Gineipaedia:Translation

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This page contains a catalogue of translation-related notes, questions, and issues related to Legend of Galactic Heroes.

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Terminology

Starzones / star systems — note

The most common term for star systems in English LOGH fan sources seems to be 'starzone'. This is also used a few times in the anime itself. This is probably obvious, but i've noticed that the Japanese subtitles correspond to the perspective that each system is being shown from.

For the FPA perspective, it is common to use 'system' in the English subtitles. You can see this many times — for instance, 'Jafnhár System' in episode 015. In these cases, the Japanese subtitles show '星系' solar system.

However, for the Imperial perspective, the series seems to switch between various German (or pseudo-German) translations and 'Starzone'. In all of these cases, the Japanese subtitles show '星域', lit. star zone. This seems to be a term that is not in common use outside of LOGH fandom, as far as i can tell from Googling. However, within LOGH fandom, it is used almost exclusively — even for instances like Jafnhár, where the series explicitly uses 星系, Japanese fan sources use 星域 instead.

Given the above, i think i'm going to stick with 星域 — and therefore 'starzone' — for all star systems (and star-system battles) on the site. We should have 'system' redirect to the 'starzone' pages.

Removed non-translation-related comments — see Policy talk.  ♥ kine

Free Planets Alliance Officer Academy — issue

The Free Planets Alliance Officer Academy article has recently been brought over from LOGH Wiki, and i'm concerned about the name translation. These are the facts:

Unfortunately there were no name subtitles — as far as i can find — for this particular institution, thus the confusion.

So which do we go with? The most formal and complete name (the last one) seems like the best choice, but i can't find any official sources that use it.

Also, on an even more nit-picky note — assuming we continue the use of the term 'officer', exactly what form should it take? Officers, plural? Officers', plural possessive? Google and Wikipedia seem divided between 'officer school' and 'officers school'.

Alpha Centauri — issue

I wanted to put in a Japanese name for Alpha Centauri Starzone, but i've had trouble determining what it should be. Wikipedia says 'ケンタウルス座アルファ星', but the way the narrator pronounces it in 'To Earth' is something like 'アルファ・ケンタウル'. I could not find any LOGH-related results on Google for either one. :/  ♥ kine

Alpha Centauri is not a fictional star system. The Japanese name, Arufa Kentawaru, is just the Japanese pronuncation. The correct romanization is "Alpha Centuari." — Canary
I did not have any trouble with the romanisation or the pronunciation used in the series, my concern was with the appropriate spelling. According to Wikipedia and Google Translate, the Japanese name for it is in fact ケンタウルス座アルファ星 kentaurusu-za arufa-boshi, which is not what the narrator guy called it — thus my confusion.
'アルファ・ケンタウリ' alufa kentauri returns 51'700 results on Google, though, whilst Wikipedia's spelling only returns 29'000, so perhaps the former is the correct spelling. I'm going to use it for now.  ♥ kine

Earth / Earth Cult — issue

Currently we refer to Earth and the Earth Cult by those respective names. However, i am unsure if this is correct. The Japanese dialogue and text uses the standard Japanese name for Earth, '地球' chikyū, exclusively. However, the English word 'Earth' rarely if ever appears. Instead, the name subtitles show 'Terra', the Earth Cult's banners read 'Terra', and when the Earth Cult aren't being referred to as such ('地球教団' chikyū kyōdan), they are called 'Terraists'.

This leads me to believe that the preferred and intended English translation for '地球' may in fact be 'Terra', and that we should refer to the planet and the church as 'Terra' and the 'Terra Cult', respectively. We will need a consensus on this before taking any action, of course.

Episode titles

The Knights of the Rose (薔薇の騎士) — issue

If i recall correctly, this should actually be 'The Rosen-Ritter' or something to that effect. 'Knights of the Rose' is the literal meaning of the kanji used in the title, but i seem to remember 'Rosen-Ritter' being present in furigana at the end of the episode, which suggests that that is the actual title, and the kanji is meant to give context to Japanese viewers.

Cool, Clear, Artificial Eyes (冷酷なる義眼) — issue

The standard translation for this episode title sounds very nice, but it does not carry the same meaning as the original. The characters '冷酷' are normally translated to 'cold-hearted', 'ruthless', &c., which obviously has a very different (mostly negative) connotation in comparison to 'cool' and 'clear' (which i would say are generally positive attributes). A less common, but still relatively accurate, translation might be 'cold and cruel'.

However, none of these sound as good as the standard translation. In some cases i would even say they are kind of nonsensical (you wouldn't describe inanimate objects as being 'cold-hearted'). I am having trouble deciding on what would be the best method of action.

New Trends (新たなる潮流) — question

Is this right? It's definitely the gist, but is there a more direct translation? Some of the characters used are the same used in 'A New Hope' (the Star Wars film), so maybe it should be 'A New Trend' or 'A New Current' or something?

The Yang Fleet Goes Out (ヤン艦隊出動) — note

It's possible that 'The Yang Fleet Mobilises' or 'The Yang Fleet Is Dispatched' might be more precise, but 'goes out' has definitely been used (in English) in the context of fleet mobilisations in the past, and since the standard translation uses it, i suppose there is a benefit in continuing to do so ourselves.

Bloodshed in Space (流血の宇宙) — question

The characters used here are the ones for 'universe', if we are to translate literally, not 'space'. But are those characters used colloquially in Japanese to mean both things? Other possible translations are 'The Bleeding Universe' and 'Bloody Universe' ('Bloody Space' sounds bizarre).

The Fall of the Golden Tree (黄金樹は倒れた) — issue

I had translated this literally based on the kanji, but i believe this is a case similar to 'Knights of the Rose' where furigana above the title spell out 'Goldenbaum'. Should probably be 'The Fall of Goldenbaum'.

Farewell, Distant Memories (さらば、遠き日) — question

I think the literal translation of '遠き日' would be 'distant days' — and this phrase would be understood in English, but i'm not sure if it's the best way to go? Something to think about. I definitely do not like 'Farewell, the Old Days'; it is perhaps an accurate translation but it just sounds silly.

Lost Things (失われたもの) — question

From what i can tell this isn't an entirely inaccurate translation (in fact maybe it's the best possible, i don't know), but i have difficulty with the hiragana bits so i'm not sure. I would like to get a second opinion to see if a more literal rendering would be possible.

The Inquiry Committee (査問会) — question

The standard translation here puts the focus specifically on the committee (i.e., the people running the inquiry — Negroponte, Oliveira, &c.), as opposed to the whole inquiry as an event. Is that correct? Google Translate gives us 'court of inquiry', which suggests it might not be. Maybe a more accurate and succinct translation for us would simply be 'The Inquiry'. Need second opinion.

War Without Weapons (武器なき戦い) — question

This is another instance where i suspect that the translation is fine, but i have small doubts because of the characters. '戦い' is what we use for 'Battle of the Corridor' and 'Jessica's Battle' — is it OK to use 'war' here instead? Given how flexible English is, probably, but again i would like another opinion.

Fortress vs Fortress (要塞対要塞) — note

A note on why i use 'vs' instead of the standard 'Against': '対' is what we see in the titles of Godzilla films, which are traditionally translated as 'Godzilla vs ______'. I think it works just as well here.

The Return (帰還) — note

This has some possible alternative translations ('Repatriation' is used by someone), but i chose The Return. My assumption of course is that the title refers to Yang's return to Iserlohn.

Determination and Ambition (決意と野心と) — question

Someone (i forget) has this as 'WITH Determination and Ambition', which makes sense given the bit at the end there. But i don't know the hiragana stuff that well. Which is more accurate?

The Abduction of the Young Emperor (幼帝誘拐) — question

Possible alternatives for that last bit: 'Child Emperor', 'Child Kaiser', 'Young Kaiser'. What's best?

A Departure (ひとつの旅立ち) — issue

I don't like this translation, but i can't find a good-sounding alternative. I think the most literal translation would be something like 'A Departure of One', but this sounds odd in English. 'One Person's Journey' was another alternative, but the connotation in the original Japanese is clearly of setting off on the journey, not the journey itself.

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