About Translating Comics By Iris Nic Crow
From Japanese To English and more.
Whether you are a translator or are looking to get into this work here are some of my blurbs on the subject.
Issues with the Onomatopoeia.
The Japanese language has a lot of onomatopoeic words and this is a major issue when you're translating comic books.
They are full of the them!
So we decided to use verbs, made up words, and sometimes an onomatopoeia will show up from the English language. SPLAT!BANG!! POOF!!!
I have seen them just left in as they are in Japanese so in the end it`s all up to you and your collaborators.
As you can see apparently bugs doing it sounds like "Spang spang."
I write horror fiction in Japanese but I make up a lot of my onomatopoeia. We all know that a banging on a wall or a gun shot doesn't sound like "bang."
The Editing Nightmare.
By communication with your collaborator(s), you will make mistakes and you fix mistakes. Then the person you are working with makes mistakes!! And there will be cross cultural issues and language barriers.
There will be common problems that never seem to get better!
It makes me feel like editors must be some sort of super humans who can somehow get it all right.
There will be constant battles for perfection. Just when you think you have got it this time you will notice an L instead of an R or an O instead of an A and you will doubt your abilities all together till about the end of your days.
There is no word for that in your language.
I've lived in Japan for about 15 years now. I majored in Japanese and am fluent, but I`m not fluent in ancient Japanese so when translating Hayate I had a lot of trouble choosing the right words to describe old weapons and torture methods that don`t have names in the English language. Also translating makes it hard to make things sound authentic in your own language because the language drawers in your brain will only open halfway. Yes, you will feel like an idiot when you forget your own language but forgive yourself, and push your limits.