. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, haha I've got a lot to work on.