(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Portrait - “I Thought About You.” Korean jazz. No, I mean like real jazz.
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I like seeing how other people translate, for a few reasons. For one, it helps me improve my own translations, seeing how others express a phrase, plus I’m curious at how I’d do things differently. Lily over at the now-defunct jlandsubs.com used to write posts analyzing her translations, comparing hers to other translations of the same thing, and I found them endlessly fascinating. Looking back at all the things I’ve worked on, I figured I’d give it a try as well.

(Unfortunately, it was easier for Lily because j-dramas often are subbed by multiple groups, while kdramas aren’t, so I don’t have much to compare against. If I analyze translations in the future, I’m thinking of comparing some of my summary work with translations other people have done, unless there are objections — I absolutely don’t mean to put the other work down; I only want something to compare with, to illustrate my point. If anyone doesn’t like the idea, let me know and I’ll reconsider. So for this post, I’m just going to pick at my own past translations — what I liked, what I didn’t like, what I’d do differently now.)

 
So. That’s why I’ve been skimming through some GOONG episodes, now that it’s airing on cable channel IATV (Imaginasian), and I have to say the series has got one of the better subtitles I’ve seen. (I didn’t work on Goong, although I have already seen the series prior to this.) In contrast, I really disliked the translations of Que Sera Sera that I saw (Edit: yikes, I mean to clarify, the QSS translations I saw on television — I have nothing against D-Fansubs work. Sorry if that confused anyone; I honestly didn’t think it would read that way). And although AZN’s version of Fantasy Couple was fine, they drove me nuts with their abuse… of ellipses… at the end… and beginning… of every… single… sentence…

Closer analysis of drama translations >>

Tags: Coffee Prince, fansubbing, Goong, Goong S, Korean language, lost in translation

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Now that With S2 has just released the rest of Dal Ja’s Spring to finish our 30th project (30 kdramas! In just over a year!), I had a few thoughts on fansubbing as a whole… The more I fansub and translate, the more I’ve gotten comfortable recognizing wordplay in Korean, which I always get a little kick out of. I like wordplay of all sorts, and I think people enjoy understanding them, because it gives you a deeper appreciation into the language of a drama, for instance, rather than merely the plot. I’ve also seen a couple of comments noting interest in some of my Korean language explanations, which made me realize if I get a kick out of little details, other people probably would too.

SONG OF THE DAY

Uhm Jung Hwa - Eternity (bossa mix) [ zShare download ]

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Tags: Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, fansubbing, Goong S, Hello! Miss, Korean language, lost in translation, Soulmate, Witch Amusement

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I think my kdrama addiction is becoming problematic. Because I have “real” work piling up, and yet, I would so much rather spend the time watching a drama, or translating one for the fansubbing group I’m a part of, or writing up thoughts about them. If only you could make a life like this, I’d be in heaven.

And now I’ve got this blog, which I suspect is yet another enabler in my drama addiction.

Sigh, what to do?

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Tags: fansubbing, Korean language

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