hey! so im actually doing something really similar to you, translating doujin to get better at japanese (though its more of a hobby for me), but im curious what your process is, since mine is pretty complicated since im so rusty with japanese and was only taught formal-speak (so i dont know much slang). how do you go about it?
Hello!!!Thanks for asking!
Firstof all, you have to know that, as you are, I am still learning and I’mabsolutely nowhere near what I would call “truly experienced”. As such, mymethods should only serve as reference for you, from a slightly (JUST slightly,nothing beyond that) more experienced person (Also I’m a native Spanish speakerso I hope you don’t have any trouble understanding what I’ll write after this).If you still want my advice, then okay :)
Okay,so straight to the point. I basically follow these steps: reading, transcription,translation, proofreading.
1) Reading: Ithink this part is essential for me. Here I get the general impression of whatit is about. Even if you only understand some words it’s good to take a look atthe pages and see what you can or can’t recognize. When I tried to read adoujinshi for the first time, I only knew some of the Kanji and understoodalmost nothing of it. However, since I knew far more words than I knew how towrite, I looked for doujinshi withFurigana. You don’t know kanji, but you do know Hiragana,Katakana and the spoken language. So Furigana really makes everything easier.If you want to learn how to write the words you know, you should try this. Italso helps familiarize yourself with the written language.
2)Transcription: Okay, so this is the part where you maydisagree with me or not (many of my friends do), but in my opinion this helps.I’m the kind of person who has to write the same kanji many times in order tolearn it and I think there’s nothing wrong with that. The good thing oftranscriptions is that, by writing how the word sounds and pressing the spacebar, the system suggests ways to write that sound. For example, the sound じぶん could be written as 自分 (myself, himself,etc.) or 時分 (timewhen something occurs, as in 若い時分 - わかいじぶん - in my youth,younger days). By doing this you learn how to write that sound and thedifferences between one kanji and the other even if the sound is the same. Youalso practice by transcripting, like, the next time you’re writing a sentencein Japanese you’ll probably use the written word instead of the sound becausenow you know it by heart. Now, this is the part where my friends disagreeregarding translations. If you mess up a line in this process even a littlebit, it could change the whole sentence and possible the ones after it when youtranslate if you never noticed. Lately I messed up big time in this process soI have to admit it happens, especially because I was in a hurry and forgot toproofread myself and was careless with the wording (Thankfully someone kindlypointed it out). On the other hand, transcription helps your editor (if youhave one) and maybe yourself know where to typeset. Also, I think it helps youwhen you’re proofreading your script. Oh and I can keep track of what’s beingsaid as I go on translating.
*Note. If the doujin doesn’t havefurigana and you don’t know just what in the world it says, I hear somedictionaries allow you to browse kanji by the number of strokes and radicals.There is one online dictionary Ireally liked which is Jisho.org because it also allows you to write the kanjiyou saw using your mouse and it will look for it in the database. The problemis that the order of the strokes matter so I highly suggest that you use theradical system instead if you decide to try it out. There are many more options in here you can explorelater. Also, thewindows language bar (I’m not sure if this is the name in English) can beconfigured into including the microsoftIME, which includes an IME pad where you can write the kanji and the order ofstrokes doesn’t matter. It also includes a radical system, but not as useful asJisho. The pad is NOT a dictionary though. I think there’s the IME dictionaryin the tools tab of the language bar when you select the Microsoft IME but Ihave never used it.
3) Translation: Thisis the part we all do. Translating. At the beginning when I knew little, I usedto have a dictionary right beside me in case needed and I still do. Sometimesyou’ll see words you won’t even know so you need it, okay? You can use any youfind online (I want to buy a real dictionary tho). So, okay, you’retranslating. If you did the former step, like I do at most, translate from yourtranscription BUT (and this is very important) ALWAYS keep the pages openbeside the script in your computer and take note of the lines in the page too(For real. I learned this the hard way this week). You want to avoid mistakeslike mine, so be careful. A friend prefers translating directly from the doujinand skip the second step because it eases the workload and you don’t need toworry about making mistakes like the above as much. I think it depends on theperson. It’s up to you. Oh, also be careful of the story and how it progresses.You want the person reading to understand, but also want them to feel the sameas you did when you read it in Japanese (wise words from a senpai that helpedme lately). So keep track of what you’re typing.
4) Proofreading: Basically, it’s goingover the script time and again to make sure everything flows perfectly. Listen,I think you need to take a look at it even once before giving in to excitementand sending the file to your editor or typesetter/begin the typesettingyourself. I messed up (I am repeating the same thing again and again but itillustrates this well) because I was in a hurry/underpressure/inexperienced/etc and forgot to read the whole thing again. I thinkit’s really really important and a must, okay? You can also take time and checkthe pages again to make sure you’re happy with your translation once it’s over.
I’m notsure I went over every little detail, but this isbasically what I think based on my experiences. Then again, I’m not telling youto follow this step by step nor that this is the one and only reference to use. Just try whatever you want and see what fits you.Also, translating takes a lot, and I mean, a LOT of time. A doujin isn’t translatedfrom one day to another unless you dedicate yourself to it the whole time andthat’s a blatant lie. We all have lives to take care of. So, my advice wouldbe: take your time, don’t rush. Like, look up the words you don’t know, enjoythe art and the story, whatever you want. There’s time for everything, theimportant part here is for you to LEARN and HAVE FUN.
Hope thishelps you even a little bit.
