The All-Purpose "Translation Request" Thread

[El Diabeetus]

How would you guys translate the Muten part of Roshi's title? I know Roshi is already more or less Master (which makes the Master Roshi name redundant).

[White Oni]

I was wondering, what exactly does piccolo say when the post Rosat boys fuse?

My translation says "Good, AT LAST, their fusion went perfectly"

Is this correct?

I'm mostly wondering about the "at last" part.

[Doctor.]

I'm sure there's an interview of this, but I can't find it.

[Darkprince410]

I don't know if this is the most appropriate place for this, but it does fall into the vein a bit, so I'll ask here. Does anyone have a scan of the Goku's Evolution section of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy comic adaptation where it establishes that Ssj Vegetto might be even stronger than a Super Saiya-jin 4, the exact translated version of the text, as well as able to write out a non-translated version of the entry? Not a translation or anything, but the original block of text in a copy and paste friendly format for anyone to run through something like Google Translate?

Thanks in advance.

[Doctor.]

This one too, on top of the other one, if someone would do me that favor :3

[Kamiccolo9]

I was curious as to whether "Jiaozi" has ever been a proper name for Chiaotzu. Anybody have any input on this?

[Herms]

...I guess I should answer a couple of these before things really start to pile up...(AKA, I've got insomnia.)

I was curious as to whether "Jiaozi" has ever been a proper name for Chiaotzu. Anybody have any input on this?

Well, basically they're both different ways of writing the same name in alphabet letters. The name in question of course is really just the Chinese name for those potsticker dumpling things. "Jiaozi" is the pinyin spelling, while "Chiaotzu" is ye olde Wade-Giles spelling. So they're both legitimate spellings, and if we're just talking about the food, then "jiaozi" is the (relatively) trendy modern spelling, while Wade-Giles is gradually fading from use. It's the same as with "Beijing" vs "Peking". With the DB character though, as far as I know "Jiaozi" has never been used on any official merchandise or in any official translation/dub/etc. It's always either "Chiaotzu" or "Chaozu", or even just "Chaoz" sometimes. These last two are really just direct romanizations of the Japanese approximation of the Chinese name...in other words, they're equivalent to writing "Torankusu" or "Seru".

(I guess I should not that, despite how it may look, "Jiaozi" and "Chiaotzu" are both supposed to be pronounced pretty much the same way. It's more like "jiao-zzz" than "jiao-zee". Sort of.)

How would you guys translate the Muten part of Roshi's title? I know Roshi is already more or less Master (which makes the Master Roshi name redundant).

It's a bit hard, because as Toriyama says in DB Forever, there's no particular reason behind the name, and he just came up with it as something that "sounded suitably renowned and powerful". Mu=martial, Ten=sky/heaven, so...Martial Heaven? As far as I know, there's no particular preexisting meaning associated with that character combination. It looks like Toriyama just stuck two impressive-sounding characters together to get his desired effect of a name that sounded "renowned and powerful".

I'm sure there's an interview of this, but I can't find it.

I've seen that same picture around, but haven't managed to find a legitimate source for it. Supposedly it's Toriyama answering a question, but nothing in the actual picture indicates who the answer is from. So I'd be a little skeptical of it. Offhand, I can't spot anything ludicrously wrong with the Japanese, and the picture quality's better than the usual crappy fake...but that could just mean it's a fake by someone who put in more effort than the norm. Anyway, someone asks if it wouldn't have just been easier for the Z Warriors to have Akkuman use his Akumite Ray to blow up bad guys (the picture implies that this person means Freeza or super villains like that, but the actual question isn't that specific). Then somebody answers that they think the attack probably wouldn't hit the opponent, and the fights were no longer on that kind of level.

I don't know if this is the most appropriate place for this, but it does fall into the vein a bit, so I'll ask here. Does anyone have a scan of the Goku's Evolution section of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy comic adaptation where it establishes that Ssj Vegetto might be even stronger than a Super Saiya-jin 4, the exact translated version of the text, as well as able to write out a non-translated version of the entry? Not a translation or anything, but the original block of text in a copy and paste friendly format for anyone to run through something like Google Translate?

Sadly, I don't own the book. Someone posted a scan from the Chinese edition of it in this thread several pages back, and that's all I've ever seen. According to some guy on a Chinese DB forum, the Japanese edition says the same thing, and that's the best I can offer you at the moment. It's something I've been wanting to eventually confirm for myself, but...it's not really too high on my list of priorities. I still haven't gotten around to buying the actual GT special on DVD, let alone the anime comic version. Sorry. I'll help out if anyone else has a scan of the Japanese book though. I can even type up what the Chinese edition says, if you'd be interested in that.

This one too, on top of the other one, if someone would do me that favor :3

Bardock: "You've had a hard time of it, Kakarot."
Gine: "You've grown a whole lot, Kakarot."

[White Oni]

yo herms, when you're not too busy, i'd really appreciate an answer to this question

I was wondering, what exactly does piccolo say when the post Rosat boys fuse?

My translation says "Good, AT LAST, their fusion went perfectly"

Is this correct?

I'm mostly wondering about the "at last" part.
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White Oni
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[Herms]

I was wondering, what exactly does piccolo say when the post Rosat boys fuse?

My translation says "Good, AT LAST, their fusion went perfectly"

Is this correct?

I'm mostly wondering about the "at last" part.

The word in question is とりあえず/toriaezu, which indicates tentativeness: "for the time being", "for now", etc. Or also "first of all", in the sense that you're putting everything else aside for the moment to discuss this one thing. Basically, Piccolo's saying "God only knows how the rest of this is going to turn out, but at least they've managed to fuse successfully". It doesn't mean this is the first time they've ever properly fused, if that's what you're getting at.

Who could translate these three new toyble's DBAF sketch pages?
Especially the last one, which probably says something about new releases (?)

Spoiler:

Download raw scan files here: http://www23.zippyshare.com/v/17717279/file.html

He's sorry that DBAF has been delayed. He's wondering if he should continue on further with the story by making more rough story boards, or properly finish inking what he's got so far. Right now he doesn't have time to even do that, though. Well...maybe someday.

OK, I guess I can do the story too (though I admit, I don't know what "wed" is. Is it just a typo for "web"?)

Page 40
[thing on top, above the logo] Thanks to the cooperation of the 7 Super Saiyans, Goku has finally revived! Meanwhile, Oob is fighting Xicor down on Earth, but is already in tatters. (The story so far is available on wed http://blog.livedoor.jp/toyble/)
Xicor: You're more tenacious than I thought...
Kuririn: Are you OK, Oob...?!
Kuririn: Just now...the sky got dark; Shenlong must have appeared. The dragon balls have revived!
Kuririn: [r] Which means that this ki that swelled up just now...[l] It's Goku!!! Goku's back!!!
Kuririn: [r] Hey, Oob! Hang in just a bit more! [l] Goku will be here soon!!!
[verticle note on the righthand side] Dragon Ball AF volumes 1~4 available now!

Page 41
Goku: [r] ...! [l] So that's Xicor...?!
Gohan: [r] What do you think, father? [l] Can you beat Xicor?
Goku:[r] Ah...[l] I suppose so...
Vegeta: What?!!!
Pan: Yes!!!
Trunks: Go take him down quick
Goku: ...

[thing on the bottom] To be continued on wed, sometime...
[verticle thing on the left] DBAF updated at Toyblog! http://blog.livedoor.jp/toyble/

[Adamant]

With the DB character though, as far as I know "Jiaozi" has never been used on any official merchandise or in any official translation/dub/etc.

I seem to recall that some translation used it, actually. Not sure if it was a manga translation or a dub, but I think it might have been a Spanish or Italian one.

[Shnuki]

Polish version of the manga uses "Jiaozi". At first I thought it was just a weird name change, but it's good to know it actually can be written that way. As far as I remember, there was no note explaining Chaozu - Jiaozi, just the "gyoza" reading that the tournament announcer messed up.

[Darkprince410]

I know there's already a translation of it in the Strength Checker, so I'm not looking for a translation of the text. I was wondering though if Ginyu's line specifically translates to mutant, or if the word usage is grey enough that "mutant" was just a close enough approximation that it was used. Talking with someone right now that believes that "mutant" wasn't an accurate translation and I was wanting to see if it was a clear-cut, no two-ways about it translation, or if it was a "best approximation" possible translation.

Thanks in advance.

[Herms]

I know there's already a translation of it in the Strength Checker, so I'm not looking for a translation of the text. I was wondering though if Ginyu's line specifically translates to mutant, or if the word usage is grey enough that "mutant" was just a close enough approximation that it was used. Talking with someone right now that believes that "mutant" wasn't an accurate translation and I was wanting to see if it was a clear-cut, no two-ways about it translation, or if it was a "best approximation" possible translation.

It's 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i, "mutation". In retrospect I really should have phrased it as "born with a mutation" rather than "born as a mutant", since that sounds way better and is a bit more accurate (突然変異体/totsuzen-hen'i-tai=specifically a mutant, ie an organism with a mutation). But it's pretty much the same thing either way; if you're born with a mutation, then you are a mutant. Anyway, changed it now. Was that what the person was talking about? Because otherwise I'm not sure what they think is inaccurate. 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i is the Japanese term for mutation; it's pretty clear-cut. Here are some examples. And here's the Japanese Wikipedia page for the term; you can see the English words "mutation" and "mutant" pop up a bunch of times throughout, and the page links over to the English Wikipedia page for "mutation". It's a pretty straight correspondence. A super-literal translation would be "sudden variation" (or even "sudden mutation", since 変異/hen'i on its own can mean mutation too). Which is still the same thing (a mutation is a sudden genetic change), and translating it out that super-literally isn't necessarily helpful. I mean, the Japanese word usually used in DB for aliens is 宇宙人/uchuu-jin, which is literally "universe person", but it wouldn't be particularly helpful to translate it like that.

The English word "mutant" gets used in Japanese sometimes too, like with the Machine Mutants in GT, or for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And in Digimon, there's the "Mutant" type, which in Japanese is written with the kanji for 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i, but with furigana indicating it should be read as the English word "mutant" (similar to how the "Super" in Super Saiyan is written).

Polish version of the manga uses "Jiaozi". At first I thought it was just a weird name change, but it's good to know it actually can be written that way. As far as I remember, there was no note explaining Chaozu - Jiaozi, just the "gyoza" reading that the tournament announcer messed up.

Ah, that's interesting. Good to know!

[Darkprince410]

I know there's already a translation of it in the Strength Checker, so I'm not looking for a translation of the text. I was wondering though if Ginyu's line specifically translates to mutant, or if the word usage is grey enough that "mutant" was just a close enough approximation that it was used. Talking with someone right now that believes that "mutant" wasn't an accurate translation and I was wanting to see if it was a clear-cut, no two-ways about it translation, or if it was a "best approximation" possible translation.

It's 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i, "mutation". In retrospect I really should have phrased it as "born with a mutation" rather than "born as a mutant", since that sounds way better and is a bit more accurate (突然変異体/totsuzen-hen'i-tai=specifically a mutant, ie an organism with a mutation). But it's pretty much the same thing either way; if you're born with a mutation, then you are a mutant. Anyway, changed it now. Was that what the person was talking about? Because otherwise I'm not sure what they think is inaccurate. 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i is the Japanese term for mutation; it's pretty clear-cut. Here are some examples. And here's the Japanese Wikipedia page for the term; you can see the English words "mutation" and "mutant" pop up a bunch of times throughout, and the page links over to the English Wikipedia page for "mutation". It's a pretty straight correspondence. A super-literal translation would be "sudden variation" (or even "sudden mutation", since 変異/hen'i on its own can mean mutation too). Which is still the same thing (a mutation is a sudden genetic change), and translating it out that super-literally isn't necessarily helpful. I mean, the Japanese word usually used in DB for aliens is 宇宙人/uchuu-jin, which is literally "universe person", but it wouldn't be particularly helpful to translate it like that.

The English word "mutant" gets used in Japanese sometimes too, like with the Machine Mutants in GT, or for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And in Digimon, there's the "Mutant" type, which in Japanese is written with the kanji for 突然変異/totsuzen-hen'i, but with furigana indicating it should be read as the English word "mutant" (similar to how the "Super" in Super Saiyan is written).

The individual thought that rather than it being a genetic mutation (which the dialogue suggests), that they thought that Goku, like them, were just prodigies, with natural aptitude but it not being something necessarily genetic.

[Herms]

The individual thought that rather than it being a genetic mutation (which the dialogue suggests), that they thought that Goku, like them, were just prodigies, with natural aptitude but it not being something necessarily genetic.

I'm confused. How could "natural aptitude" not be genetic?

[Darkprince410]

The individual thought that rather than it being a genetic mutation (which the dialogue suggests), that they thought that Goku, like them, were just prodigies, with natural aptitude but it not being something necessarily genetic.

I'm confused. How could "natural aptitude" not be genetic?

I really don't know, but the individual suggested that the translation of "mutant" or "mutation" wasn't accurate, and instead that Goku and the Tokusentai were instead prodigies of some sort.

[Shoryuken]

Has God ever referred to Son Gokū using the old fashioned そなた (sonata), as I seem to recall seeing him using it when he is first introduced. Might just be my nebulous memory playing tricks on me though. Any clearing up of this would be appreciated.

[Shoryuken]

How would you guys translate the Muten part of Roshi's title? I know Roshi is already more or less Master (which makes the Master Roshi name redundant).

It's a bit hard, because as Toriyama says in DB Forever, there's no particular reason behind the name, and he just came up with it as something that "sounded suitably renowned and powerful". Mu=martial, Ten=sky/heaven, so...Martial Heaven? As far as I know, there's no particular preexisting meaning associated with that character combination. It looks like Toriyama just stuck two impressive-sounding characters together to get his desired effect of a name that sounded "renowned and powerful".

Worth noting is also that 天 can be used to mean a god, Deva or the ancient Chinese god of the heavens. Thence a possible translation of "Muten" (武天) could be "God of the Martial (Arts)".

[SaiyaJedi]

Worth noting is also that 天 can be used to mean a god, Deva or the ancient Chinese god of the heavens. Thence a possible translation of "Muten" (武天) could be "God of the Martial (Arts)".

Hence the Viz translation, which they give as "God of Martial Arts".

[Angelus]

This one too, on top of the other one, if someone would do me that favor :3

Is this an official image?