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Is it just me...?
My translator's conscience pricks me. I have to wonder if Yumemakura's Seimei really sounds as much like Sherlock Holmes as he does in my translation. It's not just that if you do a close translation, most Japanese outside the colloquial-slangy starts sounding Victorian. The language likes nouns, especially 'thing', which begs to be rendered as matter or business or affair, while a colloquial translator would just ignore it or subsume it under a general 'this.'
Equally, as you can see, my default style is already pretty Victorian so it says nothing that Seimei's Japanese goes so easily into it. It's standard non-period Japanese except when Seimei drops into 'addressing others' high style, which requires a few extra flourishes. But Seimei talking to Hiromasa is ordinary conversational, only with me it becomes Holmes talking to Watson- a rather nicer Holmes, but still. And I wonder if I shouldn't make his dead-level standard Japanese into something more dead-level English. Should I say 'settle this now' rather than 'bring this matter to a conclusion'?
Ah well. I suppose it's a matter for the edit. On with the translation.
ETA: I'll learn some day to reread the whole of a story before saying Oh *this* one will do nicely. Not that it would help. The only Yumemakura stories I can recall that do pity and terror and no earthiness at all both have god-help-us poems in Heian Japanese that I'm not touching with a bargepole. And for the rest-- oh well. If you want refayned Seimei take yourselves to the manga, I suppose. I'll be over here trying for an acceptable translation of shiri no ana- hole of the buttocks- into which Seimei is about to insert a small paper shikigami dog to chase the occupying demon from the body. Like a magical suppository, you know. (French and Japanese have neutral words for butt and, by extension I suppose, the entrance to the butt. English makes both into epithets. The same problem occurs when dealing with female dogs. Le sigh.)
Equally, as you can see, my default style is already pretty Victorian so it says nothing that Seimei's Japanese goes so easily into it. It's standard non-period Japanese except when Seimei drops into 'addressing others' high style, which requires a few extra flourishes. But Seimei talking to Hiromasa is ordinary conversational, only with me it becomes Holmes talking to Watson- a rather nicer Holmes, but still. And I wonder if I shouldn't make his dead-level standard Japanese into something more dead-level English. Should I say 'settle this now' rather than 'bring this matter to a conclusion'?
Ah well. I suppose it's a matter for the edit. On with the translation.
ETA: I'll learn some day to reread the whole of a story before saying Oh *this* one will do nicely. Not that it would help. The only Yumemakura stories I can recall that do pity and terror and no earthiness at all both have god-help-us poems in Heian Japanese that I'm not touching with a bargepole. And for the rest-- oh well. If you want refayned Seimei take yourselves to the manga, I suppose. I'll be over here trying for an acceptable translation of shiri no ana- hole of the buttocks- into which Seimei is about to insert a small paper shikigami dog to chase the occupying demon from the body. Like a magical suppository, you know. (French and Japanese have neutral words for butt and, by extension I suppose, the entrance to the butt. English makes both into epithets. The same problem occurs when dealing with female dogs. Le sigh.)
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(Alas, even in medical terminology there is no really good word for "hole of the buttocks".)
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(Especially not, as this is, yangotonai: 'noble, well-born' hole of the buttocks. It's not easy that you're making my life, Baku.) (OK pun sorry.)
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