Translation Style Choices: Difference between revisions

{{examples|Examples}}

'''2'''. [[Woolseyism]]: Named on TVTropes after Ted Woolsey, who was known for his more pragmatic translations of games. This approach is formally referred to as ''dynamic equivalence''; the general idea is that the translation should give the foreign audience the same experience as the original, even if some details have to be altered and some aspects that would [[Values Dissonance|cause]] [[Unfortunate Implications|controversy]] or fail to translate sensibly just have to be left out. The general guideline when using this method is that the work needs to be self-contained; if the script contains references or connotations that wouldn't be obvious to the target audience, those elements should probably be left out or changed. It's probably the best tool for a ''localization'': the purists get their original storyline intact (more or less), but you don't need an introductory lesson in a foreign language and culture to understand what's going on. Of course, the ''hardcore'' purists will still hate it. But when you get right down to it, [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|the hardcore purists hate everything]] -- they should probably stick to the original language of the production in question.

'''3'''. Formal equivalence: Some productions, however, decide they're going the direct route. The story is getting straight-up translated, [[Values Dissonance]] be damned, and no pesky [[First -Name Basis|honorific changes]], [[Kansai Regional Accent|dialect jokes]], or [[Useful Notes/Japanese Culture|cultural variations]] are going to get in the way. This is the most ''literal'' of the methods, typically translating only dialogue and [[Too Long; Didn't Dub|leaving anything that doesn't directly translate fully intact]]. The downside to this is that a lot of the necessary elements for full understanding don't make the journey overseas with the dialogue; as a result, J. Random Viewer (lacking proper context) is left scratching his head, as some lines will [[Dub Induced Plot Hole|sound strange]] or seem to come out of nowhere. In the worst cases, some figures of speech may be translated literally, instead of going with an equivalent from the vernacular language or simply translating the meaning. The hardcore purists will probably hate it, too; they'll just use it as another example of "[[Subbing Versus Dubbing|how dubbing is the devil's work]]," for instance.