Line #4 Main/Woolseyism


1	%% Image moved to Video Games subpage per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1338804154014711000
2	%% Please do not put the image back on this page.
3
4	->''This is [=WhiteSnow=], a town filled with snow.\
5	Enjoy the world of snow.\
6	(Note: This is what happens when you do a direct translation.)''
7	-->-- ''VideoGame/RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure''
8
9	[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Woolsey Ted Woolsey]] was the primary translator for most of [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]]'s Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem-era {{RPG}}s from 1991–96. He is a polarizing figure in the video game community. To some, Woolsey was an iron-fisted dictator who was convinced that [[ViewersAreMorons American gamers were morons]], and couldn't accept a culture besides their own. To others, Woolsey was a hard-pressed but nonetheless creative artisan who was the primary reason that these games weren't rendered incomprehensible to Westerners, [[BlindIdiotTranslation translated literally with little regard for accuracy or comprehensibility]], [[DubInducedPlotlineChange completely remolded to suit the audience]], or [[{{Macekre}} worse]].
10
11	Either way, Woolsey's impact was keenly felt. He frequently modified the scripts he was handed in order to render them more accessible for the American release. Fans coined the term "Woolseyisms" to refer to places where Woolsey had obviously been tinkering with the original Japanese script. In a 2007 interview, Woolsey revealed that the original drafts of his translation had to be cut by over 25 percent just to fit on the SNES cartridge for testing, as Japanese is often a more compact language than English in written form, which accounts for the amount of cut or abridged material in [[http://www.playeronepodcast.com/2007/02/15/transcript-of-ted-woolsey-interview/ his version.]]
12
13	Yet here's the catch: Woolsey's changes actually ''worked''. Some of the lines were so well integrated into the collective consciousness of gamers that they have been ''embraced'' by the fandom instead of reviled once the original script was retranslated. While a good number of the script changes were probably unnecessary to some, many fans have come to the agreement that they don't hurt the final product; and sometimes they even make it ''better'' than the original, at least in context of their own speaking language. The script has diverged from the original -- maybe wildly -- and yet, it still works, just like a good localized translation should.
14
15	That's the power of Woolseyism: The PragmaticAdaptation's answer to a DubInducedPlotlineChange. It can also apply to scene additions that weren't in the original source.
16
17	This sometimes leads to the strange effect that re-releases with more literal or accurate translations, whether they are purely literal or merely closer to the original while still being localized, can actually [[FlameWar start wars]] between fans of the Woolseyisms, the diehard purists, and the poor saps who only know one way to read the story and have no idea what's going on. Attempts to appease the first two groups have led more recent re-releases to reuse some of the more favorite lines.
18
19	Woolseyisms and [[SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing well-made dubs]] overall are most likely to be found within translated {{seinen}} anime, where even with the AnimationAgeGhetto, translators know better than to attempt to turn an adult program into a low-quality kids' show. {{Shonen}} anime, with their younger demographics, usually don't fare as well. Woolseyisms are also so common in Latin American dubs that many people actually prefer watching the Hispanic dub rather than the Japanese original.
20
21	Creator/{{Atlus}}.com lays bare the processes of Woolseyizing with their [[http://www.atlus.com/pd.php Production Diaries.]] Some are about Woolseyizing, but others are about localization in general -- marketing, website design, and so on. Atlus is currently considered the company that most does Woolseyisms to good effect, since their [=RPGs=], being much more Japanese-flavored than other companies' series, require lots of re-interpretation and adaptation of idioms and concepts. In the process, characters are given attitudes and verbal patterns that make them distinctive and give them sometimes even more fleshed out personalities.
22
23	As a rule of thumb, the requirements for a Woolsey-like translations are good translators (of course), good script adapters (sometimes translators and adapters are the same person, sometimes they're not), a good communication with the developers/animators/filmmakers and, in the case of video games, a good localization testing team. The best way to get these requirements is either that the producing company and/or the publisher have their own localization department, or hiring a reliable outsourced translation company which is properly familiarized with the product.
24
25	Sometimes, things are considered Woolseyisms because of how drastically different languages can be, often resulting in a few things becoming LostInTranslation if it's a direct translation, or sometimes a word or phrase just doesn't have a direct translation at all. These include but are not limited to puns, regional dialects, accents, and [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to pop culture. Subbed shows and manga usually get around these by putting a note on the side explaining what they're mentioning.
26
27	Compare GoodBadTranslation. Contrast TheyChangedItNowItSucks and {{Macekre}}. ''Please'' note that this trope is about script changes in translation that ''do not'' change the actual story flow and only exist to ensure meaning is conveyed between cultures; the process of throwing a script out entirely and rewriting it nearly from scratch [[DubInducedPlotlineChange is a whole other trope and can of worms]]. See also CulturalTranslation, where elements of a culture are changed to work with a different language or audience.
28
29	For changes in character names, see DubNameChange.
30
31	----
32	!!Example subpages:
33	[[index]]
34	* Woolseyism/AnimeAndManga
35	** ''Woolseyism/DragonBallZ''
36	** ''Woolseyism/MyHeroAcademia''
37	** ''Woolseyism/SailorMoon''
38	** ''Woolseyism/YuGiOh''
39	* Woolseyism/ComicBooks
40	* Woolseyism/{{Film}}
41	* Woolseyism/{{Literature}}
42	* Woolseyism/LiveActionTV
43	* Woolseyism/VideoGames
44	** Woolseyism/RolePlayingGame
45	* Woolseyism/WesternAnimation
46	** ''Woolseyism/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
47	* Woolseyism/OtherMedia
48	** ''Woolseyism/TheAmazingDigitalCircus''
49	[[/index]]

Context Main / Woolseyism