History TranslationConvention / Webcomics

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/MyImpossibleSoulmate https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/confused_chiaki_2_1.png]]]]

* In ''Webcomic/BladeOfToshubi'', the character's [[StarfishLanguage languages all consist]] of a single word -- the onomatopea of sound the [[FurryComic animal they're based on makes]]. For the sake of the reader, it's rendered into English-unless someone doesn't understand, in which case, we get their native language.

%%* ''Webcomic/GastroPhobia'': [[http://gastrophobia.com/index.php?date=2010-08-11 Cuckoo birds.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{RE-man}}'': The first few scenes are explicitly stated via footnotes to be translated from the R'Manthean dialect, and are enclosed in brackets. When RE-man crash-lands on Earth, his dialogue is definitely not English.

** {{Parodied}}, {{lampshaded}} and, if you think about it, {{subverted}}: In ''Webcomic/{{Mohkadun}}'', one of the characters in ancient Mohkadun calls someone "smarty-pants", and then both wonder what "pants" is. (Everyone there wears tunics and stuff.) It's a subversion in that while the dialogue on the whole is obviously being shown in English while spoken in another language (there are AliensSpeakingEnglish in the comic, but this language difference is a plot point later on), you'd expect that the only use for such an anachronistic expression would be because of the translation convention.

* [[http://xkcd.com/890/ This]] Webcomic/{{XKCD}} strip lampshades it in ''Franchise/StarWars''.

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', each spoken language has its own speech bubble and font style and colour, to make them easily distinguishable. These are shown as [[TheIllegible illegible text]] if the perspective character [[TheUnintelligible doesn't understand it]].

* The first few scenes in ''Webcomic/{{RE-man}}'' are explicitly stated via footnotes to be translated from the R'Manthean dialect, and are enclosed in brackets. When RE-man crash-lands on Earth, his dialogue is definitely not English.
* Lampshaded in [[http://satwcomic.com/not-english this]] ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'' comic as an answer to a frequently asked reader question. (with additional BilingualBonus since the author decided to Google Translate all the text from English, even though she speaks Danish as her native language)

* Untranslated background text, names, and setting all suggest that the characters in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' are actually speaking German and some Romanian, which has been confirmed by WordOfGod.

* ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'' uses this.

* ''Webcomic/GastroPhobia'': [[http://gastrophobia.com/index.php?date=2010-08-11 Cuckoo birds.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Linburger}}''. Whenever a language is spoken that some characters in the scene understand, but other may not understand, the text appears as regular English, with little symbols at the beginning and end of the sentence.
* The titular characters of ''Webcomic/M9Girls'' speak Spanish, and the English version of the webcomic exists only for readers' convenience. The Girls' Hispanic heritage is hinted by their names, even though the Every City setting of the comic downplays it.

* Though it's never made explicit in the narrative, WordOfGod has it that ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' is "translated" from Pax, the fictional language the narrator speaks.
** ''[[SpinOff More Tales Of MU]]'' also translates elvish into English, since ''that'' narrator is bilingual. The rotating viewpoint side stories tend to translate all dialogue into English, regardless of what language is actually being spoken.
* Untranslated background text, names, and setting all suggest that the characters in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' are actually speaking German and some Romanian, which has been confirmed by WordOfGod.
* ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' uses English and angle brackets, as mentioned above. There are also occasional scenes in Japanese, when the actual meaning is not as important as the fact that the viewpoint character does not understand the language.
* ''Webcomic/GetMedieval'' uses the translation convention heavily, originally justified because it was first written as being about time travelers in medieval France, but now required since the creator changed them to aliens before the start of the comic. So references to Morse code, which would be wholly explicable for time travelers to make, become a shorthand for "a signal code similar to Morse code, but invented by someone else" when in the mouths of aliens. Apparently, not many readers know of the TranslationConvention, as the creator has had to field complaints and comments on it frequently in her commentary and on the comment pages.

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' has a double invert of this trope in [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/2p16 a scene]] with a ninja speaking to an Irish village for about 3 panels before it's revealed nobody understands him because he's actually speaking Japanese.

* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' is probably an example of this; the dialogue is in English, but the Rac Cona Daimh written language is depicted with a completely different set of symbols. (Which is created for the strip using a font called Lovecraft's Diary.)

* [[http://xkcd.com/890/ This]] Webcomic/{{XKCD}} strip lampshades it in ''Franchise/StarWars''.
* In ''Webcomic/BladeOfToshubi'', the character's [[StarfishLanguage languages all consist]] of a single word -- the onomatopea of sound the [[FurryComic animal they're based on makes]]. For the sake of the reader, it's rendered into English-unless someone doesn't understand, in which case, we get their native language.
* Lampshaded in [[http://satwcomic.com/not-english this]] ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'' comic as an answer to a frequently asked reader question. (with additional BilingualBonus since the author decided to Google Translate all the text from English, even though she speaks Danish as her native language)
* ''Webcomic/TheFoxSister'': All Korean spoken in the comic is translated to English, for the readers' convenience. Interestingly, English spoken in the comic, and not Korean, is marked by angle brackets.
* ''Webcomic/TokiNoTanaka'' has all of its Japanese dialogue (ie. all of the dialogue) presented in English. Any background writing (signposts, etc.) is rendered in untranslated Japanese, however.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'', [[http://spacetrawler.com/2010/02/03/spacetrawler-13/ the point-of-view character is shown thinking and speaking in English, with a footnote indicating what they're actually thinking/speaking in, but any language they don't understand will be written otherwise]]. Once they get [[TranslatorMicrobes universal translation chips implanted]], all dialogue and writing are rendered in English, though it's implied they all revert to their native tongues.
* The first few scenes in ''Webcomic/{{RE-man}}'' are explicitly stated via footnotes to be translated from the R'Manthean dialect, and are enclosed in brackets. When RE-man crash-lands on Earth, his dialogue is definitely not English.
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' sometimes plays it straight with lines that are made clear are translated from another language, but also parodies it.
** In the ''Bikini Suicide Frisbee Days'' guest strips, a short story arc has the main characters gain useless MediumAwareness superpowers. Zoë becomes "Translated Girl" with everything she says said in another language but translated for the viewer.
** {{Parodied}}, {{lampshaded}} and, if you think about it, {{subverted}}: In ''Webcomic/{{Mohkadun}}'', one of the characters in ancient Mohkadun calls someone "smarty-pants", and then both wonder what "pants" is. (Everyone there wears tunics and stuff.) It's a subversion in that while the dialogue on the whole is obviously being shown in English while spoken in another language (there are AliensSpeakingEnglish in the comic, but this language difference is a plot point later on), you'd expect that the only use for such an anachronistic expression would be because of the translation convention.

* ''Webcomic/ApricotCookies'': All the dialogue is supposed to be translated from Japanese, which is [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when they meet a tourist who asks them if they speak English.

* The first few scenes in Webcomic/{{RE-man}} are explicitly stated via footnotes to be translated from the R'Manthean dialect, and are enclosed in brackets. When RE-man crash-lands on Earth, his dialogue is definitely not English.

* ''Linburger''. Whenever a language is spoken that some characters in the scene understand, but other may not understand, the text appears as regular English, with little symbols at the beginning and end of the sentence.

* Used slyly [[http://www.cayzle.com/grace/grace006.html here]], in the webcomic ''Cat's Grace''. "[[PaintingTheMedium What the -- that's a different font!]] That means we're not speaking the same language!"

** {{Parodied}}, {{lampshaded}} and, if you think about it, {{subverted}}: In "Mohkadun", one of the characters in ancient Mohkadun calls someone "smarty-pants", and then both wonder what "pants" is. (Everyone there wears tunics and stuff.) It's a subversion in that while the dialogue on the whole is obviously being shown in English while spoken in another language (there are AliensSpeakingEnglish in the comic, but this language difference is a plot point later on), you'd expect that the only use for such an anachronistic expression would be because of the translation convention.

* ''[[http://thewretchedones.smackjeeves.com/ The Wretched Ones]]'' uses different text color to depict different languages. Japanese is in red, French in dark blue, and an unidentified third language is light blue.

* [[http://thewretchedones.smackjeeves.com/ The Wretched Ones]] uses different text color to depict different languages. Japanese is in red, French in dark blue, and an unidentified third language is light blue.