I'm enjoying the novel and appreciate the translation, but I'll get straight to the point:

Please try to avoid strong regional slang in the translation e.g. 'hais.'

I had no idea what this was supposed to mean in the given contexts and completely ignored it until its frequent appearance started to bother me. The only plausible explanation I can find is from urban dictionary under 'haiz', describing it as singlish slang for sighing.

Assuming this is correct:
For a translation directed at English speakers in general, I would appreciate if you would try to avoid stronger regional terms that only exist in your variety of English. I understand that this may be difficult, but understanding where your variety of English differs from others is an important part of translation and localization.

Thanks,

    sfxRain Would you prefer 'Sigh'? But 'Sigh' and 'Hais' aren't exactly the same. Hais is like heavy sighing generally with some regret mixed in. I think it's fine using hais tbh. It depicts the intended meaning better than just 'sigh'.

      It's true that it might be slightly inconvenient when reading, like in this case. Personally, I enjoy the use of regional slang(s) because it helps me know more about other dialects/ cultures. Since these novels are often set in Chinese settings, I learnt a lot about the Chinese dialect/ culture from other novels. I recall initially reading Chu Wang Fei and being confused about terms like "furen", "yatou", "laoye" etc. in the translations (to the translator's credit, it did have detailed footnotes). It encouraged encouraged me to google and learn more about ancient China's family system and political structure.

        sfxRain Please try to avoid strong regional slang in the translation e.g. 'hais.'

        i think "hias" is okay, and it's not a regional thing since i'm not from the region and have no problem understanding what the translator is trying to say here.
        no matter what the translator uses, s/he will not be able to use terms that will please everyone because each of us has differing opinions and is from all parts of the world.

        I think readers, instead, should try to be more understanding of these nuances and less nitpicky when it comes to these sort of things. Give the translators a break, so they can translate your chapters in peace.

          To clarify, as a linguist with relevant experience, I just like to see improvements in translation quality. If there's specific feedback I think I can give, then I would hope that the translator would take it in a constructive and productive way.

          N0xiety
          The point of the criticism isn't about which word is more accurate. It's about comprehensibility for most English speakers. If the only concern were accuracy, then we'd just use the original raw for complete accuracy.

          In any case, translators aren't restricted to mapping items 1 to 1. In fact, in most cases it ends up producing translation English, where each word of an expression is translated in sequence instead of just rephrasing the whole thing (e.g. "he gave him a face-slapping." vs "he humiliated him.")

          Something to think about (three sentences with varying nuance in Singlish according to a Quora post):

          “This meal is disgusting leh!”
          “This meal is disgusting lor”
          “This meal is disgusting haiz…”

          Would you say that there is no way to rephrase these sentences so they are comprehensible to people who don't understand these terms?

          Daoist_Jie
          Thanks for your perspective. I also enjoy learning about other cultures through language, but is it fair for a product to expect every reader to exit the text to look up terms?

          When a special term has significance, it isn't unusual for an explanation to be given alongside the untranslated term. That situation is a bit different from this one, as 'hais' isn't an especially significant term relevant to the novel.

          This case was just unusually inconvenient as the context (frequently isolated as a single word response) lacks information and external lookup is difficult because most results have a different spelling.

          Miya
          Whether you understand it or not is unrelated to whether something is primarily used regionally. I'm completely open if you have sources that demonstrate 'hais' being used with regular frequency in most other English dialects.

          I am well aware that translators aren't perfect. That's the whole point of feedback.

            Face_Smacking_Dao why dont you make "PIAK" as an example? Hais still more acceptable than that

            What's wrong with PIAK, fam? :(

            sfxRain Would you say that there is no way to rephrase these sentences so they are comprehensible to people who don't understand these terms?

            I think that this portion is somewhat irrelevant because leh, lor and haiz refers to different emotions being portrayed.

            'Gosh, this meal is pretty disgusting!'
            'This meal is pretty disgusting, I guess.'
            'Sigh, this meal is pretty disgusting...'

            But as a singular term, I was under the impression that I was using 'Hais' as an onomatopoeia. But of course, I get and understand where you're coming from!
            I think Millman97 gave a pretty good example of using Jeez. I'll use that in more circumstances I come across but I still believe that there's certain scenarios where only 'Hais' would fit the circumstances in accordance to the author's wishes.

              Barewolf Please don't use 'jeez'. It would be really strange using that in an ancient world cultivation novel. It's pretty much a word derived from the phrase 'jesus christ!'. I think instead of 'jeez' it would be better to use 'sheesh'. They are pretty close in meaning.

                Barewolf
                Thanks for taking a look and responding.

                Agreed. The mentioned portion isn't relevant to the main point, just an aside for the person I was replying to about the flexibility of translation.

                I don't know what 'haiz' sounds like, so I don't know the emotions associated with it as an onomatopoeia. I did more digging and it looks like the expression is also used in the Philippines, so I guess the confusion would mainly be with culturally western English speakers. Pretty interesting.

                Anyway, appreciate your input here and thanks again for your hard work.

                  I am well aware that translators aren't perfect. That's the whole point of feedback.

                  i agree that feedbacks are important, it's just that i'd argue that this feedback isn't necessary.

                  sfxRain Whether you understand it or not is unrelated to whether something is primarily used regionally.

                  my point was that if something was to be used regionally, then that implied that I'd have to be from the region to understand it. But I'm not from an eastern country, therefore, wouldn't it mean that the little "something" that you mentioned fail to have a regional connotation?

                  and last but not least...

                  sfxRain I'm completely open if you have sources that demonstrate 'hais' being used with regular frequency in most other English dialects.

                  if i want to read something with an English dialect, I would have picked up a western novel, and I'm sure i'd find nothing but english expressions and culturally correct use onomatopoeias. and there'd be no shortage of western novels where i'm from. But i choose to be here, to read something that was originally written in chinese. to realize that the person who wrote the novel has an eastern origin and background. to understand that the translator's job in translating these novels is to preserve the original meaning, right down to the tone of the passage.

                  the translators might have translated the writing, but that doesn't mean they're responsible for turning something of an eastern culture into something western, because that would change the heart of the writing itself.
                  let me break it down for you:

                  imagine you trying to dress up a pig for halloween in a spiderman costume. Just because the pig is dressed in a different costume doesn't make it a spiderman. It's still a pig at the heart of its being.

                  Same with these novels, just because you read them in English doesn't make them Western novels. So don't expect culturally relevant western expressions and terms when you read them, because you'd be under a different mindset, and that would even ruin your whole reading experience altogether.

                  Haiz, I knew i shoudn't have written these long passages, but words are needed to be said, and rebuttals are needed to be addressed.

                    Miya that implied that I'd have to be from the region to understand it.

                    Regional slang refers to slang that originates or is used primarily in a specific region.

                    If 'haiz' is used commonly in the majority of English dialects, then it's not regional.
                    If it's only used in a handful of regions, it's regional.

                    This is a definition, not an opinion.

                    I'm not going to respond directly to the rest of your comments because what you are arguing against is completely unrelated to the thread, and the quote you are addressing is making a completely different point i.e. you don't understand what the discussion is about.

                    I'm open to constructive disagreements and prefer to remain civil, but if you'd like to leave belittling passive-aggressive remarks instead, do yourself a favor and make sure you aren't making a fool out of yourself.

                      sfxRain passive aggressive remarks instead, do yourself a favor and make sure you aren't making a fool out of yourself

                      i try to remain respectful by responding to your opinion with a logical prose of my own. But just because you have no rebuttal doesn't make mine silly.

                      And I don't waste my aggression on somebody who can't come up with a respond, and opt to lump my comment to irrelevancy.

                      Though i can't say the same for you and your passive aggressive comment. If you still don't understand where I'm coming from, I suggest you reread the last paragraph of your previous comment. Oh wait, I quote the phrase I responded to, just in case you used unrelatedness as an excuse again.

                      "any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do."
                      -BF

                        Miya
                        Another explanation as a final courtesy:

                        The discussion is about choosing one English phrasing that more readers will understand (open discussion), instead of another that fewer readers will understand (currently used), both having effectively similar meanings and tone that preserve the original source material (subject to the interpretation of the translator).

                        I have absolutely no idea why you are arguing that we need to preserve the original source material, when I haven't suggested otherwise. This has nothing to do with cultural appropriation.

                        And for reference, I am ethnically Chinese. I speak GA/SA English natively, business-level Japanese, and Mandarin as a heritage language. I have experience working with translators and doing localization with my background in linguistics. I don't know why you're so adamant about shutting down criticism, but what you consider nitpicking is literally the task of translation. At this point, it's clear that I'm wasting my time as the translator has already acknowledged the point.

                        Miya somebody who can't come up with a respond, and opt to lump

                        sfxRain do yourself a favor and make sure you aren't making a fool out of yourself.

                        By the way, your quote is from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, not Benjamin Franklin.

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