Editing User talk:COTHER (section)

== Web Novel 155 feedback ==

Dear COTHER,

I will give you the short answer to your question: 
If you consider your translation efforts hopeless, then it is.
But if you consider your translation efforts good, then it certainly isn't. 


The long answer? Lets give you some context so you understand what this long answer is about.

I am a fluent native English speaker and writer. I can consider myself a master of my mother tongue. 
Yet if you put me an English Test designed for someone learning English from a different language that they grew up with? 
I am certain that i will fail it. In fact since i work in an Non-English country, in a place where they speak very little english, this is very very obvious.

Written English or any language is something that you cannot simply say: Okay, what i have written here is good. 
It can always be better.  Nothing is more humbling than to have people who have learnt English as a second language, looking at the things i have written and correcting it, because i have written it wrong.

The Answer:
From an English perspective, there are issues with your grammar that make some sentences hard to read, you must always keep working on improving. 

Translation wise, this is something that will be difficult for me to assess, because I myself, is not a translator (or one of the worse type of amateur).

That is to say, there is no way for you to find a way for you to know and improve at the same time.

At mushoku tensei, we have an excellent resource and team of translators that can actively help you.....yet you will never have to disturb a single one of them.

I am of course talking about the translation done by the various translators here.

Lets take one look at one the translators who we know is much better than either of us and who has scripts that have satisfactory english.

Volume 9, Chapter 2 by Skuizaan.

This is a very simple task, all you have to do is take a look at the Japanese Web Novel 82.

From this raw japanese script, i want you to translate the first paragraph of this chapter.

Your objective is translate it to the best of your abilities, take as long as you want. The key is to see how well you can translate your script and how it compares to the one translated by Skuizaan.

If the first time you translate it does not come out like Skuizaan version, go back and translate again. 
Look closely at the japanese words being translated, use different dictionaries, if you feel you have found the right words the you have consider the problem is not the Japanese interpretation, but perhaps your english grammar. 

You can consider this as an exercise, every time you translate a paragraph, compare it. try and discover what went wrong.

Then do it again. 
This is the most important step, the willingness to go over and over your own script, polish, learn and do it all over again. 

If you feel like you cannot do the above or you found yourself giving up. Then perhaps you should just take a break and come back to it.

But if you were like me, who realised it was something i cannot continue or found it not fun at all. 

Then perhaps it's best to leave it to people who will, since i think it was better to master my own language first before i try to master another one. haha.

So COTHER, that is the best feedback and advice i can give you.

Baka-Tsuki can give you the platform to practice, the resources to help you, but the most important part of the effort? Will always end with your commitment. 

I wish you good luck.

Best Regards,
Onizuka-GTO 22:06, 2 August 2014 (CDT)