There’s a heavy cloud of guilt that comes with freelancing. An oppressive mist that hovers behind you throughout your day. The cloud doesn’t say anything but you can feel its eyes boring into the back of your skull. You need
The Hustle and The Guilt
How to Make Entertainment Translation Entertaining!
What makes a good translation depends entirely on the type of text and medium. Technical translations should be fairly direct with wording, formatting, and style appropriate to the type of technical document. Marketing translations often involve complete transcreation, the wording
Why Machine Translating Japanese Media is a BAD Idea
Machine translation has always been notorious for just being bad. It’s great if you’re playing around or lost in a country and need help, but when applied to professional translations the results are, more often than not, shockingly terrible. When
How Do Judges Judge a Good Translation?
Every year I post a list of upcoming Japanese to English translation competitions. A lot of these competitions are really great for aspiring and experienced translators to practice their skills. But it’s often hard to know what the judges are
Why The Localization of Final Fantasy VII Remake Is Amazing
When I was in secondary school (when I had more time) I played Final Fantasy IX, VIII, VII, then X and X-2. I was hooked. So when the Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced many, many, many years ago, I
How To Get into Video Game Localization – JAT PROJECT 2020
On September 13th 2020 I held a talk for the Japan Association of Translators (JAT) online conference PROJECT. Each talk focused on a different sub-genre of Japanese English translation. Literary, medical, legal, interpreting, how to use CAT tools, and entertainment.
Understanding Source Texts – How to Improve Your Translations Skills
Translation is a highly skilled career, yet the majority of translators are self-taught. Perhaps a class at college or a seminar here and there, but the majority of translators don’t tend to go to school for formal training. Even those
Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2020
Japanese – English translation competitions are a great way to improve your translation skills and get your name out there. They can be particularly great for people new to the industry for putting on resumes. If you win one you’re
Manga Translation Pitfalls
A manga translation can vary drastically when handled by different people. Not just the translator, but editors, adapters, and of course companies, have their own approaches and preferences (hence why styles guides are a thing). I (Jennifer) teamed up with
What Went Wrong with Netflix’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Translation?
The first thing I heard about the Netflix’s re-release of the 1996 cult-classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion was: “WTF? They’ve removed Fly Me To The Moon.” Shortly after my Twitter was full of angry and confused people talking about the new
Never Assume – The Importance of Research in Translation
One of the best pieces of advice I received as a beginner translator was “never assume”. Never assume a kanji reading or a word meaning. Never assume you know what someone said. Basically, never assume the Japanese and never assume that’s
8 Exercises To Teach Yourself Japanese-English Translation
Novice and aspiring translators are often hit with this seemingly impassable wall when they start. You may think Japanese-English translation is doable as long as you know Japanese, but it’s not that simple… Translation is a skill separate from Japanese
Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2019
[Updated: 14-Oct-2019] Japanese – English translation competitions are a great way to improve your translation skills and get your name out there. They can be particularly great for people new to the industry for putting on resumes. If you win
What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Translator?
Spoiler Alert: NONE! But read on if you’re interested in why… Do I Need a Degree? A Brief History in Translation Studies Translation as a field of academic study seemed to emerge in colleges and universities around the 1950s. Initially
A Short Exercise in Accents
In an attempt to push my own translation capabilities I want to try translating the same information into multiple accents. Neutral American (more direct translation) Southern American British (upper class) British (lower class) The challenge with this exercise is to
“The Professor of Magic” by Edogawa Ranpo
I recently won 2nd place in a literary translators competition! The person who held the competition was kind enough to give feedback. Taking his advice on I went through my writing and tweaked it slightly. Here is my translation for
Female Translators Kicking Butt on International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day! Did You Know There are More Female Translators and Interpreters Than Men? Did you know there are more female translators and interpreters than men? The translation industry is one of those rare fields that is dominated by
TED Talks On Translation
TED Talks are always great resources for various information and new insights. But sometimes it can be hard to find subjects that interest you. I love watching TED Talks about science, computing, new ideas, learning and, of course, translating. Here
Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]
![Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]](https://j-entranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Can-google-translate-shakespear-750x350.png "Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]")
Translation Books on Translation and Interpreting – A list of pretty much any major book about translating and interpreting out there. How to Be a Better Translator – Some book recommendations for improving quality control in localization. “How Long Will It
“Deaimon” – Manga Translation
In September 2017 entries opened for the 6th Manga Translation Battle, where anyone can enter at least one of three manga translations. The winners for each manga may get a chance to translate the final manga officially. So
“Flying Grandpa” – Short Story Translation
A while ago in Translate Like No One’s Watching I mentioned how I was translating a short story. Specifically for the 2017 Kurodahan Press Translation Competition. I had a fantastic time translating this story. And although I didn’t win, I’m still incredibly
My First Japanese Otome Game Translation
Starting out as a freelance translator is hard. You need experience to get jobs but can’t get jobs without experience. I can see why though, with every new job you learn something new and your translation improves. And companies want
What Went Wrong With The Persona 5 Translation?
Persona 5 was a highly anticipated game that was released internationally in April 2017. Only many players were shocked to find there was something off about the Persona 5 translation. Many people went online to point out all the places
Translating Japanese for Beginners
Are you studying Japanese and interested in translation? But you have no idea how to translate something from Japanese into English? This article on translating Japanese for beginners is for you! A few years ago I completed an MA in
Two Japanese Jabberwocky Poems
This is one of my favourite essays from my MA in Translation Theory and Practice. The MA certainly focuses more on the theory side of translation which is evident from this essay. The point of the essay was to compare
Translating Japanese Video Games – Ikinari Maou
At the end of 2016 IGDA – Localization SIG announced on their Facebook Page a competition to translate a Japanese video game in 17 days. On the 9th December 2016 the first ever LocJAM Japan began! [WPGP gif_id=”448″ width=”600″] The winners were
Shaping Game Lore through Localization
Many translators, when hired for a job, will translate the text given to them. Depending on the type of text and the company, the level of how much a text will change from the original will vary. I’ve discussed before
How to Become a Japanese Translator
I run a website all about study Japanese and recently wrote How to Become a Japanese Translator for one of my readers. While writing it I came to the realization that the best way to become a Japanese translator… was
How Not to Localize a Video Game – Street Fighter V
My husband and I watch EVO over the weekend, which is a large video game tournament in Las Vagus that has been running for the last 20 years. The largest tournament there is Street Fighter, and as my husband is a
User Experience for Freelance Translators
Have you ever had an experience with a company that has stuck with you forever? Have you made a simple inquiry only to get a non-professional, badly written, or rude response? Or no response at all? How did that experience leave