One star docked off for translation
933338
I have just finished the novel. The story itself is okay, but the translation is horrible.

Why does Ms. Mok translate the book the way she did? Is it perhaps she feels that Chinese culture is such a mystery that everything needed to be translated, even using archaic and strange terms? Or is it also that since the Chinese language is inflexible in using foreign words, that she feels English is just the same (i.e. the Sanskrit word Yoga in English, Japanese, and French is 'Yoga', whereas in Chinese it's 'Yu Jia')? These are the reasons as to perhaps why she chose the words 'endomart' and 'pneuma' instead of more popular terms like 'nei-gong' or 'chi/qi' and why she prefers to translate names such as the character Ruan Zhongshi to Valour Ruan. I can't say as to the reasons, but the translation in the end is horrific. What makes it worse is how she seems to try to show off how erudite her vocabulary is by using words like 'volant' instead of 'flying' and 'myrmidon' instead of 'bodyguard'. And the biggest mistake is translating the word 'dao' to knife, which in Chinese the character is used for both sabre and knife.

As for the book, the story is good, but not Jin Yong's strongest novel. The novel is more like written in this order: There's a fight, there's some action going on and then a character decides to talk about the past. After the talk about the past, we go back to the present and then some other character talks about the past. Back to the present, alright someone else talks about the past, etc. This goes on until the very end of the book when the plot moves foward.

To Jin Yong's credit, this is a good novel in terms of action and how he constructs his character. To Ms. Mok's credit, she does provide a map, illustrations of weapons and dim mak/dian xue points to descibe the martial arts and techniques, as well as a family tree and a good introduction in order to explain the background of the plot in terms of history.

You're better off, however, getting this book used or from the library as this is not Jin Yong's strongest work.
3639141
I'm giving it a three-star review due to English translation lacking fairy tale style. It's more like a direct translation word for word. I'm very pleased with the choice of the fairy tales though.
2918330
I see no reason why "interpretation" not "translation" should ruffle any crow-feathers. I have several copies of different authors' translations (which really are interpretations from another language and into proper Kanji/grammar) of the BO5R, and each says something different. I do encourage HSFK to do a more complete job of explaining where he pulls his materials from, this may cool off the nay-sayers a great deal. As for me, I am going to learn to read and write Japanese and hopefully can team up with HSFK to do "accurate" translations of texts that are heretofore unavailable to the Western reader.
3809352
I am not providing a review of the book itself, as Beyond Good and Evil is simply beyond the need for critical input.  Nietzsche, right or wrong, is simply brilliant, positively enjoyable to read, and easily misunderstood by those who do not read deeply.  This, rather, will be a review of the translation.

Marion Faber's translation is, for the most part, well done. She keeps alive much of Nietzsche's wit and rhetorical spirit, but there are some major flaws in this translation. The first is positively unacceptable: the paragraphing in this text is not Nietzsche's own. Walter Kaufmann is guilty of the same sin; I guess they are trying to make Nietzsche more "accessible". Nietzsche has quite a unique style, and usually indicates where a different subject is being pursued by having a dash before the sentence. Faber and Kaufmann both opt to break up Nietzsche's paragraphs along these dashes, which really does Nietzsche a disservice. If Nietzsche wanted his work to be broken up into those paragraphs, he would've done it himself. This further does a disservice to the reader, because he is missing a key anomaly of punctuation and style. If you don't want to spend the time figuring Nietzsche out, then don't bother reading his works at all.

The second major problem I had with this translation was the laughable attempts to make Nietzsche's language sound more politically correct. This is simply a ludicrous endeavor. If you want a book that is inoffensive, go read something else. Nietzsche is not a writer meant to be understood and appreciated by everyone. The German word for 'man' ought to be translated as 'man', not 'human'. The most ridiculous instances are when Faber translates 'overman' as 'overhuman', a clunker of a word that really unnecessarily bogs down the text.  Words like 'man' and 'human' are not interchangeable, and it really is necessary to have continuity in the terms. But, thanks to the translator, anyone will surely miss key aspects in Nietzsche's application of the term 'man' and when he uses 'human' (and he does distinguish between them).

Between the translation by Kaufmann and that of Faber's, I would probably recommend Faber, as her work is livelier than Kaufmann's. But it isn't without it's major problems that really should've been avoided, because she had to work to put them in. Mistranslations of terms are much more forgivable (that's the difficult part, and she has errors here too), but tampering with the style and structure simply did not and should not have been done.
3798925
I started reading the fan translations for this Manga online about a month and a half ago. And I loved them. I devoured all 80 odd chapters (that are available at the time of writing this) of the Yusuke Murata version of the series in two weeks and, in order to support ONE and Murata's work; I bought this volume at a local shop.

I do not regret buying it, the art is still beautiful, and the US publisher has been good enough to include the "Extra Chapters" that do not tie into the main plot line as well. Not having those was my greatest fear before I purchased it.

However... certain  aspects of this translation don't work as well as I'd like. Now I'll grant I don't speak Japanese, so I can't vouch for accuracy, but I *DO* speak English, and it doesn't always properly reflect the way good English ought to sound.

It's very confusing though,  because for huge stretches of the book it works. Most of the translations are fine... occasionally better even, except for about 5% at key moments.
It's there that, when the dialogue gets a little complex, or a very important punchline needs to be delivered, it comes apart at the seams a bit. The basic idea remains, but the words written down are far from the best ones to communicate those ideas logically or humorously. It seems like the translator was either in a hurry or looked at it and settled for "good enough."

As another light smudge on the overall presentation, all of the beautiful Japanese Onomato sound effects have been removed and replaced with typical english comic book counterparts. I leafed through two or three other manga series volumes sitting on the stand, and THIS was the only one that felt the need to do that. It boggles my mind, but this is honestly a relatively small complaint, and I choose not to hold it against this book.

But even so, I still give it four stars. The english itself deserves a 3, probably? But I'd have rated the book at 5 if not for that. I really can't condemn the work that ONE and Murata have done here simply because I am incapable of reading Japanese.

So My recommendation is: Buy it anyway. It's a great volume to leaf through and ogle when only a proper Tankobon will do, and Murata and ONE will spend your money well. But if you actually want to read the best version of these chapters? You may want to track down the fan translation.
1672736
An annoying translation of a great book. The translator repeatedly uses words and phrases that are meaningless in English, such as "playing king", which in other translation is rendered "taking stock". Would you have been able to guess the meaning? On the other hand, a few passages are done with exquisite beauty. The evident care taken in the few marvelously written passages makes me think the translator was being lazy the rest of the time.
2944564
For those who, like me, have found great pleasure in surrounding oneself with great literary works, the Easton Press edition books seem to have a lot of draw. However, it has been my experience that many of their novels by foreign authors can be found to contain older and flawed translations.

This specific Easton Press contains the Mercier 1873 translation that edits out 25% of the original text. The major flaws in this translation  led to a slew of critiques by the scientific and literary communities (that did not refer to the original French).

Fortunately now there is a new version:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Twenty-Thousand-Leagues-Under-the-Sea-Completely-Restored-and-Annotated/dp/0870216783/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea/Completely Restored and Annotated</a>. This translation is true to the original text that shows Verne's actual correct calculations as well as including the 25% of the text lost to English readers for over a century. Happy reading.

Peace, Ben
4433068
The only great thing about this edition is the addition of the plates and hieroglyphs to the Papyrus of Anu-Ia (so-called Ani because of laziness); it would have scored 20-stars if the "balance" of the chapters (located at the back of this edition) came with plates and hieroglyphs as well!!!
Still, translations are just that---Translations! I rated this book with 5-stars only because of the plates and hieroglyphs, however, the translation, which invites many people to revoke their own minds in exchange for someone else's (the translator's), I can do without.
1264202
This could have been an amazing book, but the English translation was very poorly done.  It gives you an interesting view of Orthodox Monastery cooking, which is very healthful and delicious.  There should have been, however, more attention to detail when it comes to specific measurements and details on the preparation.  Pictures would have been very helpful as well since it was not clear sometimes how this would look or be served.  Nevertheless this is still a book that we need more of: Orthodox Christian related books; I encourage the author to have this book re-edited/re translated and then put out again.
1890644
When I saw there was to be a Spanish edition of two favorites, _Moo, Baa, La la la_ and _Blue Hat, Green Hat_, the waiting time until I could see the final product was difficult. Would these adorable books with their catchy rhymes make the transition, or simply be pale copies of their originals?

Well, the answer turned out to be 50-50. The first, _Mu. Bee. As fue_ was delightful and made great substitutions in conserving the rhyme and rhythm. So what happened with _Blue Hat, Green Hat_? Unfortunately, any credits for the translators are nowhere that I can see, so we don't know who to praise for the former book nor who to chastise over the latter.

While _Azul el sombrero_ is still a half-decent book for anyone who can't read the English version, some basic translation decisions that affect the whole book are mystifying. The charm of the original is a combination of the silly situation (which transcends language) and the rhythm that builds up across the pages. The phrasing "Azul el sombrero" maintains the English word order for no apparent reason, causing the rhythm of the lines to stumble in translation. In contrast, "sombrero azul, sombrero verde" would not only be more standard word order, but much easier to read aloud in a rhythm suitable to the story. The same is true of substituting "Ay, caramba" for "Oops" -- there are punchier, simpler phrases that could be used ("Ay, no" comes to mind).

To summarize: The story comes across OK, thanks to the pictures. But if you already have the English version and know any Spanish, there's nothing gained by buying the Spanish version, as you can do a better job yourself from the very first try. Only if you're dealing with a child who's DEVOTED to the story already and is a Spanish-only beginning reader might this translation be worth it ... and even then, you could just tape an overlay with your own translation printed out. Better to pay your money down to get the _Moo, Baa_ translation, as it's a much more clever translation than you or I would be likely to accomplish "on the fly."
3793127
FYI, minor spoilers below.

I hate to be the translation pedant here, but what in the world were the translators thinking?

Ren's iconic greeting "Nyanpasu", a nonsense phrase that befuddles her friends is translated into a cutesy lame pun "Meowning".  And the subsequent conversation (Natsume: "What does that even mean?") makes no sense since "Meowning" is an obvious and completely intelligible play on "'Morning".

Ren names her tanuki "Tool" (Gu) in the Japanese which Natsumi aptly describes as psychedelic.  In English it becomes "Pom Poko" (meaningless) and Natsumi's reaction is "That's an awesome name!"  Sorry, what's awesome about it?

Natsume drops a blackboard eraser on Koma's head.  Hotaru tries to brush the chalk off, but mesmerized by the sensation ends up rubbing it in instead.  In Japanese Natsume calls her out for that, but in English she cries "Stop molesting my Koma-chan!"

That's in the first 35 pages, as far as I got before I gave up.  I actually hadn't read the Japanese version before - the flow was so broken I was certain the translation was wrong and bought the Japanese version to confirm.  The fan translation is actually readable.
1601448
This book g as a good idea (1914 German cruiser goods to 4th century Rome) and pretty good execution.  In a lot of ways it reminds me of the 1632 stories.

The translation is beyond bad.  Word sequence and choices seem to be directly from the German text.  If you're not willing to put up with this, skip this book or read it in German.

Finally, the ending needs a better climax.
Give this 3 or 4 stars for the story and 1 star for the translation.
4285625
A really fun movie, but the English subtitles are badly written throughout, like someone fairly new to the language.  It doesn't ruin the movie by any means, but it just makes it a bit more work to watch as your mind tries to fix all the bad grammar. I THINK all the basic translations are correct, as nothing has seemed nonsensical, but I wouldn't know since I don't speak Korean.  I think that if you don't have the luxury of a totally fluent interpreter, that you could at least do the basic translation, then send a draft copy to a native English speaker to correct the grammar mistakes.
2114928
How many of you are sick of American companies fouling up great manga or anime?  This would be an example of one of those cases.  Having read the story in its original Japanese text, I was greatly annoyed to open the "100% manga" English translation, only to find that the gender of one of the main characters was completely switched in order to appease the constrictions of American society.  The two main characters are MALE, and YES the story revolves around their love.
I would greatly advise would-be buyers to refrain from purchasing this comic from American publishers who obviously have no regard for the artist's original intent.  Instead, there are plenty of places online to find accurate translations or even scanlations.  Even if this is illegal, fans wouldn't have to resort to these methods if only translating companies would have respect authors instead of butchering wonderful stories in hopes of appeasing a narrow-minded group of people.  And they have the audacity to plaster "100% pure manga" on their covers!
340435
There is an old, politically-incorrect adage regarding the translation of a literary work from one language to another. A translation is like a woman: if it's beautiful, it's not faithul; if it's faithful, it's not beautiful. This saw kept buzzing through my brain while I was reading Vladimir Nabokov's 1964 English translation of Alexander Pushkin's novel-in-verse "Eugene Onegin". The poem has a unique place in Russian literature, required reading in schools -- required memorization, from what I understand. It seems an odd choice for school rooms, being an ironic love story with a sardonic edge; but then American students are required to read "Silas Marner", George Eliot's tale of greed and redemption. Nabokov, the author of the dazzling "Pale Fire", was born in Old Russia in 1899 and became a master of his native language as well as English. His version of Pushkin's masterpiece doesn't attempt to maintain the meter or rhyming scheme of the original, thereby leading to the danger of "piped-in background music", but presents a literal translation of "humble fidelity". There have been several English translations, and Nabokov sternly appraises them all. (Tchaikovsky's opera is dismissed as "slapdash".) He even goes so far as to compare his work with that of other translators. Thus, Onegin's flirtation with a serf in Book Four is translated by Nabokov as: "sometimes a white-skinned, dark-eyed girl's young and fresh kiss". In his notes Nabokov is amused by an earlier translator's "And, if a black-eyed girl permitted, sometimes a kiss as fresh as she" and is positively aghast at this rendering: "A kiss at times from some fair maiden, dark-eyed, with bright and youthful looks". Now, to an English-only reader, these don't really sound that ridiculous; but Nabokov, in his bilingual security, can be a caustic critic. (As evidently are some of his admirers: I've noticed in Amazon.com that "Eugene Onegin" causes some emotional responses.) By the way, the notes alone are worth the price of admission. Ferociously erudite, Nabokov can also be extremely witty, as when he is discussing Byronic heroes: "Judged by a number of early-nineteenth-century English and French novels that I have perused, the four main outlets or cures for ennui found by the characters suffering from it were: (1) making a nuisance of oneself; (2) committing suicide; (3) joining some well-organized religious group; and (4) quietly submitting to the situation." So, you've been alerted. Get out your dictionary (you'll need it), dust off your French (there's lots of it), and settle down to what might be called Nabokov's labor of tough love.
635892
A wonderful novel --as his always are-- but the sloppy translation leaves a lot to be desired. Much of the story is based on the interactions of many characters scurrying around, but the translation pays little attention to keeping them straight. Strings of pronouns with no clear references to antecedents. Yuk.
1712822
It pains me to give anything Haydn less than 5 stars, but I have to admit that the translation changes ruined it for me, although it is not as bad as another "superior" English version I've heard.  This is such a shame because the music is outstanding and obviously a lot of effort went into it.  If correcting some strange translation about Adam's forehead is where Shaw had stopped at then it might have been OK for some of us, but to alter the 200+ year-old wording of something as beautiful and perfect as "the wonder of His works displays the firmament" crosses the line!  After hearing that I stopped listening to it and decided to go back to the far superior Hogwood version.  I don't know if the score was altered, but regardless of how common the practice (not a valid defense of an action), many see it as either vandalizing art or attempting to take a measure of credit and honor unto one's self for something created perfect the first time by a true master like Haydn.  Hogwood's version gets a bit fast in some parts, but if you want original score, libretto and instruments there really is nothing better that I am aware of.