#WHEN YOU HAVE TO DIRECTLY TRANSLATE FROM A LANGUAGE THAT'S NOT EVEN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE

[neil-gaiman]

Hello, Neil Gaiman. I am writing this letter of gratitude because I am in despair, but I am obliged to you. I am Russian, I live in a small town in the south of Russia, in the Caucasus. a month ago I turned 16, so now I am fully responsible for all my actions. I'm bisexual, which is now illegal. you understand what I mean, but I’m simply scared to write about such things. absolutely no one knows about this, and I have to hide every day. this is an unbearable burden, but I must say thank you. because your projects are what gives me life. you have no idea how much pleasure it was for me, at eight years old, to fearfully admire Mr. Bobinsky. when, at 14, I finally saved up money for the Russian edition of Good Omens, which I had to order via the Internet not directly, but through my friends, I was quietly delighted. it is worth paying tribute to: this edition is really good and very warms the soul, its design may not be filled with elegance with a golden border, but it is very homely, cozy and imbued with love for the work, this can be felt, even if the translation is not the best. and on the very first pages I felt something that I had never experienced, having problems with the nervous system and anxiety: I felt protected and happy. I felt complete. each line was a sip of life-giving water for me. let me be so bold but this book is perfect for me and it's hard to believe it wasn't written for me personally haha. like two pieces of a puzzle. I hold the book of Good Omens, and I cry almost every time because it feels good just to hold it in my hands. you shouldn’t put this next to fanaticism, it’s just personal happiness. sometimes I felt so safe with this book that I hugged it as I fell asleep. then I saved up to the translation of script book for the first season, and I must say that I am confused, because there are no deleted scenes in it with Crowley shopping or the opening of Aziraphale's bookstore and others, and this was not clear to me. and a month ago, on October 30, my cousin, who is like my own sister, gave me the original Good Omens for my birthday. can you imagine? in all of Russia she was able to find only one person who carried out such foreign orders (please forgive me, I have little understanding of this). so, in some ineffable way, a copy was delivered to me via America from Corgi Books, I think, 2014. soft cover and thin pages, of course, but I'm so happy. and I’m also grateful to myself, because I’ve been learning English since I was seven, and therefore I’m glad that I can read the original. oh, you should have seen with what rapture I waited for the release of the second season at three in the morning! and with what delight I watched it in English without subtitles, understanding what was happening. this is happiness. what I want to say is that you bring…indescribable happiness to my life. you give me strength, and I don’t give up. I cry every time I allow myself to dream that I am escaping from here. that I can meet you and say thank you in person with my stupid accent, not so much because of my native language, but because of the braces, hahaha. but I never stop dreaming about it, although even this is hard. thank you for everything. I wish only peace and love. with devotion, love and gratitude, A.

I'm sending thoughts of love and concern. Stay safe.

[hedgehog-moss]

i absolutely loved your recent explanation of french to english and english to french translations! sometimes, i read a book translated into english and you can just tell with the way sentences are traslated that they were written in another language first e.g. 'praising the portentous architecture of the sky with trite formulas' from elena ferrante's book (trans from italian).

not diminishing native english writers but that sentence stood out to me as like "oh okay, i dont know if a native english writer would have written that but, from my understanding of italian, that's been directly translated", it was very interesting if you understand what i'm trying to say. thank you.

You my friend are a sourceist ! :) As we call people who enjoy “feeling” another language right underneath the surface of a translation.

There’s a whole rivalry between translators who favour “sourcières” vs. “ciblistes” translations (as we say in French). Literally it’s sourceist vs. targetist, but English prefers verbs so I think you’d call it foreignising vs. domesticating translations. Basically it’s whether you prioritise the source language (preserving as much of its specificities as possible, even if it means “foreignising” your own language a little, writing in a way that will feel a bit unnatural to your reader) or prioritise the target language (“domesticating” the original text to make it more familiar to your reader, like when American publishing houses re-publish British books and change “Mum” to “Mom”). It’s often simplified as, are you more loyal to the author you’re translating, or to the reader you’re translating for. Most translators will say you need to find the right balance between the two extremes (but most translators are secretly targetists) (that’s my impression anyway.)

Both methods can lead to awful translations when you go too far in one direction—I remember making a post a couple of years ago about a translated book I was reading that was set in Kazakhstan, in which a character (who was supposed to be speaking Kazakh in the context of the story) said “We can’t invite every Tom, Dick and Harry.” That’s domestication gone too far—it was so jarring and nonsensical in a setting where all the characters had names like Kazangap and Sabitzhan!

But foreignising can also go too far—it’s difficult to do it well because you need to make sure the foreign phrases, concepts or connotations you preserve don’t clash with your own language’s concepts or connotations (or writing style preferences). It happens infuriatingly often in French books translated from US English that the translator keeps the word “college” to mean “university”. I don’t know why this stupid mistake is so common, they’ve got to be doing it on purpose, do they think it makes the book feel more American? But it just confuses the reader because collège in France is middle school. The word already exists!!! and it brings to mind 11-14 year-old kids so it’s really jarring and takes you out of the story when you need to remember every time that the “collège” students here are older teenagers. There are times when calquing foreign words or phrases in your translation is a bold, interesting choice—but not when it removes something (meaning, clarity, connotations) from your language.

It does work when it adds something—novelty or poetry or a connotation that tells you something about another culture without clashing with your own. Like in your example, if you calque an interesting turn of phrase that feels natural in one language and less so in another (but more poetic, intriguing, etc), then your language gains something. I like when translators do this with terms of endearment, like preserving “my little lizard” or w/e instead of replacing it with kitten or your cultural equivalent—if I’m reading a book set in another culture, I’m delighted to learn what silly things people in that culture call their kids or SOs. But it doesn’t work if it removes something from your language—for example if a character in a French novel calls a boy a term of endearment that’s masculine in French but feminine in Spanish, better change it to something else so you don’t confuse the Spanish reader / make them wonder if the boy is being teased or what—you’re asking them to remove meaning / connotations from their language to replace them with something else and the clash just takes you out of the story.

So it’s always a balancing act between your love and respect for the original language / culture / author’s writing style, and your duty to the reader, who needs something familiar enough to be intelligible and pleasant to read. (But at a certain point domesticating your translation too much suggests a lack of respect for your reader’s ability to handle unfamiliar concepts and their curiosity about other cultures.)

I remember reading an article by a translator of, I think, Uyghur, who wanted to keep the phrase “like a third-day moon” to describe a finely curved eyebrow. That's a foreignising translation if your culture isn’t familiar with the lunar calendar and the typical reader is clueless about what the moon looks like on the third day of the lunar month—but if they can guess from context that it’s a delicate eyebrow, it’s not the jarring sort of foreignising that takes you out of the story because you can’t figure out the connotation or it makes no sense in your language; it’s the kind that makes you go “oh, interesting phrasing” and might teach you something (but in a subtle way!) about the kind of culture that would use it. It’s one of the joys of reading translated literature, to discover details of another culture almost without noticing, without having them explained to you in so many words. You’re just absorbing them by osmosis by being immersed in a story in which the translator managed to preserve the right kind & the right amount of surprising little turns of phrase.

#ask #language tag #i loved your ask; it gave me food for thought! #ou de la nourriture pour mes pensées comme qui dirait

[miyseung]

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔)

summary: you’re the best thing that’s happened to the girls – a life-changing event. it shows.

OR little things that (G)I-DLE do with you and only you

genre: fluff

includes: google translated thai and korean pls do not come after me if it’s wrong or weird, indirect mention of soojin leaving but oh well, got a little deep in yuqi’s bit, mention of idol struggles, wHY ARE THERE SO FEW WARNINGS 

pairing: idol! (g)i-dle x non-idol! fem! Reader

word count: 1.3k

a/n: this is all fluff, a rare exhibit even i’m shocked…

taglist: @kflixnet

cho miyeon

Miyeon is known for being extremely feminine and girlish and being on the receiving end of affection. It’s her trait, something everyone adores her for, and something she’s proud of. Yet, with you, she ends up doing things that are traditionally done by ‘the giver’ or the ‘man in the relationship’. Often, you’ll see her covering your shoulders with her favorite jacket when it’s cold, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you closer when you seem uncomfortable, letting you borrow her shirts and accessories, and – hear ye, hear ye – big spooning you. She does it all so casually and without a word leaving her mouth, just a sweet smile, making it seem like a normal thing to do when, in reality, it isn’t. She’s giving you her prized things without a single word of complaint – which isn’t the experience of the other members, as they have so grumbled to you before. 

Can you blame her? You’re one of the very few things that truly belong to her, and she can’t help but want to show everyone else sometimes, even if it breaks character. Plus, you look adorable in her outfits, and she’ll always push aside her narcissism and self-love for you.

yontarak nicha (minnie)

Nicha speaks to you in English, which is how she’s practiced and became proficient in it. She often finds herself malfunctioning though because of the crap you do to the point that she thinks in three languages. If you do something stupid to annoy her, for example, the thought train in her brain choo-choos from “โอ้ ให้ตายเถอะ เธอทำอะไรลงไป-?” to “잠깐만 왜 그렇게 웃는 게 이렇게 귀엽지?” to “OH CRAP THERE’S FLOUR IN MY HAIR?!” in a split second. It’s crazy to her because, before you, her mind’s default language was Thai, only translating it to words in English or Korean or something else she knew if she had to speak to someone who wasn’t from her country, which was a huge portion of the world. For you to be able to make her think multilingually? That was a feat she never saw happening. She makes sure that she speaks in English by the end of the day though, which is why she lags a couple of times when trying to respond to you.

First, her thoughts are jumbled in different languages. Second, she has to bring them all back to her native language - Thai. Third, she has to translate what she wants to say from Thai to English. Fourth, she has to make sure she doesn’t end up directly translating Thai phrases and idioms to English, where they make no sense. Give her a break.

(Thai - oh shit what did she just do-?  Korean - wait why is she so cute laughing like that?)

seo soojin

Soojin is quiet. She was the quietest member in (G)I-DLE, a stark contrast to the other girls. She also used to playfully reject most affection that they (Shuhua) offered, acting all tsundere-like. When it comes to you, however, you find that she’s the one initiating almost everything. Random back hugs, her hand suddenly sliding into yours perfectly, her lips puckering into that adorable duck lip she has when your faces are barely touching, you feeling your cheeks being cupped by her as she gives you uncalled-for kisses and more. If you try to push her away or ignore her acts of love, she’ll playfully whine and pester you to give her the attention that she desires from you. Of course, she knows where to stop bothering you and to give you space when you seriously need some alone time, but in moments unlike that, she’ll be like a small toddler bothering their parent for something insignificant.

It’s like you’re the Soojin to her Shuhua in SooShu, which is ironic if anything. She can’t be bothered to change her mannerisms though – she loves you so dearly that she’s afraid her heart might burst and she wants to make sure you know that.

jeon soyeon

Soyeon wrote Queencard and Allergy on a whim after you once told her that you didn’t like the way your body looked. You had been her muse for a few love songs, her favorite example being when she collaborated with Nicha on the lyrics of Dahlia and got endlessly teased by the girl for months on end for it (“You’re a simp!”), but these two were dedicated to you. Of course, she never mentioned it to anyone for fear of your name getting leaked out to fans, and she wasn’t going to get made fun of for loving you twice – she learned her lesson with one girl, imagine if all the others joined in on it? She didn’t allow you to listen to either until it was released officially, but it was all worth it when she got to see you screaming ‘why am I me?’ and ‘my boob and booty’s hot’ 24/7 around her. 

She’d always sport a small smile when she saw you listening to it, knowing that this made you feel at least a little bit better and confident in yourself. You had done so much for her and had been her rock and inspiration when she struggled and this was the least she could do to repay the favor.

(if you don’t like queencard or allergy sHhHh just go with it)

song yuqi

Yuqi is loud and argumentative to the point she can break the eardrums of whoever she sits in a heated discussion. She uses it to her advantage when she wants people to see her viewpoint and as a stan attractor for her group. Having to put up an image like that all the time in front of cameras and the eyes of adoring fans is exhausting though, and she always looks forward to the end of the day when she can come back to you and melt in your arms, or at least video call you if she’s on tour. You’re the calm to her storm, and she admires you for that. You’re able to handle her, rain or shine. Even if she gets overly emotional over something tiny, you’ll always be there to console her. Her favorite pastime is to simply cuddle with you on the couch and talk to you about random shit quietly as she closes her eyes and lets you hold her close. She can be herself with you, plain and simple, without worrying about what you think of her.

You’re her comfort space, where she can just be. As an idol, such a privilege is hard to get, which is why you’re her little secret, hidden away from almost everyone except a select few, and reserved for her only.

yeh shuhua

Shuhua is boisterous. She loves to make quips at people and bullies them playfully (just look at Miyeon). All the members and her family are victims of her teasing – no one is spared, except you. Instead, she lets you poke fun at her, with smacks to her head, mocking whatever she does, making disgusted looks at her when she acts cute, and whatnot. She’ll patiently wait there for you to be done before responding to you with an exasperated sigh or an insult back. It’s not as harsh as what she’s said to the other girls, and they have noticed the obvious favoritism whenever you go over to their dorms. They always complain about it to Shuhua, especially Yuqi, saying that they should get some of her love too. She denies any accusations of special treatment and argues back that they’re not her partner, you are, and thus they’re not worthy of her affection. It usually ends with Yuqi and Shuhua bantering for a long while as the rest, including you, watch in amusement.

You’re so special, one of the best things that’s happened to her. As much as she loves her group, you’ll always be on a higher pedestal in her head than them, resulting in a free pass and a shield from her relentless taunts. You don’t know whether to be grateful or a little concerned, but it’s nice to boast about a liberty to the others and watch their faces of annoyance.

#K-pop fanfic #kpop #mallow's works #fluff #gidle #gxg imagine #miyeon #minnie #soyeon #soojin #yuqi #shuhua #fem reader #miyeon x reader #minnie x reader #soojin x reader #soyeon x reader #yuqi x reader #shuhua x reader #Gidle imagines #kpop imagines #drabbles #girl group x reader #girl group drabbles #Gidle fluff #gidle x reader #mallow’s drabbles #kflixnet

[dearfriendicanfly]

Yesterday began a global general strike for Gaza. Today, the strike continues in light of today’s UN General Assembly vote on a humanitarian ceasefire. I am spending today making posters to submit to Artists Against Apartheid, who have released multiple posters for people to print and distribute in their local areas, as well as a wheat pasting guide in their toolkit section. I’m also going to leave my own link to a folder with PDFs and PNGS of all versions of the poster, as well as PSD and Procreate files that can be edited directly, and a copy of an image description like the one below. Feel free to redistribute these posters however you like, but I must ask that you include an image description for accessibility when reposting/posting your own version. I encourage my fellow artists to close up shop to honor the strike and spend today doing the same.

In honor of Refaat Alareer’s work as a translator, many people have been translating “If I Must Die” into their own native languages. The blank version of this poster is meant for people to add their own translations of the poem.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸

[Alt text: a black and white poster of the poem, “If I Must Die,” by Refaat Alareer. Around the image is a keffiyeh patterned border. The main image shows a black background with a drawing of a white kite and the poem in all caps. The second image is the same poster, but with OpenDyslexic font used for the text for accessibility purposes. The third is a textless version meant for others to add their own translations of Alareer’s poem in honor of his work as a translator. Transcription:

If I must die

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up

above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

— Refaat Alareer

Martyred 12/6/2023

End alt text]

#artists against apartheid #refaat alareer #palestine #free palestine #Gaza #free gaza

[perfectprofessorloverapricot]

Finding purpose | Male OC (or male reader) Chap 4

Summary: In a world that is dying and there is no way of saving it, the humanity takes mater into their own hands. They flee from their home planet with hope of conquering another in order to survive. Among them, a couple of brothers with no idea what they're doing.

Pairings: Jake sully × Oc (friendship), Tsu'tey × Oc (friendship), Neytiri × Oc (friendship). [No current love interest]

Warnings: Mention of violence, mention of death, manipulative behavior, use of drugs, bad ways of coping mechanisms and obscene language.

Note: - This is not a request and it's the translation of the original story in wattpad. - My native language it's not English - The Oc's name is Eli Thompson. - Edited

Prev part - Masterlist - Next part

With the second day at Pandora over, the soldiers documented their experiences of what they saw and felt while driving an avatar for the first time. It wasn't anything as detailed as a scientist would describe with the technical names of the neural connection between bodies or something. It was simple. They described it as an experience that couldn't be expressed with enough words or an experience that would blow anyone's mind. They called it a day and proceeded to fall into the arms of Morpheus.

The next day, the routine began like the previous one, they got up, took a bath and went to the cafeteria to eat.

But they never expected that after eating they would be directly called by a pilot to follow them to an area that they are already more familiar with from their years in the army, proclaiming that the colonel wanted to see them.

The woman introduced herself to them as Trudy, detailing that by orders of who they were going to see, she would be the designated pilot for the expeditions that involved them.

"You guys are packing some heavy gear." Jake commented as he saw the ammunition that was being loaded into the Samsun that she indicated as hers.

On the other hand, Eli was looking around, almost feeling nostalgic. Comfortable in his environment, but that did not bring him the best feelings. The last time he was in a place like this was when he presented his resignation letter caused by the disaster on his last mission. The same mission that almost took his life.

He felt a shiver run down his spine as he remembered it.

"Yeah. That's 'cause we're not the only thing around out there. Or the biggest." Trudy replied, with a small tone of amusement at the end. "I need you as gunners. Protocol generally asks me to take 2 soldiers for 1 scientist, but we are short staffed. You would be a lot of help tomorrow."

Eli turned to look at the woman with surprise, but a hint of relief. He wasn't cut out for science and he had to confess that he missed the adrenaline. So much time without being a Marine is already starting to take its toll on him. "Do they really have weapons but enough for avatars?" Eli asked.

Trudy gave him a toothy smile. She almost felt like she was seeing a child after being told that there are going to be gifts for Christmas. "You'd be surprised what toys the RDA can make. Fill out an application saying it's to improve mission performance and they'll give you whatever you want."

Jake nodded in satisfaction. Even if his avatar body was not his own, the idea of entering a hostile forest unarmed only to experience his death firsthand was not the best of ideas. "Well then, you can count on us." Jake said, responding to the request made a few seconds ago. Eli nodded.

"Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then." She ended the conversation by stopping in front of a slightly more private section among all the mess caused by the army. She pointed to a man exercising in the corner. "There's your man. See you on the flight line." As a last act, she bumped fists with them to say goodbye.

Both soldiers approached the boss, stopping at the metal frame of the security-like cage created for those who wish to exercise and remain out of danger from the rest of the machinery in the place. "You wanted to see us, Colonel?"

"This low gravity'll make you soft…" the colonel began to speak while still doing the bench presses. His voice came out slightly with difficulty due to the effort of speaking and lifting weight. "You get soften…" to give more drama to the moment, Quaritch roughly put the weights in its place, sat up and looked them in the eyes very seriously. "Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning."

Eli mentally snorted. He had already heard a lot about how dangerous the planet is, but no one had told him how good it could be and he is beginning to believe that someone ordered them to specifically tell them that just to scare them. To mess with the rookies or something like that.

The Colonel stood up and walked until he was in front of them. "You have a lot of courage showing up in this neighborhood." Both soldiers remained silent. The man's tone showed that he was not finished. "You are the best proof that a soldier cannot be defeated… Both wounded in combat and look where you are." Quaritch walked past them and held out his hands for emphasis to show where they were. On the most hostile planet known to man.

"It's just another hell, sir." Jake answered as he turned the chair around.

Quaritch smiled at the attitude. That fearless look is just what he needed to see to continue with his plan. With a nod he indicated for them to follow him. "I was first recom myself. A few years ahead of you. Well, maybe more than a few. Three tours Nigeria, not a scratch. I come out here?…" he turned around walking backwards to point at his scar on the side of his head. "Day one. Think i felt like a shavetail louie? Yeah."

Eli nodded his head, turning to see some soldiers pulling a weapon big enough for the robot suits like the one they were walking to at that moment. A weapon the same size as his body and he bets 3 times heavier.

"Oh, the could fix me up, if I rotated back. And make me pretty again." He paused to climb onto one of the robot's legs and gave it a few strong tugs to test its resistance. Satisfied with the result, he turned back to the couple of friends. "But you know what? I kind of like it. Reminds me every day what's waiting out there."

Before he began climbing the robotic suit, he signaled for the soldiers to ride the elevator next to the suit and stay out of the way.

"The avatar program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp-dick science majors. However..." his voice came out with difficulty as he climbed up the suit until finally falling inside. "It does present an opportunity both timely and unique."

Eli crossed his arms and leaned on one leg to pay attention. The platform he had stood on with Jake finally stopped at the Colonel's level.

"CLEAR." The man shouted as he grabbed the controls of the machine. Someone behind the ex-Marines yelled for them to clear the area. The Colonel pressed the buttons on the panel, satisfied when the engine came to life. "Recon gyrenes in avatar bodies. That's a potent mix. Give me the goose bumps." He said with the slightest laugh in his words. He seemed to find the situation amusing. "Men like that would give me the intel I need, right on the ground. Right on the hostiles' camp" After calibrating the controls to his liking, he turned to the soldiers in a slightly more serious tone. "Listen. I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust. I need to know how to force their cooperation or hammer them hard if they won't."

The Colonel's tone did not give room to refute anything, it was directly an order without mentioning that it is an order. Something that neither of them liked. But they are soldiers, they are used to it.

Jake followed up with an important question. "Are we still with Augustin?"

"On paper. Yeah, you walk like one of her science pukes, you quack like one, but you report to me. Can you do that for me lads?"

The newcomers turned to look at each other. One look was enough to know that they both agreed.

"Yes, sir," they both answered instinctively. This loyalty brought a satisfied smile to the superior's face.

"Well, all right, then." With a wave of his glove, the Colonel turned on the robot. He brought his hands to his chest and threw some well-calculated punches, making the suit perfectly imitate his movements.

Jake and Eli backed up a little in the elevator to avoid being hit by accident.

Pleased with the adjustments to his suit, he turned it around to face the former Marines, placing his hands on his waist. Not even his suit seemed to prevent the Colonel from moving with confidence.

"I take care of my own. You get me what I need and you will get what your nation denied you."

The words the Colonel had used had been intentional. He read both of their files in order to not only understand who they are, but to understand how they think. He wants them to know that they are no longer on earth and that under his control he promised to give them more importance.

And they both completely believed it.

"To you Jake." The Colonel began. "I can give you your legs. Your real legs." Mentioning the limbs, the man aimed at Jake's human legs, using the robot. He then turned to Eli. "And to you, corporal. I will make sure that your nation gives you the recognition and apology you deserve. What do you think?"

Both soldiers nodded at the same time and responded. "Yes sir."

"Good." Ending the conversation, he closed the lid of the cabin with his metallic hand, turned around and turned to continue on his way, leaving the two with a lot to think about but only one conclusion.

They have a new mission.

#avatar x male reader #avatar #x male oc #x male!reader #jake sully x reader #avatar x oc #avatar fanfiction #dom male reader #neytiri x male reader #jake sully x male reader #x top male reader #male #tsu’tey x male reader #neytiri x reader

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Okay, I've seen this done wrong often now, so a quick guide to the beautiful German language especially regarding nicknames.

It's rather easy in ENglish, because you can use every nickname, like "my love" or "my darling" for every person of every sex. IN Germany, that is unfortunately a bit more complicated, because in Germany we gender everything. The door is feminine, the table masculine, the pig neutral and so on and so on. Because of that we adapt our words, especially possesive pronouns.

Just, a quick example, below is a table with all the different ways to say "my".

In German we change the pronoun or "adapt" it regarding the "genus" (gender), Numerus (number) and "Fall" (cause). There are four cases in the German language, Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ, Akkusativ.

I won't explain them all, because that would be too difficult. However, this is why it's not enough to put "my" in Google translate. Or just "love". You can't translate things word for word into another language, you need context [btw don't use Google translate. It's really not that good]

EXAMPLE:

"My love" [as in, the feeling I feel]

[My love for him...]

"Meine Liebe"

[Meine Liebe für ihn....]

"My love" (as a nickname)

"Meine Liebe" (addressing someone of the female gender)

"Mein Lieber" (addressing someone of the male gender)

However "Liebe/Lieber" is not necessarily the best way to translate it, because it's more like a "my dear". You can go with "Meine Liebste/Mein Liebster" but that's very old-fashioned, like 19th century kind of old-fashioned.

What I also often find is "Liebchen" (though I've never seen it written correctly". It's alright I guess, but I personally have never heard someone say it.

DON'T JUST TRANSLATE RANDOM PETNAMES FROM ENGLISH TO ANOTHER LANGUAGE

Yes, "Honig" is the german word for "honey" but noone calls their s/o that?! At least I've never heard of it. Just do your research, please

Another important thing when writing about a German character:

Like in many languages, like French for example, there are two ways to directly address one person:

The informal way "Du"

And the formal way "Sie".

Unless your two characters are in a working relationship and suddendly declare their love, don't ever use "Ich liebe Sie." That's like saying "I love you Sir/Madame." If your characters know each other informaly, adress each other with first name etc. it's ALWAYS "Ich liebe dich."

Please, if you write for a character, that speaks a language you don't, translate everything in context, even if you only need one word. Don't use Google Translate. If you can, ask native speakers. I can asure you, most are happy to help.

I am, if anybody has questions regarding translations. It just makes the whole reading expirience more pleasant and makes you look like a better writer.

#writing #writing guide #fanfictions #foreign languages #german #german language #please please please

[uta-makura]

The other day I was rewatching Chishiya's last scene at the hospital, and being the translation nerd that I am, I started focusing on the dialogue choices the Netflix subtitles took. I was a little baffled because some decisions felt a little out of place to me. Now, I only studied Japanese for about three or four years (which is very little when you've got an ideogram-built language in your hands), but I still felt like taking a look at the entire original dialogue. and boy was it interesting.

So I ended up writing an analysis on Chishiya and Niragi's last conversation, comparing the source text (in Japanese) and the Netflix subtitles' target text (in English). I watched using the subtitles without closed captions, so those are what I'm going to be referencing. I then ended up writing my own personal translation of their conversation. Please take note that I'm not an English native and that while fluent in English I might've lost some nuances.

If you're interested in some details of Chishiya's (and/or Niragi's) psychology that I believe got a little lost in the target text, bear with me and let's have a look at their conversation! In the first part I'm going write down both the source text and Netflix's target text (without cc), and in the second part I'm going to examine what those word choices mean and suggest my own personal translation when I feel it necessary. So - here we go!

韮木 / Niragi: 何か / Can I help you? (1)

苣屋 / Chishiya: あなたも心肺停止を体験されたらしいですね / Apparently, your heart stopped as well. (2)

韮木 / Niragi: よく知ってますね / How do you know that? (3)

苣屋 / Chishiya: 俺もだ / It happened to me too. (4)

韮木 / Niragi: 奇遇だな / What a coincidence. (5)

苣屋 / Chishiya: 死にかけたことで、何か変わりました? / Since you almost died, did anything change with you? (6)

韮木 / Niragi: どうかな。まあ、見た目が派手になったくれえだな。そっちは? / I don't know. Well, I guess I look flashier than before. What about you? (7)

苣屋 / Chishiya: 随分とダメな生き方をしてきたから、これからはもう少しマジな生き方ができそうな気がする。そんなところかな / Since I've wasted my life until now, I think I'll be able to live a more useful life from now on. That's about all. (8)

韮木 / Niragi: ろくでもねえ野郎だったのか、お前も / So you were a good-for-nothing jerk too, huh? (9)

苣屋 / Chishiya: まあね / Yeah. (10)

(1) [Lit. Something?] Here we see Niragi initiating a conversation with a stranger using directly the informal speech (known as ため口 tameguchi). It is very uncommon in japanese culture to approach an unknown person without using formal speech, thus this immediately frames his real-world character as someone who's direct and on the defensive. In my opinion, it is better translated with "Need something?", because I'd say it's a bit more aggressive and fits the character portrayal better.

(2) [Lit. Apparently, you happened to experience a cardiopulmonar arrest as well.] The first line coming from real-world Chishiya tells us two very important things about him. The first thing we notice is that he uses very technical, surgical words that definitely come from his medical knowledge: 心肺停止 shinpaiteishi is a complex word, not very much used in informal conversations. I believe that using a simple "your heart stopped" in the target text undermines Chishiya's portrayal as someone who's pretty knowledgeable about medical terms. So what I would do is write directly in the target text "cardiopulmonar arrest". The second thing we notice is the fact that, unlike Niragi, he approaches him using formal speech (known as 丁寧語 teineigo). This kind of talk is the most common and polite way to speak with an unknown person. He even uses the most respectful second-person pronoun, あなた anata, which comes out as quite detached as well.

(3) [Lit. You know that well?] Niragi's line is a direct response to Chishiya's display of medical knowledge. The most curious thing about this line, though, is the fact that Niragi appears to correct himself and use teineigo as well!This seems to be pretty unprecedented for his character, who's previously always been showed as aggressive and as direct as possible. Instead, here he falls in line with his interlocutor's formal speech use and acts polite as well. He's baffled by his vocabulary, sure, but he also replies in an equally respectful way.

(4) [Lit. Me, too.] It's funny, because what we see is a back-and-forth between tameguchi and teineigo: here Chishiya is the one using informal speech. Unfortunately European languages make this type of transition almost impossible to convey, but I think it is curious that after Niragi has adapted to the polite form common between strangers, Chishiya feels that no, perhaps informal speech is what feels more right. It's almost like he seems to acknowledge an unconscious feeling of already knowing that other person in some way.

(5) [Lit. What a fortuitous meeting.] Chishiya's switch seems to have made Niragi subtly more comfortable because he goes back to using tameguchi. Also, while I think "coincidence" is a pretty good translation, it fails to 100% convey the fact that 奇遇 kigū points at the coincidence of meeting someone. It's not simply "what a coincidence we both had a cardiac arrest"; its meaning is more along the lines of "what a coincidence that we both ended up sharing this hospital room". So once again the dialogue implicitly suggests that the two characters have some sort of connection.

(6) [Lit. Since you came close to death, did anything change?] The back-and-forth continues because Chishiya now returns to teineigo. He seems to keep the stranger at arm's length and to feel confused about whether he knows this person or not. Also, Chishiya doesn't ask whether anything changed with Niragi, because what he says is "did anything change at all?". His question is broad, referencing what could a personality trait, a new worldview, or something else entirely.

(7) [Lit. Who knows. Well, my appeareance has probably become more flamboyant. And you?] Some things to notice here as well. First of all, Niragi keeps using tameguchi; his speech pattern is pretty brash, considering the other person is officially a complete stranger who's settled on teineigo. He even uses そっち socchi as a second-person pronoun, which is not aggressive, but definitely feels colloquial. Another word choice I wanted to look at was the term 派手 hade. Now, this made me raise my eyebrows, because according to Weblio's Japanese-to-English dictionary, some of the meanings of this word are "flamboyant", "gay", "showy", "gaudy", "loud". Niragi is essentially comparing himself at the flashy way queer people are known to dress in (especially in Japan, where gay men in particular are still subject to stereotyping as funny and colorful people).

(8) [Lit. Since my way of living has been without purpose until now, I have a feeling that my way of living will be able to be a little more useful from now on. That's about it.] I'll give you three seconds to guess what Chishiya does in this line. Ready? 3, 2, 1... yes, of course he switches to tameguchi again. Once again his instinct must be telling he's got some sort of previous knowledge of this other person, and so he drops teineigo definitely. Moving on, a change that I think is important to apply to the target text is the translation of 気がする ki ga suru. It does not mean "I think" (which is a conscious action we make) and instead conveys the idea of "I have a feeling that", "I feel like" (which portrays a subconscious feeling we can't always explain). Borderland Chishiya had experiences that brought him to a conscious change of heart, but of course Real-life Chishiya doesn't know that, so what he references is a simple sensation he gets.

(9) [Lit. So you too were a worthless asshole.] Tameguchi remains the speech manner through which the conversation is carried. Niragi makes it even more personal because he uses the second-person pronoun お前 omae, which is specifically masculine in use and extremely forward, often used to directly confront the interlocutor. The word 野郎 yarō is one of the few Japanese strong insults and covers a variety of English epithets like "bastard", "son of a bitch", "asshole". Now the nuance may very but I think "jerk" is a little too mild for both the term used and Niragi's usual speech. We also see the use of the adjective ろくでもない rokudemonai, which can mean "good-for-nothing", but also "worthless", "insignificant", "up to no good", "without purpose". Once again, the nuance used here may vary.

(10) [Lit. Well.] Chishiya concludes their conversation with one of the colloquial expressions we see him using during the series, which is non-committal and generic. You could also translate it as "I suppose", "Yeah", "You could say so".

It was very interesting for me to observe how in the space of a few lines the two characters went from using polite speech and respectful pronouns to a way more informal and direct way of speaking, in just a matter of minutes. I also enjoyed seeing Chishiya's medical background making an appeareance in the source text, and his hesitance towards using an informal speech pattern with someone he doesn't remember meeting, but feels like knowing. I think there's a lot here that gets expressed in an implicit manner and in the source text only!

I definitely had a lot of fun writing this analysis, so since I'm kind of in an Alice in Borderland brainrot I may in the future consider observing the translation process of other (more important) scenes. But this was a fun approach to begin with. Thank you for reading if you've come this far!

#alice in borderland #imawa no kuni no arisu #chishiya shuntarou #niragi suguru #chishiya #niragi #alice in borderland meta #translation notes #linguistics #thinking that i may keep on this track and have a look at usagi and arisu's final scene #or i may look at kuina's flashback in the 1.07 episode because i'm interested at how the transgender subject is approached in japanese #or i may you know. get a life. study for my exams. you know the drill #今際の国のアリス

[jinkieswouldyoulookatthis]

One of the things that I love most about fan fiction may sound like a criticism but I swear it's not. And yeah, I know, that immediately is going to flag this as criticism for some of y'all, but there's not much I can do about that, just read all of this before lighting me up about being condescending or elitist, or whatever.

All writing is a glimpse inside the mind of another person. It's the thoughts and perspectives of someone else, and it's the closest we ever get to reading someone else's mind. Mainstream, traditionally published, writing, gets edited so that it fits the commonly accepted standards of the language as well as possible. But fan fiction typically doesn't get that same polishing. Fan fiction is raw, unfiltered, and by extension, chaotic. Reading prose that spilled, or was yanked, directly out of someone else's brain is as exhilarating as it is sometimes confusing. Taking time to puzzle out meaning when the you-speak doesn't immediately translate into me-speak, or determining what word or idiom may have been intended when the ones used don't seem to quite make sense to me, is actually delightful. It satisfies the desire to translate without the need to speak another language. Although speaking of that, I am forever in awe of anyone who writes in a secondary language. Y'all don't even know how impressive that is. It doesn't matter if you get the grammar and wording exactly right, most native speakers don't either. What matters, no matter the language you use, is that you took the time to share a story from your own imagination with the rest of us. Sharing stories is something so old, so deeply entwined with what it means to be human, that it is the foundation for everything else that we ever do. And the little oddities and irregularities in each piece of writing is what makes them unique and personal and, well, spicy. Lol. Perhaps flavorful is a better word, but fan fiction IS often deliciously spicy. I love the rawness of emotion and effort and heart that is evident in fan fiction, more visible due to the lack of polishing, that makes each piece feel even more like getting to spend time in someone else's mind, like a little vacation from the confines of my own skull.

[kim-seung-mo]

Hello!Can I request item 17 from your master list?(when they feel sad/want to cry), you write very well! (I use a translator, sorry for all possible mistakes, English is not my native language😭);(I'm also sorry if I sent a request to the wrong place, I'm not really oriented here ...)

𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪'𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕕/𝕌𝕡𝕤𝕖𝕥

♩ gn!reader, angst and fluff, hurt/comfort kinda, crying cuz it's me, but soft in general

♩♩ word count: 1.4k

♩♩♩ A/N: slowly going through these 4-month-old reqs

wip list here

Chan

Chan wasn't a person who often felt sad.

At least, he never showed it in front of others.

He always felt that as the leader, he needed to be a strong support for the members and be a role model.

Even if he really did feel sad, he would just wave his hand to let others not worry about him.

But you weren't others.

He dropped his backpack directly at the door when he got home and went straight in the direction of his bedroom after carelessly taking off his shoes.

He knew you were there.

Just one look and you could tell that Chan had another rough day.

He wasn't very tall, but the way he was nestled in your arms still looked a little funny.

Yet neither of you care.

The most important thing was for him to feel safe and relaxed.

There was no need for conversation, not even a single unnecessary glance.

You stroke his back slowly, feeling his breathing steady down.

Eventually, he fell asleep listening to your heartbeat.

Minho

He might think he hides it well, but in fact, anyone who knew him well could see it at a glance.

He's usually a very joking person, but today he was unusually quiet.

He sat cross-legged on the floor in the practice room alone, playing with a plastic water bottle in his hand.

You came and sat down next to him and gently placed your hand on top of his.

He turned his head sideways, the corners of his mouth rose slightly when he realized it was you.

Just having you by his side already made him feel better.

"What's wrong? Did practice not go well?"

"Yeah… A few moves just didn't quite click."

You leaned your head on his shoulder, not minding the sweat on him.

"Aren't you here to tell me to go home? Changed your mind?"

You nodded, "Mmm, I'll stay here with you, until you're satisfied."

You knew you couldn't persuade him, as he was so hard on himself, but you didn't want to leave him alone with his troubles.

So the best solution was to stay with him.

Changbin

You've hardly ever seen him sad, so when it came around, you didn't know what to do.

He's been sighing for days now as he failed to come up with a new flow and the right lyrics.

"Binnie, is there anything you need me to do?"

You stood behind his armchair and held onto his shoulder while asking in his ear.

He was still staring at the monitor, but his hand reached for yours and squeezed it gently.

"Don't worry about me, Y/N. I just need a little more time."

But you weren't satisfied with that answer.

You pulled his armchair back and turned it around to face you.

You reached out to cup his face, your thumb rubbing his cheek.

"Listen to me and get some rest today, okay? We'll do whatever you want."

He stared into your eyes for a moment, then threw up his hands in defeat.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. I suppose I could use a break."

Doing something relaxing with you, or anything at all for that matter, would be perfectly satisfying for him.

Hyunjin

"Just leave me alone."

If you ever hear him say this, that is evidence that he really was in a bad mood.

If you do as he says and actually leave him alone, however, his mood will only get worse.

Although he said he wanted you to go away and wanted to be alone. But the more he tries to push you away, the more he actually needs you.

He would constantly be talking about how awful he is, how unworthy of your love he is, and would possibly even be questioning your relationship itself.

But he wasn't really questioning you, he was just insecure and needed you to repeatedly tell him "no".

Whether with sweet words or tight hugs, simply make him feel loved.

He would burst into tears, stammering about how much he loves you and how grateful he is to have you by his side.

At this point, take his face, gently kiss away his tears, and then compliment him on how beautiful he is.

Finish with the words, "I will always be here for you".

Jisung

He had an argument with his members because of disagreement.

You wouldn't get involved in their affairs. You had nothing to do with them, and you trusted Hannie to resolve them on his own.

Your only task was to make him feel less upset, which would in turn speed up the solving of the problem.

You knew him well enough to know that for him, a good cry would solve all his issues.

But the problem was, he didn't know if he could show such a vulnerable side in front of you.

When you do find him, hug him immediately and then never let go of him, no matter what he says.

Just keep holding him, speak comforting words and keep kissing him.

He would eventually reach a moment where he couldn't hold back anymore and break loose.

As long as you got him to talk, things would be much easier after that.

You just needed to listen to him talk about his difficulties and let him vent his emotions all through his tears and words.

Remember to take him to eat something nice after it's over, it never fails to make him feel better.

Felix

There was no need for you to go to him, he would naturally come to you when he was in a bad mood.

He would be a lot clingier than usual, and you wouldn't be able to leave his embrace for even a second.

It was obvious when he was sad, with the corners of his mouth drooping and his eyes lowered, devoid of his usual liveliness.

But you were thankful for that he made everything so obvious, at least you never needed to guess.

Give him double the amount of kisses and compliments you normally do, and just talk to him about your everyday things.

Seeing you happy naturally makes him a lot happier.

Take the initiative and ask him what he wants and then grant his every wish.

If one kiss wasn't enough, then ten, if ten wasn't enough, then a hundred.

Do something relaxing with him, watch a movie, for example, or bake together.

All worries and sorrows are left behind by him during the time he spends with you.

Kittens don't need anything other than love and affection.

Seungmin

If he said, "please leave me alone," you might actually need to leave him alone for a while.

Getting him to share his thoughts and worries with you was almost impossible.

So all you could really do was guess, and then judge by his reaction what the problem was.

When he gets upset, he likes to lie in your shared bed with your pillow in his arms and listen to his favorite songs.

Being surrounded by your scent and listening to beautiful songs made him feel better.

Pour him a glass of water, make him some food, and bring out his favorite ice cream for him to enjoy.

Stroke his hair, help him take off his tear-soaked hoodie and replace them with comfortable pajamas.

Take one of his earbuds and put it in your own ear, then just smile at him.

His eyes would start to return to their bright and shiny self, then he would quietly reach out and take your hand in his.

At this point, if you interlock your fingers with him, everything should be settled.

The next day, he would be back to being a cheerful puppy again.

Jeongin

He hid it well in front of others, his face revealing no emotion at all.

Others would notice that something was wrong with him, but they would probably think he was angry rather than upset.

But you were different, you could tell what his expression meant.

For him to remain expressionless like that, surely something terrible has happened to him.

The moment he saw your brow furrowed together, he revealed his true expression.

He would quickly cover his face with his hands to keep you from seeing.

Whether or not he was crying, he didn't want you to see him sad. Because he knew you would be worried.

"But if you don't tell me anything, I'll only get even more worried…"

All toughness vanished without a trace when you held him in your arms.

It seemed like he was always like a child when he was in front of you.

He needs something sweet afterwards, like cotton candy or cupcakes.

Only at such times would he accept all the physical affection and love from you.

permanent taglist: @zoe8stay @yutaalove @seungly @chewryy @cosmic-railwayxo @starlostseungmin

#stray kids #skz #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #skz reactions #stray kids reactions #skz headcanons #stray kids headcanons #skz scenarios #stray kids scenarios #skz angst #stray kids angst #skz fluff #stray kids fluff

[meetinginsamarra]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I've been tagged by @totallysilvergirl and @calaisreno TYSM!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know how to embed on AO3 back then)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might, possibly Time

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I have written porn and enjoyed it. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written several AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same characters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is mostly plotted but just resists being finished. *sigh*

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? I think of myself that I am versatile. Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. I remember that's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. (Which is not me saying I can do everything perfectly!! I just try whatever I want.) Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC.

I've actually never written anything before I started with Sherlock fanfic. I got this idea and it grew and I began to write it down just for me so that I would not forget it. Then I thought, why not write it into a fic? I've been reading a lot fanfic already. Over the course of two years (writing on and off) the idea had turned into a 94k fic. I only started posting "Mutual Attraction" when it was completed on AO3.

I still think it's funny because just imagine this. Never wrote a word of fiction before, not even in my native language. Then, first thing I produced is a novel-length fic written directly in English. Still seems surreal to me.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic.

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my dear friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling off "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book ".

---------

So many people have done this but I think @shiplocks-of-love @shelleysprometheus @cumbercurlygirl have not been tagged yet. And anybody else who wants to share, please.

#20 questions for fic writers #my sherlock fanfics #meetinginsamarra #meet_me_in_samarra on AO3

[magistralucis]

Observations on the French version of The Infinite and the Divine

1.. I always thought if English has to be translated into anything, French is one of the top 3 most straightforward languages to do it in. At first glimpse this is a direct translation of the English text. Good for cross-referencing, but I'm not anticipating a great deal of unusual localizations or woolseyisms, not that such things are usually at the translator's liberty with novels like these.

2. That said, the Trazyn vs. aeldari farseer encounter is excellent. The warning she gives him is the same (including the planet's demand for 'le sang de Trazyn'), but there's something special about watching him receiving this warning, immediately paying for it with his bodily death, then springing back up with a deadpan 'bon sang!'. Hits a lot better than 'this world sings for the blood of Trazyn' / 'damn!' imo. A nice little linguistical coincidence.

3. When I first read 'le tétrarque' I was thinking tetrarch of... what exactly??? But no that's just the French translation for a necron overlord. 😅 The term of address is 'messire', directly equivalent to 'my lord'

4. Sannet addresses Trazyn formally, while Trazyn tutoyers Sannet. I've yet to find out if Trazyn addresses anyone else in Solemnace this way.

5. Orikan and Trazyn, on the other hand, vousvoyer each other religiously. They don't even drop formality when they're insulting each other as the lowest of the low, and I'm not finding any instances of them doing so while skimming the pages. There's a great deal of coldness between them, but they don't deliberately talk down to each other either. I'll have to come back to this point later when I have a better grasp of French!T/O's dynamic

6. Not sure if I like 'factionnaires' as a translation for 'lychguard'. From what I can tell the French is simply the word for a sentinel or a guardsman, whereas the English is a pun on 'lych (lich)' + 'guard' = 'corpse/undead-guard' = 'body-guard'... just feels like they could've come up with a more clever translation, you know? Or am I missing something? Let me know if you can.

7. Wait Phillias is a svelte stunner? ('La femme élancée') She's definitely tall and stunning, but I always thought she was more on the side of 'built like a goddamned brick wall' or something

8. 'Salopard' 😩👎💢

9. I have emotions towards dream-pipes and wish Zuberkar could've gotten his back

10. Actually Orikan does tutoyer something: the Mysterios. And Trazyn referred to the aeldari gem earlier with a 'tu' as well. This is normal 'tu' usage in French, but it's notable that in the original English Trazyn and Orikan were both specifically addressing those objects as if they were persons. They're not that different, cooing softly at the objects they hold dear.

11. Trazyn is not on familiar terms with his chief librarian ('et apportez-moi tout ce que vous avez sur la Guerre Céleste…') or presumably his copyist crypteks, but he does use 'tu' consistently with his main crypteks (Khybur, Sannet, Tekk-Nev). 'Mes chers fidèles'!

12. Not a French-specific thing but oh my god the vicarious embarrassment Trazyn must've felt over seeing Orikan crowing his supposed victory over Vishani always gets me jghfhhdhshs

13. La tête 😳 ordonna Orikan💫 à l’Immortel 🔫 Prends ton temps 🤯🤪

That's it for Act 1. Will add more in further reblogs.

Disclaimer: not a native French speaker, also have not previously read French WH40K articles/wikis/literature/etc. I'm likely missing out on many linguistical curiosities, so if anyone else has this edition of I&D, I'd love to hear your thoughts ✨

#warhammer 40k #wh40k #the infinite and the divine #trazyn the infinite #orikan the diviner #l'infini et le devin #french #languages #i imagine a closer analysis will reveal itself on multiple reads and also when it's not literally half one in the morning 🤪 #the narrative content really is identical so i'm focusing on differences the french text is -forced- to have #the big ones have already been outlined i think but there are still three acts to go

[dustylava]

English is not my native language, so, i'm so sorry.

When Homelander doesn't behave like an capricious, offended, overgrown asshole, he's kinda nice man. It's nice to be around him. He doesn't know how to take care of himself, let alone others, but you can see that he's trying. He's learning. It is better not to tease him on this topic, but to praise him gently and unobtrusively, is a good solution. He's a moron, of course, but he's your moron. You won't be able to fix him completely, but you try to improve him, at least a little. You understand, that it can destroy you, but you will try anyway. You, of course, won't marry this dickhead. Firstly, because no one asked you, directly, and secondly, although you are a fool, that you even involved yourself being Homelander's friend, but not as much. You even had a conversation on this topic once.

Hot. It's very hot today. You were too hot. You were too hot, to do anything. You were too hot, to think. You were too hot, to just be. You were lying on your back, on the sofa, which, at night, you share, against your will, with a hero. Your friend, as usual, insisted on hugging, but you were able to explain to him, that it was too hot right now. Your legs were thrown over John's knees, and he himself was sitting on the sofa, leaning on the back of this very sofa. One of his hands was thrown over his head, and the other was drawing invisible, intricate patterns on your knees and calves. Your and his eyes were closed. You both enjoyed the jets of cool air, created by the fan. Everything was quiet, lazy and relaxed. To tell the truth, Homelander calmly tolerates extreme temperatures and their abrupt changes, but looking at you, he wanted to become a lazy, overheated puddle too. Against the background, some kind of stream or letsplay on some stupid game was mumbling, but you both stopped watching and listening a long time ago.

-Y/n. -Mmm? - You somehow opened one eye. -I'm glad to be here now… - You could notice, that he was looking at nothing with empty eyes. His big palm is firmly, but not yet painfully, squeezing your knee. - I'm actually glad you accepted me. -I love you too. - You smiled gently. - I, too, am glad to be your friend. You chatted a little more about everything and nothing, and then fell silent again.

-You know, the French have the expression "amitié amoureuse", which translates as amorous friendship… - John said in an emotionless tone, - like, when you're so close, that you can be confused with a couple in love. -What are you getting at now? - You raised yourself up on your elbows a little. -Nah… - The blonde glanced at you briefly, - just expanding your horizons. - He leaned his head back on the sofa. - Just so you know. -Well, whatever you say. - You smiled softly, but snide, laying down on the pillow again. - From where did you even find out about this? -Fuck knows. I heard it somewhere in the tower. Or not. Somewhere either heard or read. -I see. - You again, without opening your eyes, stretched out in a soft smile, which John could not help noticing.

He knows, that you understood, why he said that. Apparently, there will be a conversation again.

#the boys #homelander #john #john homelander #homelander x reader #homelander x you

[landwriter]

Not my native language, but the one I’m currently studying:

I find it interesting that in Japanese you don’t use a verb for “to dream”, you use the verb for “to see” (見る, miru) with the noun for “dream” (夢, yume) as its object (you don’t have a dream, you see a dream). There are also no articles or capital letters to make it easy to differentiate “seeing a dream” from “seeing Dream”.

So 夢を見た (“dream” + object marker + “saw”) would be ambiguous in the context of Sandman—did the speaker see Dream, or did they have a dream? Which is great because Dream kind of is a dream, he is the Dreaming, so to see him is to have a dream, to have a dream is to see him (or at least the part of him that is the Dreaming).

(Disclaimer: I have no idea how that’d be affected by honorific language, which uses different verbs for “to see”, but it’d hold true for casual, which is what I used above, and polite)

I assume this doesn’t come up in the actual Japanese translation, that they just call him an adapted version of "Dream" instead of translating the noun that is his name (particularly considering Yume is a Japanese name already. Maybe they'd have gone with it if Dream used she/her pronouns. Maybe even not then, because then it'd be a normal name when the original isn't)… yep looking it up in the Japanese Wikipedia page for the comics it’s ドリーム (Dorīmu).

Oh totally unrelated but while looking at the Netflix subs (to confirm that they also went with ドリーム) I found this very nice: while the dreaming is called ドリーミング (Dorīmingu), it gets assigned kanji that give it the meaning of dream kingdom/world. So the first time it shows up in the subs the assigned reading is shown in katakana next to the kanji, but after that the subs just have it in kanji (夢界). I think that’s a really neat thing you can do with Japanese, using the writing system to assign meaning that isn’t directly related to the sound and that would not be obvious from it (to someone who doesn’t know the English word, in this case).

I got a bit carried away in this ask because translation is so interesting and so complicated, and while I hate to do it I love seeing how other people do it and the choices they make

Anyway, looking forward to the fic, loved all the little snippets of it you've shared with all my heart!

This is The Place to get carried away about translation and language, I would love nothing more than for this blog to bear that designation haha.

Quoting this because I love it so much:

to see him is to have a dream, to have a dream is to see him

What a rad ambiguity! It dovetails to well with the lore on Dream and the Dreaming. The dramatic and poetic possibilities!! I also learned something new about the name Yume. That is really neat as well re: the writing system. Thank you for sharing, and for your kind words <3

#asks #the sandman #very very cool japanese language facts #language meta #language i love thee so #translation meta #the death of translation

[maybebabyplease]

thank you for tagging me doctor @greyeyedmonster-18 and @magswrite xoxoxoxo love to you both <3

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

ten! but another one is coming sooooon! waiting for the fest to reveal it :)

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

99,772

3. what fandoms do you write for?

HP and a whole host of ships. but i made a certain pact for 2024 that will change things up a lil......

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos

Fake It Til You Make It! 

not the kind of weather (to be dancing in your sweater) 

barely on my mind 

book smart 

say red 

actually so crazy that book smart is #4? i had no idea that many people read reg/remus......

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

yeah i do! i get a reasonable number of comments, so it's easy to do and i like to thank people for engaging with my work. but i'm never bothered if an author doesn't respond. not everyone likes that back and forth!

6. what is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i guess this hell has the angstiest ending? not to spoil, bc i haven't posted the whole thing. but none of my fics are angsty, really!

7. what is a fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

they're all happy endings. i'm an HEA bitch when it comes to ship fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

literally not even once lmfao it’s hard to be this cool and talented and popular and funny 🤷🏻‍♀️

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

hell yeah. i started writing it to get more comfortable with sex, and i ended up finding it SO fun. i like that it's basically an action scene? and i like figuring out how certain scenes would theoretically go. idk what kind it is though! y'all tell me ;)

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

i don't, and i wouldn't. i don't like them.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope! and really, you'd have to copy SO directly to steal a fic. like be so fucking serious...it's fanfic...it's derivative by definition...so as long as no one is copy-pasting my shit, 'steal' what you want. we're building this house together!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yep, i think fake it is translated to russian?

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i haven't but i dream of co-writing with the squad @colgatebluemintygel @pancakehouse on a christmas fic......maybe they could convince me to not be a grinch!

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

draco and harry. those are my BABIES!

15. what's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i don't do WIPs! if it's on my AO3, there's a complete fic sitting on my laptop. which means that yes this hell is behind on updates ONLY because i'm lazy about posting.............oops

16. what are your writing strengths?

the sentence! i loveeee the sentence.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

also the sentence lmfao i get too bogged down in perfection and will obsess over one line instead of moving the fuck on

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

stay away from google translate and get a native (or fluent, i guess) speaker to help you! i've seen some messy french out there lmfao

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i wrote part of an attack on titan fic a few years ago and never posted it! so if that counts, then aot. if we're only counting fics i've posted, then fake it was first!

20. favourite fic you've written?

answered this earlier today for another game but it's a toss-up between fake it and wolf moon <3

ok ummmmm lemme tag my buddies @pancakehouse @colgatebluemintygel @mblematic

#tag game #fun fact: i took french for 20 years #and my sis lives in paris #so yeah i'm judging your french black family fics #one thing about me #i love to be a bitch for a second #esp if i have the knowledge to back it up

[indigostudies]

23, 34, 49

23: Favorite blog in your target language(s)?

i really like @liu-anhuaming and @zhuzhudushu 's blogs! there's tons of other great blogs though, these are just the ones i can think of at the moment :)

34: How has learning languages impacted your life?

yeah! my uni studies are directly due to my interest in languages! in the past, i thought i'd go to uni for business, since i thought that would be the most financially sensible thing to do (you can get high paying jobs fairly early on), but then i realised that a lot of the languages i speak or want to study are considered critical languages by the government, which means there's a number of fairly sizeable scholarships for them—which is great for me, because it means i can basically entirely focus on the things i'm actually passionate about! studying chinese in particular has really impacted my life because i used to feel really depressed about the fact that i could feel myself losing proficiency even thought i grew up speaking it as a native language, so being able not to only halt that, but actually improve in my reading and writing beyond what i was able to learn as a kid has been really personally empowering and affirming for me. also, it's opened up a lot of opportunities for me! i'm part of a federal programme that means i get personal tutoring and will spend my final year of undergrad studying and living in china, like i've wanted to for years, and my improving chinese has allowed me to read a bunch of webnovels that i'm really enjoying that i couldn't before due to a lack of translations (the lack of translations for chinese gl novels is absolutely criminal, especially when there's so many fascinating concepts! i get that they're not as profitable as chinese bl, but still.....)

49: Do you have any language pet peeves?

i typed up a whole paragraph here before i realised i don't want discourse on this blog lol. the tl;dr is my biggest pet peeve is (usually english native) monolinguals getting offended about people making the "wrong" suggestions for language learning because it's not how they, personally, are learning a language. also, more specific to chinese, when i was growing up my teachers would tell me to stop using erhua because it was uncultured (i picked it up from my friend's grandmother, who's a northerner). since i've grown up, i've made the conscious decision to start using erhua when i speak more regularly, though it does cause unintentional confusion for people sometimes because i otherwise have a shanghainese accent.

#thanks for the ask! #inbox #games #indigo ink