#no translation is perfect but I respect the fist they're making of it

[acidproofnotebook]

To localise or not to localise: Zombieman in translation

Translation is always and forever an art rather than a science. When faced with something that is not immediately familiar to the readers of the target language, a translator always has a debate: localise the expression/allusion and risk losing some of the meaning it carried for the original audience? Or translate it directly and have the target audience have to do more work to understand? It's a quandary with no clear-cut answers. Even in a single work, there's often scope for doing both.

The original translator for the webcomic chose the former, localising a lot of terms. The current translators have prioritised the latter and provided endnotes where beneficial.

Therefore, while the webcomic and the manga have the same text, allowing for some rearrangements due to panelling:

... the translations differ between the webcomic and the manga. The translator in the webcomic has gone for 'heaven' and the concepts of departed souls rising to it as the one to use as it's directly familiar to the Western, English-speaking audiences they were translating for. The current manga translators have chosen to keep the Japanese symbolism for departing souls.

I think that the original term for the river Senzu has revealed something about Zombieman that simply not being able to 'rise to heaven' lost utterly. Turns out that while the river is broadly analogous to the river Styx of Greek mythology, the ease of crossing depends on the kind of life the person led initially. Those with well-lived lives cross over a bridge, moderately sinful ones are made to ford the rive themselves, and crime-soaked lives are made to swim across a deep, snake-infested channel. When Zombieman calls himself a lousy swimmer, he says more about himself than initially meets the eye.

This is the first time we've heard Zombieman say anything at all about his life. Just as critically, the idea here isn't merely good or bad deeds, but karmic balance. Karma being the intentional actions of a person and the consequences of those actions, what Zombieman is saying is that he has not as of yet atoned for what he's done so far in life.

And like that, Dr Genus's words come back with a little bit more punch.

Translation is a tough job and there are very respectable places for both approaches. It's just that this time we English-speakers lost out on some good information just sitting there in the text for many years.