Translating Anime Subtitles: Let’s Get Creative!

By Katrina Leonoudakis

Translation by Michelle Tymon

Introduction

Linguistic Breakdown

Subtitles

Thank goodness�we anticipated this,

こんな こと も あろう か と�Konna koto mo arou ka to� THIS ITEM ALSO IS (UNCERT.) (QUEST.) (QUOT.)�We thought this might happen,

着替え を 一式 持参 して おいて よかった です ね！

Kigae wo isshiki jisan shite oite yokatta desu ne�CHANGE OF (D.O.) FULL SET BRING DO (CONN.) IN ADVANCE GOOD (PAST) (COPULA) (CONFIRM)�CLOTHES�so it’s good that we brought a full change of clothes in advance!

and prepared a change�of clothes just in case!

Who in the world would�ever anticipate that?!

こんなこともあろうかと思わんでしょう普通！

Konna koto mo arou ka to omowan deshou futsuu� THIS ITEM ALSO IS (UNCERT.) (QUEST.) (QUOT.) NOT THINK RIGHT? NORMAL �Normally one would not think this might happen!

Good subtitles convey more than just literal�linguistic meaning.

Who am I, anyway?

• Japanese->English localization specialist
• M.A. in Translation
• Lived in Japan 2 years
• Translated 60+ anime for Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix
• Manga with Seven Seas, Games with SEGA

Who am I, anyway?

• Japanese->English localization specialist
• M.A. in Translation
• Lived in Japan 2 years
• Translated 75+ anime for Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix
• Manga with Seven Seas, Games with SEGA

Spring Season

Panel @ Anime Expo!

Who am I, anyway?

• Japanese->English localization specialist
• M.A. in Translation
• Lived in Japan 2 years
• Translated 75+ anime for Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix
• Manga with Seven Seas, Games with SEGA

Summer Season

Premiere @ Anime Expo!

Premiere @ Anime Expo!

Let’s cover some quick basics.

Japanese and English are very different languages.

Japanese and Western culture are very different.

Language�and culture are intertwined, especially in fiction and media.

Language�and culture are intertwined, especially in fiction and media.

• grammatical order: object can be placed anywhere in the sentence for dramatic effect

俺、好きなんだ。　　君 の　　　　作る　音楽 が�Ore, suki nan da. Kimi no... tsukuru ongaku ga.�I (MASC) LOVE (EMPHATIC) YOU (POSSESSIVE) MAKE MUSIC (DIRECT OBJECT)

俺 は 君 の 　作る　 音楽 が 好きなんだ。�Ore wa kimi no tsukuru ongaku ga suki nan da.�I (MASC) (SUBJECT) YOU (POSSESSIVE) MAKE MUSIC (DIRECT OBJECT) LOVE (EMPHATIC)

Language�and culture are intertwined, especially in fiction and media.

• grammatical order: object can be placed anywhere in the sentence for dramatic effect

俺、好きなんだ。　　君 の　　　　作る　音楽 が�Ore, suki nan da. Kimi no... tsukuru ongaku ga.�I (MASC) LIKE (EMPHATIC) YOU (POSSESSIVE) MAKE MUSIC (DIRECT OBJECT)

I love you!

I love your...

I love the music you make.

• high context: without subsequent phrases, sounds like love confession

Translation is meaning to meaning, not word to word.

Translation is meaning to meaning, not word to word.

There are multiple levels of meaning:

A good translation is successful.��The translation accomplishes what the translator set out to accomplish.�

• An IKEA manual?
• Accurately convey instructions so the consumer can correctly build the product
• Meet cultural expectations for written directions
• Conform to internal terminology standards�
• The nutrition facts on a bar of candy?
• Accurately list ingredients and facts in the units of measurement of the target country
• Conform to federal regulations�
• A political campaign message?
• Convey politician’s campaign promises
• Persuade audience to vote for politician�
• An episode of anime?
• It depends!

Translation is about making decisions based on your goals for success.

Teens and YA�(Ages 14-23)

Children�(Ages 8-13)

American Families�(no knowledge of Japan)

Diehard Super Sentai fans�(know a bit about Japan)

Blood and violence�OK for timeslot & rating

Blood and violence�NOT OK for TV-Y7 rating

Translation is about making decisions based on your goals for success.

You, watching UtaPri on Crunchyroll�(here to be entertained)

You, attending this panel�(here to learn about translation)

I love... the music you make.

I (MASC) LOVE (EMPHATIC) �YOU (POSSESSIVE) MAKE MUSIC (DIRECT OBJECT)

俺、好きなんだ�君 の作る音楽 が。�Ore, suki nan da. �Kimi no tsukuru ongaku ga.

This is a translation, too!

#Goals: Defining your translation approach

What do you want your anime translation to accomplish?

• Accurately convey the plot and dialogue
• Allow the viewer to read all the subtitles before they disappear
• Be free of spelling and grammatical errors

• Make audience laugh at funny jokes
• Maintain dramatic irony in misunderstanding scene
• Convey mascot character’s weird speaking style

• Avoid spoiling character’s death mid-sentence
• Keep gender identity of villain vague
• Express desperation in character’s voice

Basic

Comedy

Suspense

Translation theory can help you shape your approach and make the most successful decisions!

To quickly recap:

Equivalent Experience:�Writing Better Dialogue

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Equivalence: when the original and the translation �function equally* in form, function, structure, meaning, etc.

* perfect equivalence is impossible because language and culture are complex.

Formal Equivalence

• “Literal” translation
• Source-oriented
• Adheres to source grammar and structure
• Avoids translating cultural items

Dynamic Equivalence

• “Localized” translation
• Target-oriented
• Adheres to target linguistic expectations
• Explains or localizes cultural items

(formal equivalence has uses in other contexts!)

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Presentation Title

24

9/4/20XX

Why do we watch anime?

#1: For entertainment.

anime waifus pretty

power fantasy

to justify gacha spending

booba

I want to be a magical girl

it was on toonami

all the cool kids are watching

anime boys will never betray me

nothing else good on netflix

best friend recommended it

3D people scare me

I love Japan

want to learn Japanese

new cosplay ideas

needed reason to attend AX

cute girls heal my soul

can’t be a ninja IRL

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Equivalent Experience

• The target audience should have the same experience* as the original audience when they consume the translation.

Laugh!

Gasp!

Cry!

* perfect equivalence is impossible because language and culture are complex.

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

#1. Write dialogue that sounds natural.

If the dialogue sounds natural to the original audience, �then it should sound natural to the translation audience, too.

• Target audience expects dialogue to be natural!
• “What would it say if the original scriptwriter�wrote this in English?”
• If dialogue sounds unnatural...
• Distracts audience
• Makes more difficult to read
• Not equivalent!

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Reformulate lines to express equivalent meaning more naturally.

​

​

• If you’re too short, you can’t ride.
• You can’t ride if you’re too short.

Sentence Structure

• Come with me if you don’t want to die.
• Come with me if you want to live.

Positive and Negative

• When she acts, it’s incredible.
• Her acting is incredible.

Nouns and Verbs

• I can’t believe you didn’t know that.
• You seriously didn’t know that?

Declarative and Interrogative

• The test was failed by 20% of students.
• 20% of students failed the test.

Passive and Direct

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Get in my way and you’re dead.

Try to stop me and I’ll kill you.

Get out of my way if you want to live.

I’ll kill you if you interfere.

邪魔　 を　 する　 なら　 殺す。�Jama wo suru nara korosu.�INTERFERE (OBJECT) DO (CONDITIONAL) KILL�IN THE WAY

If you get in my way, I will kill you.

* Find the approach that works best for the context and line length!

sentence structure rearranged

direct -> implied

direct -> implied�verb inversion

verb inversion

verb inversion

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

#2: Use deverbalization to derive what’s really being said,�then reformulate it in the target language.

Interpretive Theory of Translation�(Seleskovitch, 1975)

Source Text

Target Text

Meaning

DEVERBALIZATION

REFORMULATION

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

さすが 俺 が 選んだ 魔王。�Sasuga ore ga eranda maou.�AS EXPECTED I (SUBJECT) CHOOSE (PAST) MAOU� DEMON LORD

Deverbalization

Reformulation

What is he really saying here?

• He’s impressed with the Maou.
• He’s pompous.
• He’s patting himself on the back.
• He’s praising the Maou.

I knew I picked the right Maou.

Good. I chose the right demon to be Maou.

I did well choosing them to be Maou, I see.

This is exactly why I picked them to be Maou.

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

仕様 ない

しょう が ねぇ なー�Shou ga nee naa�METHOD (SUBJECT) IS NOT (EMPHATIC)�(INFORM.) (MASC. INFORM.)

Deverbalization

Reformulation

What is he really saying here?

• He’s giving in and letting him sleep.
• He’s playfully ribbing him.
• He has a friendly, informal relationship with Mernes.

All right.

Okay, fine.

Do what you want, then.

You big goof.

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

• They have character in Japanese!
• Create a character voice, not a translation
• Politeness, emphatics, ‘vibe’
• Play along with character tropes
• Gyaru, high-class lady, rough punk, etc.
• Avoid cliches or overcharacterization
• Osaka-ben =/= Southern drawl!
• Too many contractions are hard to read
• Characterization should only be distracting if it’s meant to be distracting in the source

#3: Characters should have character.

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

#3: Characters should have character.

heavy accent bleeds into speech

cutesy, childish speaking style

Equivalent Experience: Writing Better Dialogue

Ask!

Try!

Functionalism:�Every word has a purpose

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Functionalism: A translator should focus on the function of the words and meaning presented in the source.

Equivalence

Functionalism

What is being said?

How do we express that meaning in the translation?

Why is it being said?

How do we express that�purpose in the translation?

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Dialogue can have many functions!

• Scene
• Raptors are dangerous.
• Character
• Dr. Grant knows a lot about dinosaurs.
• Dr. Grant doesn’t like children.
• Movie
• Foreshadows raptor�attack in climax.
• External Context
• Dinosaurs are theorized to share ancestry with birds.

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

#1: Understand how each line of dialogue functions within the narrative of the scene, episode, and series.

• Ask yourself:
• What’s the purpose of this line?
• Why was this line included in this scene?
• What’s important about this line?

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

#2: Determine what functions are important�to express in the translation.

• Often impossible to do everything
• Example: よろしく！
• Four syllables, very quick...
• But can convey a LOT of meaning
• Focus on the most important aspects
• Example: A rap needs to rhyme,�a dramatic reveal should be dramatic.

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Puns & Humor

• Function:
• Add humor
• Display personality
• Use cultural trope
• Often connected to�on-screen visuals
• This means we can’t change the concept that’s being played with!

​

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Function:

• An extremely bad pun on “centipede” and “coming towards me”
• One bad pun in a scene about her making bad pun

ムカデ が むがっで くる� mukade ga mugadde kuru � CENTIPEDE (SUBJ.) COMING TOWARD

What’s a thousand-leg insect that always asks for help?

That would be...�a centi-plead!

ムカデ に 襲われた 人 が なんて 言った か 知ってる� mukade ni osowareta hito ga nante itta ka shitteru� CENTIPEDE BY ATTACKED PERSON (SUBJ.) WHAT SAID (QUEST.) KNOW

Create an English equivalent

without the unimportant bits

(this bit doesn’t work in English and isn’t important)

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Linguistic Connections

Function:

• Connect two otherwise unrelated concepts via one word or phrase
• Sound artistic, funny, smart
• Common Japanese examples:
• Kanji or radicals
• Character names

​

Osana Najimi

長名なじみ

幼馴染

childhood friend

おさななじみ

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Function:

• Statement connecting “Momoko” and “peach color” via “momo”
• The scene is about picking colors that are meaningful to your emotions

桃子 の 桃色�Momoko no momoiro� MOMOKO (POS.) PEACH COLOR

Use explicitation to�help the viewer understand

• Her color is “peach-colored Momoko”
• Momo means peach, by the way

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

• Short lines: repetition & tsukkomi
• Repetition in conversation
• Used more often in Japanese than English
• Expresses interest in certain parts of conversation
• In fiction, often used to set-up explanation or dramatic beat
• Tsukkomi
• Short word or phrase reacting to absurdity
• Can also involve repetition
• “Literal” translations can sound strange in English

​

​

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

演技力!�engiryoku�ACTING ABILITY

Tsukkomi

長いこと？�nagai koto�LONG TIME

Repetition

A long time?

How long?

FORMAL

DYNAMIC

• Express surprise
• Prompt him to explain

Acting ability!

Immersion ruined!

FORMAL

DYNAMIC

• Express frustration
• Be funny

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Idioms & Sayings

• Find target-language equivalent
• Can’t find equivalent?
• On-screen visuals, etc.
• Connect visual or pivot word to idiom
• Identify critical function (visual,�message), then work around it
• You may need to remove the idiom�part of the function!

​

​

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Function:

• Idiomatic expression
• Hint at Sarasa’s parentage�(her father is a kabuki actor)

蛙 の 子 は 蛙 だ ね�kaeru no ko wa kaeru da ne� FROG (POS.) CHILD (SUBJ.) FROG (COP.) (EMPH.)

The child of a frog is a frog.

Use an existing equivalent

Apple doesn’t fall�far from the tree.

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

バスガス爆発

basu-gasu-baku-hatsu

• is a difficult tongue twister
• connects to an adult DVD �with the word “Bus” in the title
• ties into overarching theme of advancing from childhood to sexually-active adults
• can be used as title of episode

There are no short English tongue twisters with “bus”.

We can change the connecting word�in the DVD title translation!

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

バスガス爆発

basu-gasu-baku-hatsu

• is a difficult tongue twister
• connects to an adult DVD �with the word “Bus” in the title
• ties into overarching theme of advancing from childhood to sexually-active adults
• can be used as�title of episode

Functionalism: Every word has a purpose

Ask!

Try!

Polysystem Theory:�Thinking outside the lines

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Culture is complicated.

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

• Language and culture are intertwined
• There are many layers of cultural contexts
• Each culture creates expectations
• Cliches
• Tropes
• References

Culture has layers.

American Culture

American filmmaking conventions

Animated film expectations

Western fairy tale tropes and cliches

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

• Works of fiction exist within multiple cultural systems,�or a polysystem

Culture has layers.

• Identifying and becoming aware of these systems can help you create translations that fit better into the target polysystem

freshwater�high pH�flats

saltwater�low pH�gradients

translation

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Cultural References

• Using explicitation
• “This is [word], or word.”
• Exploit in-universe explanations
• “We call these [word].”
• Adding words
• “A hilarious [word] happened.”
• Remember your audience
• Rarely any need to go full “jelly donut”

​

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Exploit explanations

“That’s called okuri-fuda, right?”

​

Explicitation

“commit a fault, or otetsuki.”

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Polysystems: Layers of culture

• Isekai fantasy story
• Written by Japanese native
• Japanese culture
• A Japanese fantasy novel
• Japanese fantasy novel�conventions, expectations
• An isekai light novel
• Isekai tropes, expectations,�and conventions

American English Translation �

American culture

​

American fantasy novel�conventions, expectations�

Isekai tropes, expectations,�and conventions

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Polysystems: Layers of culture

• Isekai fantasy story
• Written by Japanese native
• Japanese culture
• A Japanese fantasy novel
• Japanese fantasy novel�conventions, expectations
• An isekai light novel
• Isekai tropes, expectations,�and conventions

whY IS THERE A STAT SCREEN? THEY GOT ISEKAI’D TO ANOTHER WORLD NOT A FREAKING VIDEO GAME??

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Usage of honorifics

Usage of loanwords

Japanese fantasy: Totally OK!�American fantasy: Weird. This isn’t Japan, so why is he “-san”?

Japanese fantasy: Totally OK!�American fantasy: How are these demons speaking English? This is a massive plot hole. Someone call Cinema Sins.

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

• Anime fandom is a system, too!
• What does your audience�know? What do they expect?
• Preserving legacy terminology
• Maintaining honorifics
• Preserving cultural references,�Japanese words

Polysystem Theory: Thinking outside the lines

Ask!

Try!

Conclusion

Conclusion

• Think beyond the words.
• Always be learning!
• Watch subtitled anime
• ODD TAXI, SPY X FAMILY
• Watch Japanese-subtitled shows
• Bojack Horseman, The Good Place
• Don’t be afraid�to get creative!

Thank you! Questions?

Katrina�Leonoudakis�

@katrinaLtrnsl8r

katrina-L-translation.online

(in case you forgot, I’m...)