Giving my praise for the impeccable Chinese translations

If you know me, then you know I don’t really like Chinese dramas. Still, I have to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, so please allow me to say thank you for your amazing work on these dramas. From the superb translation to the amazing interpretation of old Chinese proverbs to the simple explanations found in parantheses, your work is seriously good. I’ve got an eye for these things (just my right eye though :wink::grin:).
If only Korean dramas had subtitles this wonderful…
Anyway, congrats and thank you !! :heart::heart::heart:

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Thank you, Adrian. The chinese subbers work really hard. Especially our editors.
I’m sorry to hear that you don’t enjoy the dramas. Is there a reason why? Perhaps we can give you some recommendations.

I think the Korean subbers do a fantastic job as well! To be perfectly honest, I think there are lots more Korean-English subbers who are native/fluent in both languages, so their translations are a lot clearer. We have fantastic chinese subbers, but many are only fluent in Chinese.

Perhaps the reason why you think Chinese subs are better is because we add lots of notations. We have to do this because many Chinese phrases do not translate well to English. Additionally, many popular Chinese shows you see here are period dramas, which require lots of notes to provide context.
Most of the popular Korean shows on Viki are modern dramas, so that’s not necessary.

The Chinese subbing community appreciates the support, but our Korean peers deserve some love too! They always work so fast and still provide such great subs!

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Yes, it depends on the team. There are some teams which strive for perfections and others that leave things as they are.
For instance, have you seen “Jewel in the Palace”? Which, by the way, is one of the best sageuk dramas ever made (or, should I say, “best dramas”)?
The work which was done on “Jackpot”, I remember because I was Greek mod there but I read all the Team Discussion to enlighten myself on historical stuff… They were searching and discussing every little detail, going to learned friends and professors if something weren’t to be found etc.
And even in non-historicals. I happened to ask the Greek moderation in Misaeng: Incomplete Life many years after it had finished airing. As I was editing the Greek, I happened to see some English typos and other stuff. I made a list and when I was finished I wrote cgwm808 who was the English editor, asking her: “May I send these to you?” She readily accepted and went back to make all necessary changes, although it was a project long finished and “archived”.
Now, on Where Stars Land (full of technical/aeronautical terms and incomprehensible OST), I had the honour of being part of the English editing team, and I’m proud to say that if on episode 30 we found some term was better said in a certain way, we went back to make corrections to episode 1!
The same happened on About Time. After an episode was edited and released, Channel Manager Piranna went through it and noted down anything we had forgotten, even spaces or commas, and bugged us until we had corrected it.
On the other hand, there are some mods who don’t even care to reply if you write to them about an obvious error, let alone go back and change it. And of course this is true not only for English but for Other Languages as well.
That’s why I’m saying, standards are different depending on the team leaders and their willingness to strive for excellence.

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Yes very true!

I’ve also noticed a big difference between seasoned CMs and editors and people who are new at it. Of course, they might want to do a good job, but because it’s their first time, they might not be great at it. If it isn’t going as well, I usually message them (if I’m on the team) and ask them if they’ve thought of getting seasoned editors on their team, so they can correct whatever has gone wrong. Hopefully, as they gain more experience, they become better and better at what they do as well :relaxed:

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I agree with you, and i also praise the english translations in Chinese dramas in the comments section. One person who is fantastic in good translation is deadliftdiva? She also explain the sayings since they are complicated and hard to understand…

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That might have something to do with it. Oh My General, for instance, got me hooked with its tough woman and her cowardly man premise, but then you have to deal with concubines and sex maids. Sure, it’s presented in a comedic way, but Ayooo !! Sex maids !! I’m no prude, but still…

I’d like to add my appreciation also. You guys are amazing. I feel that Chinese is a more subtle language and it must be challenging to get the right nuances into English. Thanks for your time and care. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy throwing a Chinese proverb I learned from you into a conversation. Lol it makes my day

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