Volume 04 Title Discussion

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Da~Mike
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Volume 04 Title Discussion

Post by Da~Mike »

Volume 04 Title Discussion

While this is something I have noticed since the first visited this site, I never raised this issue as I had presumed that either a translator or an editor would correct it, yet so far, no one has. The issue I would like to bring to everyone's attention (particularly translators and editors) is the current title of volume 4: The Vanishing of Suzumiya Haruhi.

The instant I read that sentence, I had a nagging feeling that this was not an appropriate translation as it did not read well, by which I mean the sentence did not sound correct. To investigate further, I looked up the only two kanji used in the title of volume 4 (that differs from book to book), which are these two characters: 消失 (read as shou shitsu). After looking through all the Japanese dictionaries that I own and checking with numerous online kanji dictionaries, the characters 消失 were consistently defined as "disappearance" or "die out" as opposed to "vanishing".

This, I believe, turned out to be more beneficial for translating purposes as well. Here's why:

* The word "Disappear" is synonymous with "Vanish"
* The substitution of "Vanishing" with the word "Disappearance" in the title sentence is grammatically stronger.

==> "Vanishing" is synonymous with "Disappearing", yet both do not hold the same definition as "Disappearance".

==> Simply put, it is to do with tenses and time. "Vanishing" or "disappearing" are in present tense (or in the process of) whereas "disappearance" is either past tense or future-perfect tense. Here are some examples to distinguish the words apart:

e.g.1. "Now I shall perform my vanishing act!" the devious magician leered.

e.g.2. As the vitamin C tablet fizzed and skated across the surface of the water, I could see it disappearing before my very eyes. (Wow chemistry...)

e.g.3. No one I knew could offer any clue regarding the disappearance of the infamous troublemaker; Suzumiya Haruhi.


Now that I've explained it, here are the two versions of the title sentence for volume 4:

* The Vanishing of Suzumiya Haruhi Original translation

* The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi My suggested translation


As I was previously informed that we need to reach a general consensus on a "major-minor" change such as this before anything may be done, please post your opinion regarding the possible change of the title of volume 4 (which all in all, is still very minor).


Thank you.


--Da~Mike 18:44, 7 May 2006 (GMT) (I must have spent so long trying to ensure this post was void of any errors that the site logged me out! The IP stated in the change log is mine if you must know)


Looking up 消失 in the dictionary gave me both disappear and vanish, but I have to agree that "The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi" sounds a little better. Unless there's some specific reason in the text of the volume (which is kind of hard to say, since it hasn't been translated yet), or unless "The Vanishing of Suzumiya Haruhi" is a generally accepted translation, I would go with that one.

--Kumarei 17:02, 8 May 2006 (EST)


All the other titles are "The [abstract noun] of Suzumiya Haruhi" so disappearance fits in better. Dogtato 15:01, 8 May 2006 (PDT)


Disappearance 賛成!

--Eleutheria 16:14, 8 May 2006 (PDT)
For those of you who don't like kanji, I've done the work for you: 賛成 = sansei = agreement/approval/support/favour --Da~Mike 00:26, 8 May 2006 (GMT)
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