I’m studying Japanese to eventually become a translator with a focus on BL media – particularly manga. I’m hyper-focused on this goal, which is probably what made me want to create this thread. (Korean is also a goal of mine a couple years down the line, I’m thinking.) I’m interested in meeting others with a similar goal, and I’m really curious how many of us are here. This applies to ANY language, by the way!
So, who here is studying/has studied your language/s with the intent of becoming a translator, and what’s your focus, if any?
I have a BA in Japan Studies and a MA in translation studies (my language pair being English-German). I did try out for a EU translator job (German, English, French) but failed the examen by like 2 points.
I have done some fan-scanlation stuff in the past but did not pursue translating as a career. Having to produce translations for university with deadlines and stuff made me realize I do not want to do this for 8+ hours a day - especially not for the amount you get paid (which is very little). That’s why working for the EU was pretty much the only thing I was willing to try (the pay would have been very decent), but that didn’t work out, so now I am earning well in a normal office job, and using my language skills mostly just for myself.
I do not regret studying what I did, though. I do think there is value in studying something purely because it interests you.
I also tried it once for (German, English, Dutch), though I never studied languages formally. So it was more for the experience, and why not, and the money is decent as you said. I did only pass the first translation round, though
This was less preposterous as it may sound, as what they wanted were people who studied something else than languages, like law, economics, science, etc., but had at least some language knowledge.
So people who had passed the test would have entered a waiting list, and if their profile met some future requirements they‘d have got a one year (already paid) training before they were actually hired as translator.
It’s my goal. I’m aware its a dying industry, but translation and interpretation are uniquely suited to the things I’m actually good at.
I do rough translations for communties around certain Manga that get very slow translations, but I cannot be bothered to do typesetting, so nothing anyone would have seen.
Trying to get into translation for software or tech companies. That’s going to be 3 or 4 years off at best though.
I do some scanlation (previously short webcomics, but also the group I’m in just released our first chapter of a manga series) for yuri manga. (If anyone is interested in that kinda thing, we’re a new group, and could use a second translator).
And have otherwise translated an interview or two. I’d prefer to be translating pure text tbh (particularly I’ll probably eventually contribute to the untranslated chapters for マリア様がみてる)
I don’t really wanna be a Translator™ (especially not professionally), but I do want ppl to be able to read unlicensed yuri works or other stuff they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. So I guess I have some conflict there - but point is, it’s a very side thing in my life. And it’s a good way to work on my own comprehension.
I’m right there with you - thankfully someone else in my group handles all that stuff
I agree that I don’t want to be A Translator™™, but fansubs were my way into a lot of media as a teen and I’d like to give back in some way. It’s way less pressing like it was when I was younger with how many things get official English releases, but certainly not everything.
Long winded way of saying that I don’t want to get paid to translate, but I am interested in doing it as a hobby/side gig for content I’m interested in.
I translated a short story for my biggest fandom, though I probably was not at the level where I should have done that back then. It was around 30 pages and it took me months. Honestly its probably not something I’d do again. I admire anyone who does fan translations but to me it didn’t feel rewarding at all. The amount of effort put into it vs the amount of people read it, just didn’t feel like it was worth it.
Honestly it’s not very rational, it’s a fan translation by definition something you do for free out of passion or goodness of your heart It’s not like I expected a parade to be thrown in my name. But I still felt kind of jaded about it all? Like I said, not very rational.
Another reason I don’t want to do it again is that english is not my first language, and my sentences can end up feeling stiff/unnatural. I would consider myself fluent conversationally but writing prose meant for enjoyment is another story.
I did want to be a professional translator (and go to school for it) at some point in my life, but that ship has sailed I feel. Still I find translation very interesting as a subject, I like reading about translators experiences and discussions on it.
Yeah, I read plenty of scanlations in my day… Tho there’s so many out there that (for me) giving back isn’t really a relevant consideration… And I do kinda have mixed feelings wrt ethics, and to what extent they’re beneficial or detrimental (ie do they help or hinder series from getting licensed - the answer is apparently both). That said, the amount of yuri that even gets scouted for potential English licensing is abysmally low - so it’s much less of a concern there
Fansubs I feel a bit differently about, since streaming is such a huge part of the equation these days, and those licenses are decided before the show airs. I suppose they might they negatively impact licensed DVD/Blu-ray sales tho… But when then, a lot of shows probably never get licensed DVD/Blu-ray in the first place, regardless of fan subs
I think difficulty makes a huge difference. Like I translated a トゲナシトゲアリ interview once, and it took me 3 very dedicated days, and I was like “never again”… But translating what’s probably a lower L20s manga is not such a big deal (tho still takes much longer than I’d like)
Even if one translates something for “pure” reasons like you mentioned, it’s a ton of effort, and not having any reward or acknowledgement will definitely dampen things.
Fwiw English is my first language, and the same thing happens to me when I’m translating. That’s actually maybe the hardest part actually for manga, SFX and other onomatopoeia are probly the hardest…
I’m still feeling like I’d rather be working on this almost a month later… Not that I need another project™️ right now, but maybe I should try translating a few pages, and then see about switching. I swear I’m not just looking for an excuse to reread マリみて
2 Likes
As an Amazon Associate, Natively earns from qualifying purchases through any Amazon links on the site.
(Korean is also a goal of mine a couple years down the line, I’m thinking.) I’m interested in meeting others with a similar goal, and I’m really curious how many of us are here. This applies to ANY language, by the way!
It’s not like I expected a parade to be thrown in my name. But I still felt kind of jaded about it all? Like I said, not very rational.