Some additional comments/clarifications: 1. Another bit of context for the ambiguous Japanese line “さあ、呪詛を” (Saa, juso wo/Come now, the curse) that I didn’t cover in the episode is its reappearance in the Befuddled Villager’s second dialog. It’s followed by a repeated call for the attention of bloodless beings. Personally, I don’t think this sheds any light on the phrase’s meaning, which is why I didn’t mention it, but it’s possible that the idea of “listen[ing] for the baneful chants” works better here than the idea of “joining/pronouncing the chanting.” Again, I’d still try to ask for clarification if I came across a set of lines like this in my work, but I thought the additional context was at least worth mentioning here. 2. My discussion of the switch from “Ghos” to “Kos” is in Translationborne 65, after Micolash first pronounces the name. 3. For the sake of clarity for those who haven’t seen my earlier episodes (specifically Translationborne 3), when I talk about “Dying Will of Blood” not being an existing translation in the game to reference, I’m not suggesting that phrase as a valid alternative to “Blood Echoes”. I actually quite like the official English term. 4. Another thought I had on “Accursed Brew” as an item name while watching back the episode is that it’s possible the “true” item isn’t the skull at all, but the mix of curses that are drawn to it. In this case, it would make sense to somewhat de-emphasize the specific locus of the curses in favor of the fact that you have them gathered into one place. In other words, it might not be the skull that’s the important part of the item, but the curses it’s stewed in. I’m not sure how true that interpretation is to the actual lore/intention of the Japanese, but it could be another argument in favor of the official translation.
Understanding that the rhyme scheme was an additional bit of flair added by the official translation, if there was a rhyme scheme in the Japanese that made it impossible for you to keep the original meaning and set a rhyme up, which would you generally prioritize?
This is a great question, especially if you broaden it out to things like poetry or songs, because while rhyming really doesn't feature much in Japanese composition (even in music and poetry), the meter of specific phrases, such as the 5-7-5 of a haiku, can come up more often. When it comes to poems/songs, I would say in general it makes more sense to prioritize features of the form rather than the specific meaning. In something like a video game, though, what I'd really want to know is the purpose the relevant passage serves. For instance, I've occasionally worked on text that's supposed to convey that a character is casually singing to themselves, and for that sort of thing I'd prioritize conveying that idea (i.e. the rhyme) over the meaning. However, I can imagine there being situations where the meaning has to take priority, like a clue in a mystery game. So, depending on the purpose of the line in question, my approach would change. Obviously, the ideal would be to preserve both, but in reality a translator often has to prioritize. Anyway, I hope that answers your question! If not, feel free to follow up.
Some additional comments/clarifications:
1. Another bit of context for the ambiguous Japanese line “さあ、呪詛を” (Saa, juso wo/Come now, the curse) that I didn’t cover in the episode is its reappearance in the Befuddled Villager’s second dialog. It’s followed by a repeated call for the attention of bloodless beings. Personally, I don’t think this sheds any light on the phrase’s meaning, which is why I didn’t mention it, but it’s possible that the idea of “listen[ing] for the baneful chants” works better here than the idea of “joining/pronouncing the chanting.” Again, I’d still try to ask for clarification if I came across a set of lines like this in my work, but I thought the additional context was at least worth mentioning here.
2. My discussion of the switch from “Ghos” to “Kos” is in Translationborne 65, after Micolash first pronounces the name.
3. For the sake of clarity for those who haven’t seen my earlier episodes (specifically Translationborne 3), when I talk about “Dying Will of Blood” not being an existing translation in the game to reference, I’m not suggesting that phrase as a valid alternative to “Blood Echoes”. I actually quite like the official English term.
4. Another thought I had on “Accursed Brew” as an item name while watching back the episode is that it’s possible the “true” item isn’t the skull at all, but the mix of curses that are drawn to it. In this case, it would make sense to somewhat de-emphasize the specific locus of the curses in favor of the fact that you have them gathered into one place. In other words, it might not be the skull that’s the important part of the item, but the curses it’s stewed in. I’m not sure how true that interpretation is to the actual lore/intention of the Japanese, but it could be another argument in favor of the official translation.
RUclips took too damn long to point me here
Understanding that the rhyme scheme was an additional bit of flair added by the official translation, if there was a rhyme scheme in the Japanese that made it impossible for you to keep the original meaning and set a rhyme up, which would you generally prioritize?
This is a great question, especially if you broaden it out to things like poetry or songs, because while rhyming really doesn't feature much in Japanese composition (even in music and poetry), the meter of specific phrases, such as the 5-7-5 of a haiku, can come up more often. When it comes to poems/songs, I would say in general it makes more sense to prioritize features of the form rather than the specific meaning. In something like a video game, though, what I'd really want to know is the purpose the relevant passage serves. For instance, I've occasionally worked on text that's supposed to convey that a character is casually singing to themselves, and for that sort of thing I'd prioritize conveying that idea (i.e. the rhyme) over the meaning. However, I can imagine there being situations where the meaning has to take priority, like a clue in a mystery game. So, depending on the purpose of the line in question, my approach would change. Obviously, the ideal would be to preserve both, but in reality a translator often has to prioritize. Anyway, I hope that answers your question! If not, feel free to follow up.