Couldn't get back to sleep this morning (thanks, intestines), but I had some thoughts on translations that I decided I should post. Maybe writing this will make me tired enough...

Working on Ask Dr. Rin! with Live-eviL has been interesting, since apparently Tofusensei and I have differing opinions on how, well, seriously a script should be taken. I tend to lean towards the literal side of translation, while Tofu likes to use casual expressions and catchwords. (I've actually run into a problem at some point where I've never heard of an expression used in a script, and thus the meaning of the entire line was lost on me.) I do feel that translation should never be word-for-word literal, and lines -should- be written in a way that best conveys the original intent. But there's a limit to that...

I would hope Tofu gets where I'm going. It's not that I'm flat out against the use of common expressions, as long as they're not drifting too far from the original intent, and that they don't make the script seem excessively silly. I'm not a fan of adding connotations when they aren't really present originally, such as making ditzy people talk like valley girls when their Japanese speech is perfectly normal. Of course, context is everything, and I can't make a general rule in how I prefer to have scripts written. Perhaps this is why things go so much smoother between myself and A-F when I work on Twin Spica - our opinions on how things should be done in general sync up a lot better, and we don't have debates over as many lines. Twin Spica is also a much more serious show than Dr. Rin, so all the casual sayings that get thrown into the latter would just be completely out of place in the former.

There was one notable case in the R1 DVDs of Louie the Rune Soldier, where there's a line that reads "Nice to do ya!" in the subtitles. I think the Japanese is something like "yoroshiku" or another generic line like that - but the image of the line was brought up in a sexual context, and if Louie's pants were visible in the shot, I'm sure they would have been on the floor. I do think the line is stretching it a bit, but the Japanese line was open-ended enough that I probably would have let it slide. Besides, I laughed. =p

I get the feeling I wanted to write a bit more on the subject, but it's slipping my mind at the moment, so I think I'll just try to go back to bed for a little more sleep. I'll actually get back to journal writing someday... maybe.