Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

General discussion related to these two novel series

Moderators: thelastguardian, Fringe Security Bureau, Senior Editors, Senior Translators, Alt. Language Translator/Editor, Executive Council, Project Translators, Project Editors

Post Reply
MiY4Gi
Vice Commander Itsuki
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:39 am
Favourite Light Novel:

Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by MiY4Gi »

BEWARE: THIS THREAD IS FULL OF SPOILERS!

This thread is for staff discussions on formatting, style standardization, names and terminology. (I couldn't find a similar thread, so I started a new one.)

I made it so that we can keep all translation/editing discussions in one place instead of having them all over different talk pages.

This Opening Post will be updated as necessary.

Current Translators:

1. Xplorer30
2. Eternal Dreamer
3. Kirandra (only doing Vol 12 extra)
4. Kai Ding
(Did I miss anyone?)

Current Editors:

1. X
2. Y
3. Z

Format & Style:

Let me know if there are any strict guidelines for the Accel World translation, so that I can post them here in the OP.

Names & Terminology:

Here is a webpage containing names and terminology for the series.

Any conflicting names or terminology can be discussed here in this thread.

If an editor or translator wants to make any changes to the "meaning" of any Accel World translated text, then he should post the relevant lines in this thread along with any proposed changes.

If an editor or translator is troubled about anything related to the translation process, then he may post his grievances here.

Since this thread will be dedicated to discussions related to the translation process, I ask that any questions not directly-related to translating or editing be kept in the General Accel World Discussion Thread. And similarly, I ask that any questions directly-related to translating be posted here instead of in the general discussion thread.
Breakdown16
Haruhiist Disciple
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:43 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Breakdown16 »

I've seen "Gale Thruster" as the translation for ゲイルスラスター almost everywhere. However, on the original Accel World Volume 5, page 134, it says (in English): "DO YOU ACQUIRE AN ENHANCED ARMAMENT GAIL THRUSTER?". The author uses "Gail" and not "Gale" - are we still going along with "Gale," which is the correct meaning, or "Gail," which is the original term that the author used but in an incorrect sense?

And on a different note: maybe we should add the names of duel stages that have been mentioned so far as well as the known techniques and enhanced armaments for each character to the Names and Terminology Guideline page on the wiki?
Xplorer30
Temporal Time Variant Entity
Posts: 250
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:22 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Xplorer30 »

That's been discussed before. We are using the correct English word "Gale" instead of the no meaning word "Gail".

We normally only put commonly used terms in the Terms page for the project, so translators can use the same terms. Putting too many rarely used words there will just make it confusing. But maybe you can put some of them here if you want.

Oh yea, welcome to the project of you are really helping with volumn 8. I am sort of busy right now so progress is slow.
Breakdown16
Haruhiist Disciple
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:43 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Breakdown16 »

Ah, I see. For terms in Accel World, maybe we could have less commonly used terms in lists that can be open and closed with the click of a button, like the ones used to display lengthy lists of information on Wikipedia. It would be helpful in ensuring unity of more specific key terms across different chapters and volumes by different translators.

Of course, since these terms aren't used as much, it might just not be worth the effort, but it's just an idea. It would be useful for fans interested about learning more about some of the more specific tidbits of information in Accel World. It would also be very useful for translators. Until now, I haven't read the light novels in English, and I've just started this project, but I can already see myself already having to go back to previous volumes and use Ctrl+F to find or double-check the equivalent term in English. For example, let's take the term 焦土ステージ on page 11 of Volume 8 (the first page with text). I'm encountering this term for the first time, but maybe it's shown up in a previous volume that someone's translated. What should I call it? Scorched Earth Stage? Burnt Earth Stage? (Currently in my draft I'm using Scorched Earth Stage, but that's beside the point.) If I wanted to check for a currently accepted term, it would be handy to have the drop-down list I envisioned above. (By the way, if there is a translation already for 焦土ステージ, let me know.)
Xplorer30
Temporal Time Variant Entity
Posts: 250
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:22 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Xplorer30 »

Making a drop down page just for this will be a bit complicated. Do you have an example of it somewhere?

Ah, you want stage names to be commonly used, that seems reasonable. Scorched Earth stage sounds about right.
Breakdown16
Haruhiist Disciple
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:43 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Breakdown16 »

I'm not sure if "drop-down list" is the correct term, but here's an example. Notice how you can choose to show track listings by clicking show and hide them by clicking hide. Useful for displaying longer lists of information.
User avatar
Misogi
Supreme Lord Temporal
Posts: 4119
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:19 am
Favourite Light Novel:
Location: France

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Misogi »

I still have the code for collapsible lists, just in case it's needed.
Spoiler! :
{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:left; margin:5px 20px clear:both; font-size:100%; background:transparent; width:100%;"
! style="background:#cee0f2;" align="center"| '''TEXT'''
|-
|

Hidden

|}
- "#cee0f2" is the visible bar's color, you can change it.
- "TEXT is the description visible on the bar, you can also change it.
- "Hidden is where you type the list you want to hide.
Twitter : @MisogID
----
Sans plume, ni sanité (Without feathers nor sanity), a blog reeking of sickness. Wipe your minds before entering.
Xplorer30
Temporal Time Variant Entity
Posts: 250
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:22 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Xplorer30 »

Oh those collapsile tables. I know how they work. The table gets loaded still, just hidden. Slower computers will see the open table till it hides.

My question is, where you want to put them? In the terms page or main AW page?
Breakdown16
Haruhiist Disciple
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:43 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Breakdown16 »

Was Zero Fill and not Zero File intended for 零化現象(ゼロフィル) on the terminology page?

And for Nega Nebulas...I've seen variations all over the place of Nega Nebulous and Nega Nebulus. But since most of the translations here go with Nebulas, I will too for the moment.
User avatar
theUnbreakableSky
Project Translator
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:14 am
Favourite Light Novel: Ahouka!
Contact:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by theUnbreakableSky »

Breakdown16 wrote:Was Zero Fill and not Zero File intended for 零化現象(ゼロフィル) on the terminology page?

And for Nega Nebulas...I've seen variations all over the place of Nega Nebulous and Nega Nebulus. But since most of the translations here go with Nebulas, I will too for the moment.
I've been using Nebulous too, but I guess I'll switch to Nebulas for consistency too.
User avatar
theUnbreakableSky
Project Translator
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:14 am
Favourite Light Novel: Ahouka!
Contact:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by theUnbreakableSky »

What was the original text for the King's nicknames?

The engrish nickname for Lotus is "World's End", though the Chinese text has it as "绝对切断" - Absolute Cutting.

Or Blue Knight who has the engrish nickname "Vanquish" and "Legend Slayer", but his chinese name "剑圣" would accurately mean "Sword Saint" or "Sword Master".

I'm sure their nicknames were not engrish but kanji with an english pronounciation - does the jap raws have this?
Tap
Kyon's Imouto-Chan
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:08 pm
Favourite Light Novel: Ahouka!
Contact:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Tap »

The format for the nicknames are usually in kanji, with katakana in furigana, I believe.
So it's written as the kanji form, but read verbally as the katakana (the Engrish).

The kanji's roughly translated or taken from the engrish if it fits closely enough.

Black -> Absolute Cutting (絶対切断) (World End)
Scarlet -> Hellstorm Domination
Red -> Master Gunsmith (銃匠) (Master Gunsmith)
Green -> Invulnerable (絶対防御) (Invulnerable)
Blue -> Legend Slayer (神獣殺し) (Legend Slayer) / Master Swordsman (剣聖) (Vanquish)
Yellow -> Radioactive Disturber (放射性惑乱) (Radioactive Disturber)
Purple -> Purple Lightning Empress (紫電后) (Empress Voltage)
White -> Transient Eternity (儚き永遠) (Transient Eternity)
User avatar
theUnbreakableSky
Project Translator
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:14 am
Favourite Light Novel: Ahouka!
Contact:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by theUnbreakableSky »

First, thanks Tap!

Second, the fandom in AS are [sr]demanding[/sr] suggesting that the use of Koudzuki is much less preferable than Kouzuki or Kōzuki. Among some of the posts, I quote the user Krono:
Actually, no they likely would not write it as Koudzuki. That would be because none of the major Japanese Romanization systems use dzu. Hepburn uses zu, Nihon-siki uses du, Kunrei-shiki uses zu. And the second two are currently part of the ISO standard for Japanese Romanization.

In short, dzu is an archaic, obsolete transliteration of ジ that's being depreciated. Modern international standard and official transliteration is zu or du, with zu being the preferred transliteration. And judging by this line from the main romanization article: "Kunrei-shiki romanization is a slightly modified version of Nihon-shiki which eliminates differences between the kana syllabary and modern pronunciation." the native speakers aren't saying dzu so quickly it blends into zu, pronunciation's actually shifted to zu.
Perfectly reasonable, but it seems I didn't make my point in bringing up the wikia clear. The wikia's just one example. Wikipedia and Anime News Network use Kōzuki as well. A quick check of Hulu shows that the official USA English subs from Viz use Kozuki. Those are just the most prominent examples. My main point is that if you use Koudzuki, you would be at odds with essentially every major source for Accel World in English. For that matter, it would be at odds with the current translation of volume 2 on BT which uses Kouduki.

I'm sorry to belabor the point like this, I just don't want a decision made based on a misunderstanding.
[the full thread is found here: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread. ... 145&page=2]

So, Koudzuki or Kōzuki, if only for consistency?
Breakdown16
Haruhiist Disciple
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:43 pm
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by Breakdown16 »

List of unresolved issues on my end that haven't already been mentioned in this thread...my current policy is that if there's something about which I have a translation question and the AW community here doesn't come to a consensus, then I will put the chapter(s) in question on hold until one of the translators in the earlier volumes (5 through 7) sets a precedent. This is to ensure consistency. If the term first shows up in volume 8, which I am currently translating, I'll mull it over if no consensus is reached.

Old:
初期加速空間 = Initial Acceleration Space, but sometimes "Blue World" is added in furigana. From now on, I plan to use only Initial Acceleration Space unless the furigana for Blue World is also present in the original text, in which case I'll put both.

本体 as in ISSキットの本体 = main body, or true form (of the ISS Kit)?

柔法 = ? my original suggestions: gentle way/method/technique. Kai Ding's suggestions: Power Redirection, Gentle Conduction. My revised suggestion: gentle redirection.

New:
心傷殻 = ? The most natural translation I came up with was "the shell of the wound in one's heart," but that's so long-winded. Shorter versions like the literal "heart wound shell" sound awkward.

Edit: Can we get this thread stickied? I mean, the same thread for SAO is stickied, so why not this one...
User avatar
theUnbreakableSky
Project Translator
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:14 am
Favourite Light Novel: Ahouka!
Contact:

Re: Accel World: Format, Style, Names & Terminology

Post by theUnbreakableSky »

I'm not too sure about the rest except for 心傷殻, based off the chinese translation I figured best translation is "Shell of Trauma."
Post Reply

Return to “Sword Art Online & Accel World”