If you are a constant reader of manga or comics, surely you have wondered how fans translate these works when they are not in our native language. Mainly in the case of manga as they are works from Japan, a very different language and difficult to translate for those who have not taken the time to learn the language. Well, the answer to How to translate a manga or comic? You will find it throughout this entry.
Not only that, but we will also explain the process or step by step that most scans follow (Name by which groups of fans who translate these works are popularly known). To translate a manga or comic into our language, as well as the explanation of each of the roles that are assumed in a team. Therefore, if you are also interested in learning how to translate this type of work on your own, join us in reading.
What is a Manga or comic Scan?
Previously we made a brief mention of what are the scans of manga and comics. However, it is necessary to delve into this subject, and make it better defined what scans are.
A group of fans (or even just one person) can be understood as a scan. That they work to translate manga or comics into their native language, although hey… They “work” between many quotes, since scans are usually created without profit (although it doesn’t necessarily have to be). And they take on the task of translating a manga or comic as a past time or hobby.
Obviously these scans cannot be considered as an official publisher, since they do not have the rights to distribute the work. Not to mention that his work, although it helps to publicize manga and comics, is also considered piracy. This being one of the reasons why the scans do not market the works they translate.
Now, how do they translate a manga or comic? Where do you get the source material? What is needed to create a scan? All this will be explained in the next points…
What is the process to translate a manga or comic?
As such, the translation process of a mnaga can be described in four phases. Among which they are distributed according to the roles within the scan (Translator, Cleanner, Typper). They are described in detail below:
- The first step is to obtain the RAW (This is how the source of the manga is known). The Raw is made up of the pages of the published chapter of the manga. And generally they can be found on the internet for free (although in another language) or you can buy the manga digitally.
- The cleaner or cleaner, is the one that is in charge of removing the text from the original source, to leave the dialogue balloons of the manga or comic blank, and later they are filled with the translated text.
- Obviously the job of the translator is to translate a manga or comic from its original source into the spoken language. This can be done by someone with knowledge of the source language (usually English or Japanese are required). Or help yourself with a translation tool, such as the google translator.
- It is the person in charge of placing all the translated text on top of the dialogue balloons cleaned by the cleaner. The typper must also be able to locate the correct font for each scene, as this gives the translation more personality.
And in short, those are the necessary roles for the process of translating a manga or comic. Obviously this takes work, but if done as a team you can maintain a constant publication of the work.
What is needed to translate a manga or comic on your own?
To be able to translate a manga or comic on your own, you will only need the following requirements:
- Be available to the material of the work you intend to translate. Regardless of the language in which you find it, the important thing is to have the material that you are going to translate soon.
- Knowing how to use photoshop or any graphic editor to do the work of the cleanner and typper. You don’t have to be an expert, just knowing what you need to remove the text is enough.
- Use google translator. Previously it was essential to master the language of the source, but with how advanced the google translator is. You can use that same one to translate correctly.