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I prefere chinese style if its chinese culture with explanation notes somere at the begining ;) Ah Qing
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hm... I would not use "Mr. Qian Qing", because it is too weird. I don't know how it is in the manga you're translating, but in the japaneses', they often use "-san", even when the'yre in a relationship (at the beginning at least), and it would be definitly weird if two people in a relationship refer to each other with "Mr.". "-san" (and I guess it goes for "A" "Ah") is more a polite way of speaking than a polite way to adress someone, I think. In France, we have the "vouvoiement" : instead of using 'tu' ('you'), we use 'vous', with some people we're not completly familiar with. We can call them by their first name and still use 'vous', as a polite way of speaking. I think that, in some way, the honorific "-san" is similar to the french "vous" ; japanese just use it even with very close people.
I'm often confused, when I read non-japanese name, I sometimes have difficulties to read and remember them, but it's part of the manga. So I still prefer to read Chinese, Taiwanese or Korean name, because if you use japanese name, the reader may forget at some point that it is not a japanese manga he's reading, and therefore, forgot that it is a different culture and that the story-scheme can have slightly differences from a japanese story.
SO, I would opt for "Qian Qing-san" or "Ah-Qing", and you explain at the begining that it is a honorific similar to "-san".
I hope I was able to help a little !!
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I do not speak Chinese, but I work as a translator for an Italian audience (I work on anime subbing for fun and I do other kind of translations as an actual job) and, you know, I find the “adapting” matters truely interesting.
When I translate something into my language, I prefer to choose the target-oriented options, but always trying to respect the source language as far as it is possible. In this case, I would suggest you to maintain the Chinese reading of the name (Qian Qing) and to adapt the honorifics (Mr. Qian Qing).
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Wow thanks for the feedback! I think we get the idea: Trying to appeal to the audience, but at the same time maintain the culture/loyal to the original. Its hard to find the right amount of either. I think I would opt for the Chinese reading with Japanese honorifics for the time being, but it would probably change very soon.
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hi, this is late so I hope you get it. I have struggled with the name thing when reading manga. I don't mean to be negative so I hope you're okay if I'm a little blunt. I truly want to be helpful. Honorariums mean nothing to Americans. To me, some are great, but a lot of the time they're confusing and often infuriating. Senpai is an example of the infuriating kind. When characters call each other "Senpai," I can't distinguish one character's dialogue from the next. I think that to Chinese and Japanese people, if these titles are left out, the character's interractions seem rude or blunt. Not true. Translators surely know that these words, titles, etc. are meaningless to Americans. The rule in American fiction literature is this: In a short work, the characters must have one name only (and one last name if absolutely necessary.) The repetitive use of that one name is necessary for the reader's understanding of who is speaking when. My advice: leave out these titles, and don't try to translate them into English. "Mr." has nowhere near the same meaning as -san. There are a few exceptions like "Doctor." Don't call everyone in the same family by their last name. I'm out of room so email me if you want more feedback. thanks for listening. I swear I could write a book on this. click my icon for a mail link
tl;dr in the bottom!
Currently. I am doing the translation of the Taiwanese Shounen Ai / Shoujo style manga called "The Monster of Memory". There are a few things I would like to hear opinions about from different manga readers:
First of all, the names. Would you like the names translated with their Chinese Pinyin or their Japanese reading? e.g 千晴 into "Qian Qing" (Chinese reading) or Chiharu(Japanese reading)?
Secondly, honorifics and nicknames. In Chinese, people who are familiar with each other like to call their names with an "Ah" or "A" in front the name, usually using only one character. In this case, close friends would call Qian Qing "Ah Qing". The Japanese equivalent would be simply calling him "Haru".
Following the previous point, stuff like "san" or "nii-san" "nii-chan" etc. Would you prefer "Chiharu-san" or "Mr. Qian Qing"? or perhaps "Qian Qing-san"?
For all those who've read till this point, thank you for you time *bows*. Hope to see all of your opinions!
TL:DR Chinese manga, name translated into "Qian Qing" (Chinese) or "Chiharu"(Japanese reading) Japanese honorifics (Chiharu-san) or (Mr. Qian Qing) or a mixture (Qian Qing-san)