Hey, what's up?

Okay, two things.

1. I am working on the last chapter of Venus Butterfly, it's just that those issues I mentioned in my last blog post hit sooner than I thought. If I can find the time to sit down and finish it off, I will. I didn't mean to make everybody wait this long.

2. The second (somewhat random) thing is that it's been brought to my attention that somebody is in the process of translating "Proofreading Clopfics Sucks" into Russian. I really wish I knew Russian so I could see how it turns out. I know that the story is going to be an absolute bitch to translate, given that the entire point of the fic is to mock badly-written English writing. Either you'd have to translate it literally, in which case it'll just be weird because Russian and English probably have lots of differences in word usage and grammar, or rewrite the story entirely so that the story is an example of shitty Russian writing. I'm not sure which approach this translation is taking. In particular, Rarity's chapter would be nigh impossible, as the entire joke is that Rarity constantly uses ridiculous metaphors with unnecessarily verbose dialogue, and the sentence structure is intentionally convoluted to a degree that would make it a massive pain in the ass to translate. The vocabulary alone would change massively depending on how they translate it; you could easily lose the whole concept of "using ridiculously obscure wording" if you used a dictionary (and you'd have to, even if you're a fluent English speaker) and inadvertently simplified the dialogue.

I mean, look at the first sentence:

The lustrous lunar orb spilled its resplendent beams upon the balustrade in the manner of a generous decanter pouring a torrent of most decadent silver ambrosia into an aureate chalice worthy of being borne by that most illustrious monarch, Princess Platinum, who at the present occasion stood in all her resplendence, with most stately bearing befitting a pony of her station, upon the very mezzanine which the Great Lamp of the Night illuminated with its brilliant and most austere glow, bathing the stately mare in its frosty phosphorescence and inducing glisters and glimmers in each of the many well-polished ornaments of her namesake material which adorned and only served to enhance her already beauteous form.

I mean, holy fuck that's nigh impossible to follow in English, let alone attempting to translate it. I'm kinda surprised that the guy didn't turn tail and run. I can't speak to the quality of the translation (again, I don't speak Russian), but the mere fact that he soldiered through it is impressive.

TL;DR if anybody who follows me speaks Russian it would be cool to hear what changes had to be made in the translation.

Comments

[Bud Grazer]

Well, you got me curious with that translation thing, wondering how hard it would be to do. I know only one way to be sure, so...

L'orbe lunaire lustrée débordait de ses rayons resplendissants sur la balustrade tel un flacon rebondi versant un torrent d'une décadente ambroisie argentée dans un calice de vermeil digne d'être brandi par l'illustrissime monarque, la princesse Platine, qui à cet instant précis se tenait dans toute sa splendeur, du port altier convenant à un poney de son rang, sur cette mezzanine que la Grande Lanterne Nocturne illuminait de son éclat brillant et glorieusement austère, baignant la jument élégante dans sa fraîche phosphorescence et induisant reflets et éclats dans chacun des ornements chatoyants faits du matériau partageant son nom qui décoraient et ne pouvaient guère que souligner sa beauté déjà stupéfiante.

I may not be an experienced translater, but that one sentence took me almost half an hour. I've taken some liberties with the original text, but French and English still work alright together, so it wasn't too hard...

I don't know anything about Russian, but whoever is doing this has to be really brave