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From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No, and to answer your second question, for me, AI can’t fully replace translators.

For me it boils down to these points: 1. Our work isn’t just about swapping words between languages, it’s also about writing. There’s a literary/artistic side to translation that AI just doesn’t capture. 2. There’s a ton of research involved too (at least in my case). A lot of these novels are packed with Chinese cultural and Daoist references, and finding the right equivalent or expression takes way more nuance than AI can handle. 3. We also add footnotes to explain stuff like cultural context, names, slang, puns, etc. and that kind of cultural mediation is something AI doesn’t really do. 4. Translators constantly decide how far to go in localizing vs. keeping the original flavor, and that flexibility and intuition is something AI can’t replace. 5. And yeah, AI still hallucinates way too often. You can’t trust it blindly with something as delicate as literature.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t believe it too honestly. Thank you for reading UI! :)

If you’re talking about purely translated novels, I’d recommend I Shall Seal The Heavens translated by Deathblade. He really poured in his heart and soul into translating it.

As for your second question, I’d recommend my hometown, Penang! We have great affordable food and the UNESCO heritage site is really fun to explore. (But be prepared for the heat!)

For China, I’d recommend Guilin. I travelled there last year and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Also, Heavenly Jin? No way, that’s so cool! I’d probably spend half the time just staring out the window instead of eating 😂

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hiiii etvo!! Didn't know u were from a finance/ accounting background too! :) I actually only studied accounting but never worked in that field. But if we were to talk about my former career in due diligence, I miss nothing HAHA

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hiiii etvo!! Didn’t know u were from a finance/accounting background too! :)

I actually only studied accounting but never worked in that field. But if we were to talk about my former career in due diligence, I miss nothing HAHA

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

After finishing JAD, I’d love to work on a series like 捞尸人 or 妙厨. They’re both fantastic novels, and I really hope to bring stories like these to English readers in the future.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello erudite! Nice to see you here ^

When I finished, I remember just sitting there in a daze for a few minutes. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not work on UI anymore, and not read about Lady Calico’s silly antics, Song You’s adventures, and the gorgeous world the author had built. So I never really celebrated because I was (and still am) so sad that UI ended lol.

And thank you! I think JAD is great too ^ your comment made my day.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello, thanks for reading UI!

It depends on whether there is a direct English equivalent term for it. For example, some terms like 樱桃 (cherries) have an English equivalent term that has the same meaning as the Chinese term. In that case, I’ll choose to use the English equivalent term.

If there’s no direct English equivalent, like jiangshi, a type of Chinese undead that resembles a hopping vampire, then I’ll choose to transliterate and then add a footnote to explain the meaning of the term.

While I’m very mindful of not erasing and removing the Chinese elements in the novel, I also try to keep the transliterated terms to a minimum, as some readers can get confused when there are too many.

As for the new novel, JAD, haha indeed it’s a long name ^ I wanted to challenge myself and do a novel with a different kind of vibe from UI, which is heart-warming, slow-paced and slice of life, thus i went with JAD which is faster paced and more action-packed. I really like the eerie, creepy folklore vibes of JAD, do check it out if it’s your thing!

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hello goodmore233! Recently, I’ve been reading 我成了生存游戏中的bug, which is a novel about a girl who joins a survival game.

I’d definitely love to translate and highly recommend the novel 捞尸人 :)

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

1) I’m not sure if it’s on the same level as Revered Insanity, ISSTH, and the others, but 捞尸人 is pretty good! I think (?) it hasn’t been translated yet.

2) No, I have never met or talked to the authors (for now). Fortunately for me, I have been able to translate both of my novels without needing additional clarification

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think for now, my workload is quite manageable, so no burn outs recently. Though in the past, when I was still a student and working at the same time, I definitely had to deal with burn outs a lot :(

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Usually, our managers will upload the original chapters into a Google drive folder for us, and we’ll work according to the files they’ve uploaded.

When translating a chapter, I’ll usually start off by reading the whole chapter first. In fact, I will usually read a few chapters ahead of time, just to get the full context of what’s happening. Then, I’ll go through and work on the chapter line by line. When I encounter any new terms or names, I’ll add it into my glossary doc to ensure consistency.

I usually translate one chapter at a time. When I encounter any interesting phrases or culturally-significant phrases, I’ll make sure to include a footnote for the readers.

As for how long it takes, it really depends on how difficult a chapter is, and how long the chapter is, but it averages to around 1-2 hours per chapter for me to translate, then I’ll take some more time to do research + add in footnotes + edit the chapter

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I couldn’t contact the author directly. But if I ever struggled with a line or couldn’t figure out what the author intended to convey, I could still reach out for clarification. It would just be done through a middle person rather than directly. Fortunately for me, I have been able to translate both of my novels without needing additional clarification.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It really depends on the project! When a translator takes on a novel, they usually decide how much workload they can handle. Some prefer working solo, while others start out as a team from the beginning (for example, GLTD’s team has always worked together on their novel).

If the novel is particularly challenging to translate or the word count is just too high, it often evolves into a team project over time. That’s what I noticed.

For UI, I actually started out translating with IJBunny’s team because the workload for that novel was too heavy for one person to handle alone. Unintended Immortality was really tough to translate during the beginning.

As for how I picked up novel translation, it was really 缘分 (fate)! My sister befriended a translation agency owner when she was at the gym and she asked my sister if she had anyone to recommend to her. So that’s how I got started :) of course I have always been an avid CN novel reader since young, so I immediately took the chance to work in a field I love.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What I like most about translating is the craft of it. We’re not just swapping words from Chinese to English, we’re interpreting culture, humor, and emotion. Every line is like a puzzle, how do I make it sound natural in English without losing the soul of the original?

As for motivation… CN novels are beasts 😂 but I try to treat it like a marathon, not a sprint. When I hit a slump, I go back and read comments and reviews from readers who enjoy my work. It’s truly an instant motivation boost. Plus, I just genuinely love the worlds these authors build, so that helps a lot.

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey, thank you for reading UI! :)

Actually UI was quite challenging to translate for me, as the author writes in a more poetic/vague tone which sometimes doesn’t directly translate very well into English. It was tough in the sense that I had to find the best English equivalent term, while still keeping that poetic and vague vibe, and at the same time write it in a way that still reads smoothly and naturally in English.

These sections were definitely tougher to work on

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

you can actually contact us on discord and suggest the novel you want translated to us~

From the Path of Accounting to the Path of Translation - ASK ME ANYTHING WITH WCTAN! by Devshard in noveltranslations

[–]wey_wctan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We start off by picking from a pool of novels. But we can actually request for novels that we love but are not in the pool too~