I trust your judgement! Every time you've changed something for this series, I completely agree with your reasoning.
For big/little, da/xiao, i'd like that to remain unchanged if it's an endearment or title. Like da-ge, or xiao-jie. Just because big brother or little lady sound awkward in English as the cultural connotations are different. Hope this made sense!
I personally prefer A or C depending on the genre and setting BUT I put my full trust in the translator, only thing is if the names are REALLY off or out of place I beg you to do some adjustments to the name nothing takes you out of a story like some really bad naming （￣へ￣）
I totally get it! Hi5
I too am a reader when I'm not translating.
It's bad enough that some names are common and lazy that you don't even remember them. it's worst if it's nonsensical name (some even in official) that I wish translators would stop with the nonsense of "staying true" to the original.
Sometimes the author doesn't even give a shit, that's why you get shit names.
What's the point of conserving shitty names. It helps no one.
Doesn't make the author "look good" nor the story "better", most definitely not help the readers "understand" the story.
Most of the time, it's because the author in their original language trying to make a foreign name sound better (unique) in their language.
They of course wouldn't think so far that when localized in English, it became off.
When dropped on the lap of TL, we're left scratching our head with what to do with this silly variant.
And thanks for putting your trust in translator.
OMG YESS YOU GET ITTT╰(*´︶`*)╯
I have a question for my readers regarding character name changes.
In this series I've done so but kept Chinese names in romanized form
However, there will be times when direct Romanization is not the best.
1)Authors thoughtless? naming
-using common names 'big/little' Da/Xiao..
-overused name Bai (Baek in manhwa), Xiao, Li, Lin Ling etc.
2) Author's naming turns bad
- it was meaningful in Chinese but Romanization made it sound silly, weird, off
-weird: can't even pronounce it in romanized form
-Off: King Lan Si (not regal), Wen Wen (male mc,action, monster horror theme),
3) Author naming inconsistent
-eg. Cezar's father had a purely Chinese name (He Lu) (when son and imperial name is not Chinese)
4) Author's naming unfitting for theme
-eg. Romeo in a serious action heavy series
When changes are ?necessary
A) change completely (eg. King He Lu to Hieron) if situation is fitting
B) change partially (keep surname but add English name, especially for theme in modern world, space, military, sci-fi genre etc.)
C) tweak Romanized names (Xiao - Hsiao, Wen Wen - Wei Wen)
[If it's unsalvageable, I might decide not to pick it up]
D) Don't change it no matter how bad it is in Romanized form
If you know me/my style by now, you know I don't change stuff without reason. It's all for better readability. Still, that's just my style and I'd like to hear yours.
Between option A-D, which do you prefer or none of the above?