Friday, June 19, 2009

Strange translations in the Genius dictionary

Nintendo:  Really stretching the meaning of the word game

Kanji Sonomama DS Rakubiki Jiten 漢字そのままDS楽引辞典 is a real godsend for Japanese students (English sources tend to leave out the "DS" part, I suspect out of a combination of ambiguous typesetting on the box and not really understanding what it means). The name itself is rather self-explanatory -- basically, something like "dictionary where you can put in kanji just like that and pull them up on your DS." The appeal of the software, of course, is that writing in kanji for recognition is a lot faster than looking them up by radical and stroke number.

Though there are other utilities that offer similar features -- for example, JEDict for OSX, Kotoba on the iPhone with Chinese handwriting recognition, the upcoming Chinese handwriting recognition built into Snow Leopard -- but none work as well as it, short of dedicated electronic dictionaries, which are much more expensive.

The real problem with it is the dictionary itself. The Genius G3 dictionary usually gets the job done, but it seems to be designed with limited input from native English speakers, something especially clear in the example sentences. Here are some suspect bits I've discovered:







From aji 味: This potato eats like a chestnut
This would seem to suggest that the potato we're talking about has a chestnut-like texture (something I can't even begin to imagine) but what it actually says is "Kono jakaimo wa tabetemiru to kuri no yô na aji ga suru このジャカイモは食べてみるとクリのような味がする," or "This potato tastes like a chestnut" (rendered more literally, "When you have a go at eating this potato, it gives off a chestnut kind of flavor").
From shit: No shit!
"No shit!" is translated as "Masaka!  まさか!," or "No way!," which is literally the opposite of what it actually means.
From shikai 視界: be lost to her view
Not awful, as the meaning is more or less right, but definitely not natural either. A more natural translation of this sentence, "Kanojo no shikai kara mienakunaru 彼女の視界から見えなくなる," might be "to disappear from her sight." The "her" sounds a little strange, but so does the "kanojo 彼女" it's standing in for, I think.
From fuck: I don't care a fuck
Not much to add. Does anyone really say "I don't care a fuck?" It could be a British usage, I guess, but I've never heard it.
From fuck: Fuck me if...
Another expression I've never heard -- maybe "I'll be fucked?" Anyway, it's translated as "zettai ni... suru mon ka 絶対に...するもんか," or "There's no way I'll..."
From fuck: to be fucked out
This can only call one image to my mind, but apparently not the one whoever wrote this intended. It is translated as "tsukarekitteiru 疲れ切ってる," "to be dead tired."

From utsu 撃つ: to shoot oneself in the side of the head with a pistol
Um, sort of. This actually says "pisutoru de sokutôbu wo utte jisatsu suru ピストルで側頭部を撃って自殺する," "to commit suicide by shooting oneself in the temple." So quite a bit of information has disappeared.
From shit: shit hot
There really isn't much wrong with this, I'm just tickled by the inclusion of "shit hot." It's translated as "totemo yoi, ikasu とてもよい、いかす," or "really good, cool."
From shit: when the shit hits the fan
"When the shit hits the fan" is translated as "yokunai koto ga okoru to 良くない事が起こると," or "when things that aren't good happen." Which isn't really wrong, but kind of funny nevertheless.


I'm not just here to make fun of this thing, however. This game has a couple easter egg terms. If you look them up, they will be silver, and there will be a Mario coin noise when you select them. Check it out:


Rakubiki 楽引
To pull up easily. To pull up in a fun way.
*This is a word coined by Nintendo.
A trademark of the Nintendo Corporation.
Nintendo
An entertainment system manufacturer and seller located in Kyoto. Generally deals in home entertainment systems, playing cards, and other amusements. Founded in Meiji 22. Incorporated in Meiji 22.

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