Welcome to my little slice of the Internet. I have chosen to discuss the ins and outs of proofreading fan-translated Japanese works with a little bit of quality control thrown in. There are many great sites scattered around on how to typeset and how to clean or redraw but little on fixing translations into something that flows naturally.
Many people represent proofreading as “something you can do if you speak English” or, a little better, “something you can do if you know grammar rules,” but I think proofreading has a bit of an art to it just like all the other aspects of scanlation. Simply following the rules to the letter won’t necessarily make the finished product flow naturally.
I think I’ll go at this in with a soapbox approach. As I come across examples of things, I’ll blog about it. I can explain why it caught my attention and what, if anything, I would do differently. Since proofreading has an element of the arts in it, it is possible for other proofreaders to have a difference of opinion. The window for differences is smaller than with the pure art aspects, but differences can exist. I will endeavor to point those out, too. Also, since I’m just getting on my soapbox every now and again, I can make my own mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation — and I will. Just look at that as part of the fun.
I have one final thing to say. I am an American so much of my approach will be from an American perspective. With that said, let’s start this adventure in scanlation proofreading.
やもり