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Choose a specific question, or just scroll down to read the whole thing:
- How much Japanese do you actually know?
- How do you do your romanization?
- Why do the translations change sometimes?
- Can your translations & romanizations be trusted?
- What's up with the romaji only section?
- Can I request a song?
- How long does it take you to do a song?
- Is there anything I should keep in mind while reading your translations?
- Can I use your translations?
How much japanese do you actually know?
Well, more than the average American. To be more specific, I've been studying since seventh grade, and I'm now a fourth year college student. I do know a good enough amount to function in Japan, and enough to translate most songs without too much of a problem. I'm not fluent however, and I won't pretend to be. There are things which I don't know.
How do you do your romanization?
I try to keep with the original Japanese format of the lyrics, for example, if something's indented, I'll indent it in the romanization as well. If it's in English, it'll be in English. I write katakana as all caps, for example: DOKIDOKI. For hiragana & kanji, I'll write it in all lower case where i remember. Occasionally, something odd will happen. you'll see "Nee" for example. In this particular example, the original Japanese was "ne" and a subscript "e" I went with Nee as the best approximation... And I only make special note of the kanji if it gives a special reading, or if there's a pun.
Why do the translations change sometimes?
Occasionally, I will translate something incorrectly. When I discover the error, I go back and change it. If someone points out my error, I'll credit them.
Can your translations & romanizations be trusted?
I'm pretty confident that my romanization can be trusted, and for the translations, for the most part, yes. As I've already pointed out, though, I'm not totally fluent. There's quite a few linguistic nuances I'm still unable to pick up. I always try to keep them up to date, though, so when I find an error, I'll update the translation.
What's up with the romaji only section?
I put that up for the songs I've either been unable to finish due to lack in time, or that I'm stuck on because of something I can't understand. Eventually, I'd like all of the songs there to be translated, and quite a few of them you can probably look forward to in the near future.
Can I request a song?
Sure! If I have it, then I'll start working on it, if I don't, though, I'll request a scan of the lyrics. Also, if possible, it'd be nice if you could point me in a direction where I could find an mp3 or something of the song. It speeds up the whole process if I can actually hear the song. It also eliminates errors in the romanization. Just e-mail me with the information, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I'll warn you ahead of time, though. Although this is one of my hobbies, I don't really have a lot of time to be doing this often, so it may take awhile for me to do the song. Even longer possibly to post it on the web.
How long does it take you to do a song?
To romanize it only, it takes about 10-20 minutes. To translate it can take anywhere from half an hour to an hour, depending on the complexity of the song. It can even take longer on occasion.
Is there anything I should keep in mind while reading your translations?
I try to get as literal, yet lyrical as possible. What that means is that for the most part, I'll try to keep the line order the same, if possible, without destroying the meaning. The reason for this is that I believe that a lot of the song is how the words unfold to you. Not only lyrically, but the order. Also, if there's ambiguity in the original Japanese meaning, I'll keep the same ambiguity. If there's a subtle meaning, I'll either try to put in into the translation or make a translational note.
Can I use your translations?
This depends. If it's just for your own personal use, feel free to. What I don't want, though, is people taking off my name and distributing it around. If you'd like to use it on your own webpage, first send me an e-mail to double check, and if you keep my name on the translation & provide a link to my page, I'll most likely say "yes." Although it may not seem like I spend a long time on translations, I put a lot of effort into them to get them just the way I want them to be. It takes a lot of hard work; I hope you understand why I want credit for that work.
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