I haven’t posted here in a while. That will probably continue. The fact of the matter is, this particular blog was me overstepping myself. I like to write about things, particularly things that interest me, and Japanese interests me. But, I was talking about a lot of stuff I really didn’t know much about, and I guess it showed. Maybe that’s how things work, but it’s embarrassing.
I mentioned in the past, in posts that may or may not still be on this particular blog, that I didn’t know why I was learning Japanese. It interested me, but it seemed a significant time, energy, and financial outlay for something with nebulous benefits.
I now know.
Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten into anime. I’m really choosy about what I watch (some popular anime I consider utter trash) but I’ve found enough that I really enjoy that I’m always seeking out that anime that makes me laugh, or cry, or think.
And I’ve also learned that the translations are often suspect.
Let me give you an example, or two (and I have gone over these at length with my native teacher, so while you can feel free to disagree with my interpretation, I do know what I’m talking about, so I don’t want to hear that I don’t.).
Example #1: Hibike! Euphonium.
(spoilers ahead) There’s a famous scene in Episode 8 where Reina “confesses her love” to Kumiko. The conversation goes something like this:
Kumiko: もしかしそれ悪口 （maybe you’re insulting me)
Reina: 褒め言葉 (it’s a compliment)
Reina: 中三のコンクールのとき (at the junior high competition)
Reina: 本気で全国いけると思ってだ乗って聞いたんだよ (not 100% sure on this one, but it’s not important. Says “you asked if you really thought that we could make it to the nationals”)
Reina: せい濃く悪いでしょう (I’m not clear on the first syllable) (“that’s awful” or something like it)
Kumiko: やはり気持ち悪口 (I knew it, you’re insulting me)
Reina: 違う。これは愛の告白 (Wrong. This is a confession of love.”)
(my transcription here isn’t perfect. that doesn’t matter. The important parts I got.)
I added all this to show the context. This is Reina and Kumiko talking about something very specific that Kumiko said back in third year of middle school. Reina is expressing admiration for how Kumiko says what she thinks. Out of context, this sounds like a yuri-bait love confession. IN context, Reina correcting Kumiko, who thinks that Reina is insulting her for what she said, when Reina’s actually saying she loves that about her.
And that’s probably how I would have translated it. “No. I love that about you.” Even though the direct translation says something a little different. But it’s translated in such a way as to make it sound like a direct, yuri love confession. No wonder the yuri-loving otaku were all up in arms. I think the Japanese people understood the difference in context – mostly.
Now, there’s another thing I want to address before I move on to a conclusion. This is in the lyrics of “Motteke! Sailor Fuku!” and I think these are actually far more deliberate mistranslations.
First we have this set of lyrics:
汗(Fuu)々(Fuu)の谷間に Darlin’ darlin’ F R E E Z E!!
This is often translated something like “Darlin’ darling FREEZE in the channel of my sweat, my sweat!!”. That’s, umm, not what it means. It’s a reference to cleavage. You know, Oppai. Breasts. It’s something more like “Darlin’, darlin’, freeze the sweat in my cleavage” or something similar. And then…
“Chiramise” is a word that specifically means “getting a peek under your skirt”. It’s translated something like “Showin’ off like always
With a sailor uniform it’s so simple = easy life”. I’d argue this translation is actually flat-out wrong. Not because it’s absolutely incorrect, but because there’s a risque aspect to these lyrics that doesn’t come across and may have been deliberately downplayed. It might be better translated as something like “With a sailor uniform it’s so easy to give a peek under my skirt”.
You may not like that, but that’s how it is.
Now, before I continue, these are examples. I can think of a few more. There’s a reference to a “second helping of that sweet tonkotsu” that I strongly suspect is a reference to something a little more risque than food, but I haven’t looked into it yet.
I’m not putting myself out as an expert on Japanese, I’m still learning. But if even I can pick these out, how many more, intentional or not, mistranslations are there? Because I think all of the mistranslations I outlined are deliberate. Maybe not malicious, but deliberate. They either change the translation to fit an agenda (making Reina and Kumiko seem like a couple, or toning down what is actually a fairly risque song in the latter case).
And this, now, is why I want to learn Japanese. How many other mistranslations am I being subject to?
I appreciate translators, don’t get me wrong. A wrong translation is still (most of the time) better than no translation at all, at least if I don’t understand the source material. I respect the skill of translators. And I don’t trust them farther than I can throw them. Because, well meaning or not (and I can’t guarantee well-meaning), they’re doing stuff like this, and how would we even know?
This, by the way, is why I’m firmly “sub” in the “subs vs. dubs” debate. With dubs, you can’t even tell you’ve been hoodwinked. At least you can pick out words and realize something’s wrong with subs. But I’m hoping to not need them anymore, ever, in the near or middle-distant future.
I like Japanese culture. I like Japanese language. I (most of the time) like Japanese people. But I don’t like having to rely on other people to tell me what something means, because that means I’m beholden to their biases, explicit or not. And I think anyone who seriously appreciates the products of Japanese culture should feel the same.