Subject: Re: [FFML][spam] looking for a literal translation
From: "The Eternal Lost Lurker" <EternalLostLurker@WorldNet.Att.Net>
Date: 4/5/1998, 9:56 PM
To: "MadamHydra" <MadamHydra@AOL.COM>, <ffml@fanfic.com>

Excuse me, but I'm trying to determine the *literal* translation
for the
phrase "Neko-ken".  According to my pocket Japanese-English
dictionary, the
definitions are as follows:

	"neko" - cat
	"ken" - sword, ticket, prefecture
 
Given the context (Ranma 1/2), would a reasonable interpretation
for "neko-
ken" be "cat sword"?  I want to make sure I'm not missing any
nuances here so
I'd appreciated it if someone could confirm or correct me.  ^_^

I'm sending this to the list because there are so many people who
make mistakes of this nature, that it should benefit everyone to hear
this.

People: YOU CAN NOT TRANSLATE LITERALLY FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER.
IT DOES NOT WORK. 

Literal translations from one language to another in a completely
different group of languages do not work because context, phrasing,
usage, and so many other things differ from one language to the next.


In the case of "-ken", "-ken" is often used when describing fighting
techniques to replace "kobushi", the actual Japanese word for "fist".
When you see "-ken" appended to a word or phrase which is intended to
describe an attack, it does not neccessarily translate literally. In
fact, it doesn't translate literally at all. It translates as "fist",
"attack", or "strike" in this case. 

Also, keep in mind that your J-E dictionary does not neccessarily
contain every possible definition or usage for a word or phrase. Many
words in Japanese have at least four meanings, some have
significantly more meanings. How are they differentiated? By the way
they're written. The kanji used to write a word determines its
meaning in a given context. 

To reiterate, literal translation is not feasible, particularly in
translating Japanese to English. Don't bother. If you can't figure
out the meaning a sentence or expression is supposed to convey, ask
someone who probably knows how it should be translated.

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The Eternal Lost Lurker
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damned proud of it.
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
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