miller 1 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Someone has asked me to translate some names of Japanese food into English. I'm not a translator and I'm not keen on doing this kind of thing but said I would give it a go. Many of the items are meals and food. I'm wondering if it is best to just give those romaji names (ie/ soba) or whether to actually translate the meaning, describe what it is (ie/ buckwheat noodles or whatever it is). What you reckon? Perhaps have both in there though that is increasing my work! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Ask your friend how much space there is on the menu first. Japanese is much more compact. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 I would think that its best to put it in Romaji, so use "Soba". Writing "Buckwheat Noodle" doesn't make it seem tasty and people would probably be like..."WTF is a Buckwheat noodle?". Like Mr W said, it depends on how much space there is, you could then have a small description of what the food item actually is underneath the main entry Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 get some delicious looking photos. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 and then, in small print: "photos for illustration purposes only. What you order may look completely different and taste wierd too" Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 but I don't think you could do as good a job as this. This restaurant has one Michelin star. Link to post Share on other sites
miller 1 Posted October 30, 2010 Author Share Posted October 30, 2010 Haha yes photos are good. Luckily he said they don't have much space so just write the romaji. Phew! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Write the name in romaji so at least they can try and order the food - then a description underneath in English. Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Are they having separate nihongo and eigo menus? Seriously, I have noted that the eigo menus are around half the number of dishes as the nihongo ones. Seems many restaurants cannot be arsed to translate the whole menu, and just give a few "popular" dishes on the eigo version. This is exactly why I am trying to learn the kanji/katakana/hiragana representations of the foods, so I can start to order from the "original" menus, no need to ask for "eigo menyu onagaishimasu". Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 you're given the limited menu 'cos you cannot appreciate the taste of the good stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Writing "Buckwheat Noodle" doesn't make it seem tasty and people would probably be like..."WTF is a Buckwheat noodle?" Yeah, soba is thin noodles, udon is thick noodles. That actually means something to people. If anyone complains, ask them how much buckwheat is in yaki-"soba" Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 One word ... C R A P! You have NFI what I appreciate or don't. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 JA take a chill pill mate....Thursday is just fishing Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Originally Posted By: thursday but I don't think you could do as good a job as this. This restaurant has one Michelin star. Shouldn't the "Meat garrulous fried rice" really be "Plum greens meat garrulous fried rice"? That probably cost them one star right there. Link to post Share on other sites
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