This is an entry in a series of posts looking at the localisation of the first chapter of the game, Phoenix Ace: Ace Attorney. You can find the first post here. Thanks for reading!
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix 1 | しかし、それはおかしいんですよ。この解剖記録のデータと、あきらかにムジュンしています。 |
Frankly, I find that hard to believe! Your statement directly contradicts the autopsy report.
|
| Phoenix 2 |
被害者が死んだのは、午後４時より後なんです。２時に死体を見つけられるはずは、ゼッタイにありません！
|
The autopsy notes the time of death at sometime after 4PM. There was nobody to... er… no "body" to find at 1:00 PM!
|
1. The first sentence in the Japanese and English seem to carry a different emotional weight. In the Japanese, Phoenix plainly states, "However, that's strange", before following up with his reason. The English however is much more confrontational and emotionally charged. I can come up with two possible ideas for this difference. First, perhaps as part of the overall localisation of Phoenix's character they wanted to inject him with a bit more spunk than his character in the Japanese version. Alternatively, this more confrontational style was chosen to better convey the atmosphere in an American courtroom. I have no legal background, so I am unable to comment on how courtroom speech patterns differ between Japan and the USA, but my instincts tell me that the former is likely probably more polite/restrained, and the latter more brash/heated.
2. Leaving aside the matter of time difference (which has already been discussed in my second post in this series), this line is one of the stranger script differences. In the second sentence of the Japanese, Phoenix clearly and plainly states, "There is no way a dead body/corpse could have been found at 2PM." In contrast, the English contains a strange kind of pun that makes Phoenix look somewhat goofy. To facilitate this change, even Phoenix's animation while speaking was changed, which is rare. This kind of slightly goofy characterisation of Phoenix could have been targeted from the outset, but it still strikes me as curious as why this script change occurred at this particular moment. I wonder if the translator simply happened to come up with this joke on the spot, and just decided to insert it.
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Payne |
それは、ささいなコトです。単なる記憶ちがいでして‥‥
|
This is trivial! The witness merely forgot the time!
|
| Judge 3 |
‥‥私には、そうは思えません。
|
After his testimony, I find that hard to believe.
|
3. The English differs slightly from the the Japanese by the addition of the text, "After his testimony." This is a small addition, but one that slightly changes the meaning. The English shows that the judge feels that what Payne said is hard to believe because of testimony from Sawhit (the witness), perhaps because of how confidently Sawhit gave his testimony. Given how the case plays out, this is perhaps a hint at what it is to come i.e. that Sawhit definitely did indeed hear the time that he testified he did. The Japanese on the other hand contains no such illusions or explanation from the judge as to why he feels that Sawhit's testimony is hard to believe. It reads, "I doubt that," or, "I find that hard to believe." I feel that it would be still be totally natural-sounding for the judge to only say, "I find that hard to believe", so I am curious as to why the remark of, "After his testimony" was added.
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Mia 4 | ウソは、かならず次のウソを生み出すはず。 |
Lies always beget more lies!
|
| Mia 5 |
そのウソをまた見抜いて、あいつを追い詰めましょう！
|
See through one, and their whole story falls apart!
|
4. This is a wonderful translation. The Japanese is just a standard simple sentence, "Lies will always bring about more lies." This translation would be acceptable in English, but "Lies always beget more lies" is far smoother and snappier. Moreover, by usually of the relatively rare verb "beget" makes the line feel more like a phrase that Mia has often said in her line of work, which is likely the case.
5. The translation slightly changes the meaning of the Japanese. The Japanese literally reads, "See through this lie too, and then corner them!" I don't think it is impossible to work this meaning into more natural-sounding English, so I am not fully convinced that a freer translation was warranted. IN addition, the Japanese more accurately refers to what Phoenix does during the game's court cases. Seeing through one lie (i.e. pointing out a contradiction in a testimony) never actually leads to the whole story falling apart. Rather, it leads to more specific questioning that puts the witness on the spot, a process that the Japanese describes perfectly. As an alternative to the game's translation, I offer, "See through the lies and make them sweat!"
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above points or Phoenix Wright's localisation as a whole, so please comment if you've got something to say.
If you enjoyed this post, I bet you'll like the next post in this series:
http://www.localireview.com/2015/03/5.html
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