Like manga, I hate it when they, for example, transliterate さん as -san, when there is an “equivalent” word for it, like Mr. but would it carry the same connotation as the source material? I cringe when I buy translated versions of Japanese literature due to this (which is why I stick to the source material), it just… does not sit well, I mean instead of writing -sensei, -senpai, or -sama there are “equivalents” in English for those but the catch is that would it work well upon translation?

  • bofh000@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Even English writings are sometimes translated into other languages maintaining certain terms in the original. Actually Mister, Miss etc. It’s a way to not lose sight of the original language - many times it’s not irrelevant that the action occurs in England, for instance.

    It’s the same with Japanese: if you want to keep the reader always aware of it being a Japanese story, you use san instead of Mr.

    It’s also common enough by now, that if you started using the English translations for -sama or Sensei, people would be confused.