Time Travel: 2014

Chapter 34 Problems with Internet Text Output

Lin Hui asked: You know a lot about fantasy novels! Do you usually like to read fantasy novels?

Me? Gu Yanning said, I can't say that I love reading. I just flip through it when I have free time.

Lin Hui: Just flipping through it? I thought you were an old bookworm.

Gu Yanning: I don't count. Maybe it's because I'm a language major and am more sensitive to words. I can roughly remember some of the plots I've seen.

Lin Hui: That's it [silly laugh] [silly laugh], then you really have a photographic memory...

Gu Yanning: No way~ If you really have a photographic memory, you don't have to prepare for lessons so late.

Lin Hui pretended to be surprised: Prepare lessons? Are you a teacher? No wonder you speak so orderly~

Gu Yanning: You are really good at complimenting people...

Lin Hui: I'm just telling the truth.

Gu Yanning: You can use sweet words to trick girls.

Lin Hui: No way, I'm only eighteen.

Gu Yanning: Haha, then I'm only four years old.

...

(⊙﹏⊙)

It always felt like the chat was going in some weird direction.

Lin Hui changed the subject: By the way, you just mentioned a lot of difficulties in translating fantasy novels. Which of these difficulties do you think is the most difficult?

Gu Yanning: The most difficult thing is definitely (translation) that it is difficult to get the point of foreigners.

In fact, this is not only a difficulty encountered in the translation of fantasy novels, but also encountered in the translation of many literary works.

Often the translator puts a lot of effort and energy into carefully translating the climax/climax fragment, but in the eyes of the reader, the reaction is likely to be just - 'That's it? ’”

Lin Hui: “This is understandable.

After all, people with different cultural backgrounds and different values have very different perceptions of cool.

What is pleasant in the eyes of Chinese people is not the same as what is pleasant in the eyes of foreigners, and what is pleasant in the eyes of translators is not equal to what is pleasant in the eyes of readers.

Not only that.

There are even some plots that are very enjoyable in the eyes of Chinese people, but become poisonous to foreigners.

Gu Yanning: Yes, I have seen a saying before:

——‘The so-called translation is a kind of creative labor to understand the culture of another country that is completely different from the inherent cognition.

When translating into other languages, the linguistic charm of the original work must be maintained.

Even if you are good at that foreign language.

If the mother tongue expression ability is not enough, it will not be possible. ’

According to this logic, if you want to translate a novel that is suitable for foreigners, it is best to find a foreign translator.

Therefore, if you really want to translate Shuangwen to foreigners, it may be more effective to find a foreign translation team than a domestic translation team.

Gu Yanning's view makes sense.

The previous WuXiaWorld (Martial Arts World) was established in December 2014 by RWX, an avid fan of American martial arts novels.

Not only are the founders foreigners.

Its translation team was first headed by foreigners.

Could it be that if we want to recreate the popularity of WuXiaWorld in the past, we need to find foreign translators?

In Lin Hui's view, domestic translation costs are not low.

How is it possible to find a foreign translator?

It is impossible to find a foreign translator. Is it impossible to find a foreign translator in this life?

Isn’t it possible not to find a foreign translator?

not necessarily.

Lin Hui has some different views on what Gu Yanning said:

I think what you just said is difficult to translate to foreigners. This is not a problem of your translation.

It’s a problem with the web article itself.

Think about it, if there is no plot in the original text that would make foreigners happy.

No matter how good the translator is, there will be nothing he can do, right?

After all, it’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, so translators can’t just make things up out of thin air, right?

on the contrary.

Just imagine, what if a novel was written from the perspective of a foreigner from the beginning?

Then when translating, do you not have to worry about the problem you just mentioned?

Gu Yanning: If there is such an online article, it can be translated directly according to the text.

No artistic processing is required at all.

But the novels written by Chinese people are all for Chinese people.

How come there are online articles written specifically for foreigners?

Nowadays, even if domestic novels are written from the perspective of foreigners, they are largely accidental.

It can be said that if we really export novels to foreigners, most of the current domestic novels are not suitable.

Lin Hui knew this situation.

Nowadays, novels rarely consider foreigners’ points of view.

But this does not mean that Lin Hui cannot find such articles.

After all, Lin Hui came from seven years later.

Seven years later, due to the rise of overseas online writing.

Many novels are still written in Chinese characters.

But the plot is obviously customized according to the interests of foreigners.

It can be said that such online articles have been exported overseas since their birth.

At that time, Lin Hui heard that foreigners also read Chinese online articles.

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the Saturn Novel APP.

Lin Hui browsed nearly a thousand novels on it.

The plots are all awkward without exception.

At least that's what the old bookworm thinks.

However, even this awkward plot did not prevent the previous Saturn novel from becoming one of the three major copyright publishers in WuXiaWorld.

So much so that Lin Hui once had some doubts about the taste of foreigners.

…

But now it seems that Lin Hui's behavior at that time was not all in vain.

At least when he read those novels.

Download these novels in txt form.

The only regret is for ease of reading.

At that time, Lin Hui was using the domestic APP of Saturn Novels.

The novels downloaded are also in Chinese.

Although it is a bit troublesome to translate it into English.

But at least Lin Hui no longer has to worry about the source of the novel in the short term.

Precisely because I don’t worry about the source of the novel.

Lin Hui was able to think about the translation of online articles.

For most people who want to get involved in exporting online texts, they don’t have to worry about translation.

First of all, I got stuck on the source of the novel.

Not only does Lin Hui not have to worry about the source of the novel, he also doesn't have to worry about copyright issues.

It is said that the online articles on Saturn novels are the product of deep customization by AI.

In other words, it was not written by humans at all.

Even if such an article plagiarizes Lin Hui's heart, it won't hurt.

As for whether it will collide with the Saturn novel in this time and space.

No need to worry.

According to the normal timeline, the Saturn novel was not released until the end of 2016.

At this point in time in 2014, there was not even a shadow.

It can be said that Lin Hui has great inherent advantages in getting involved in this industry.

The only problem to worry about seems to be translation.

Gu Yanning suddenly said: Why are we talking about this? You don't really want to translate online articles for foreigners, do you?

Lin Hui did not hide his purpose: Since it is a blue ocean, why not give it a try?

Gu Yanning: [Strong][Strong] But have you ever thought that the reason why some roads don't exist is not because no one has tried, but because they don't work. In fact, I have tried it before, but after translating a book Just gave up.”

Lin Hui asked curiously: Did you encounter any difficulties?

Gu Yanning: “The settings in different fantasy novels are different.

The two novels with the same fantasy theme can be said to be completely different in terms of the use of exercises, the use of moves when attacking, the skills of practice, the growth of attributes after practicing exercises, and the reactions during combat...

In other words, this means that the experience accumulated in translating one fantasy novel may not be applicable to another fantasy novel...

Lin Hui was silent.

This difficulty is indeed a big problem.

The translation experience of one book cannot be applied to another book.

This means that translation costs will not slowly decrease with the increase in translation output.

On the contrary, it is likely to remain high.

Can’t control translation costs?

What's the point of doing this?

What Lin Hui wanted was a business with almost no capital and quick money.

It doesn’t matter if you need some capital.

The key is to get the money quickly.

If it takes a lot of energy.