Greetings to all you Otome Game Players! We are a team of Otome game developers based out of China. After receiving so many great feedback and comments for our last game, “Lost in Secular Love”, we are hoping to improve the English translation for our next game, “My Vow to My Liege”. While we were translating, we met with a dilemma and hope that you all will be able to help answer our question by taking part in this poll.
Due to the difference in sentence structure and rules in both languages, it is very common for the English translation to be much longer than the original sentence in Mandarin/ Chinese to maintain all the details said in the original text. In English, it is necessary to keep proper grammar and proper grammatic structure for every clause. While in Mandarin, you can omit the subject, and the sentence would still retaining its meaning.
As it stands, our question is whether to summarize the English translation by omitting out the less important details or preserve every aspect of the original text. Below are examples of the two translation.
Here are two examples:
1. Detail text with the original meaning.
• The alarmed soldiers of Qi starts to break their formation in their hasty attempts to flee. The unlucky ones who were unable to run away were trampled under the wheels of the chariots and turned into minced meat.
• An island shrouded in mist stands in the middle of Lake Tai; at the heart of this island stands a lone banner with faded golden lines on an altar. Around it motionlessly stands a group of magestresses on the ground that has been tainted red with blood.
2. Summarized text with fewer details.
• The soldiers of Qi starts to break their formation in their attempts to flee. Those who weren’t able to get away were turned into minced meat under the chariots’ wheels.
• An island shroud in mist stands in the middle of Lake Tai; at the heart of this island motionlessly stands a group of magestresses on the ground that has been tainted red with blood.
Thank you very much for taking the time out to read and participate in our poll!
You can find our new game “My Vow to My Liege” here →My Vow to My Liege