For the past two weeks or so, Ive been editing and proofreading the manuscripts of a book that’s due to be published. By right, I should only be doing the former, but it’s just such a badly translated book (from Chinese) that I just have to wield my pen.
I just have to gripe about this book ‘cos it has made my life a living hell for the past two weeks. Because three translators (all equally crap in my opinion) worked on the book, the English version of the book is riddled with inconsistencies with regard to proper names (mostly of companies and state departments). For the same thing in Chinese, I can get three different names in English.
So I’ve been busy making sure that all the names are consistent, checking for spelling mistakes which are aplenty, and also making sure that the translations are correct, which to my chagrin, often aren’t.
In addition to being editor and proofreader, I find myself having to be translator as well as I’ve had to go back to the original text to doublecheck what has been written. Often, I’ve had to rephrase the expression as it sounds awkward, mainly because it’s been translated word-for-word. In one instance, I had to translate three paragraphs as the translator, *grasp*, conveniently left it out!
It’s a good thing I can read and understand Chinese, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to pick out the inconsistencies and ridiculous translations.
Odd expressions, which can sometimes lead to embarrassing situations, tend to arise when a literal word-for-word translation is done. This by the way is called the Grammar-Translation Method which is the worst possible way to translate text. It is also a term used in foreign language teaching, and to most, if not all teachers, is also the worst possible method to teach.
To digress a bit, the mainland Chinese curriculum requires students to do translation exercises in English language learning. That to me is just ridiculous because translation is a whole different ball game all together. Mastering a foreign language for everyday use is difficult enough. Having to do translation is just too demanding when it’s something that requires specialised training and a good grasp of both languages.
Here are four examples of the odd expressions I was talking about:
1) Obscene Rabbit — this was the title of a book which was translated into English from the Chinese title <<流氓兔>>. However, this Chinese title was also translated from a Korean title (as it was originally a Korean children’s book). 流氓 in Chinese means a rascal, or one of those ruffians or juvenile delinquents. Something along those lines, but definitely not ‘obscene’!
I changed it to ‘Rascal Rabbit’. But I still thought it sounded weird…this is after all a children’s book! I then decided to try my luck and googled ‘流氓兔’ to see if I could somehow come across an English title. And guess what it turned out to be??? The cute Korean cartoon rabbit – MashiMaro!!!
I mean, ‘Obscene Rabbit’ is just WAY-OFF! I don’t know how in the world the translator could have come up with that! I definitely wouldn’t want my name in the book if the book had gone to print with ‘Obscene Rabbit’ in it!
2) 刮目相看 was literally translated to ‘to look at [the market] with new eyes’. A more accurate translation would be to see something/someone in a different [positive] light and not new eyes!
3) 立体折纸 was literally translated to ‘Three Dimensional Paper Folding’. I thought this was rather odd and thought maybe it could be referring to Japanese Origami. I was proved right when I checked up the name of the book on the net.
4) 八卦周刊 was translated to ‘Gossip-potpourri magazine’. I promptly changed this to ‘tabloid’!
Anyway, my 15-17 hour workday should end by this week. The book HAS to go to print by Friday.
On a more positive note, I must say I’ve learnt a lot from this. There are so many details to take note of when proofreading! I’ve also learnt a new language–the one used by editors and proofreaders to communicate to typesetters what changes need to be made on a manuscript. I now know all these weird symbols at the back of my hand!
Also, I think my Chinese has improved marginally with all that reading of the Chinese text! I’m also more aware of grammar, punctuation, and editing rules. Had to do lots of reading up as I went along!
I suppose the Chinese author appreciates the efforts of my colleague and myself. He told me to add our names in the acknowledgements. The irony is that I was the one who wrote my own name in as I was editing the piece! Haha.
Anyway, can’t wait to get this over and done with!