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Working on a Science Fiction project

posted by [personal profile] benlehman at 09:42pm on 08/07/2009
I'm working on a science fiction book. It's set in the near-future, maybe ~%50 in Asia, and the rest scattered around the world. Part of the goal of the book is to have people using a lot of different languages, including code-switching (changing languages in the middle of a conversation to make a particular point), pidgins, and other multi-lingual behaviors.

Would people be willing to help me with translation? Or help me find people who might be able to help me with translation?

Languages I'll probably need to so far:
Awkward foreigner-style Chinese (I got this one covered)
Japanese
Korean
Burmese
Ghanan
Bengali (I'll settle for another South Asian language)
Tamil
Uighur
Russian
Finnish
Sami (I recognize that it is really unlikely to just find someone who will just translate Sami for me for free but, hey, it's the internet.)
Spanish, particularly US-style spanish.

Plus general advice from any trained linguists that might happen to be around.

Remember, it's just a story. It's okay to get things a little bit wrong. So even if you're not a native speaker, you're probably a lot of help to me.

edit: Linux.
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There are 20 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] gbsteve.livejournal.com at 01:57pm on 08/07/2009
I could have helped had it been French, my siblings and I use quite a lot of franglais when we talk and it was the lingua franca of early French roleplaying too, things like "je prends mon sword plus one" or "je le resurrectionne". Nothing quite as wonderful as Miles Kington's "soddez cela pour une alouette" though.

[livejournal.com profile] former_pirate might be able to help. He can even speak Latin.

And good luck with the novel, that's a major undertaking.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 01:58pm on 08/07/2009
Thanks. If there's a need for franglais of Europe, I'll totally hit you up.

yrs--
--Ben
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posted by [identity profile] opticalbinary.livejournal.com at 03:30pm on 08/07/2009
If you end up needing Esperanto, look me up.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 03:51pm on 08/07/2009
Hmmm... I guess I need to decide if Esperanto still exists...

yrs--
--Ben
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posted by [identity profile] opticalbinary.livejournal.com at 03:55pm on 08/07/2009
Also Dev MIGHT be able to help with the Bengali. If not, Shreyas can probably help with Hindi or really bad Gujarati.
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posted by [identity profile] bigbluebackpack.livejournal.com at 03:45pm on 08/07/2009
I can do US-style Spanish, no problema. Russian I'm OK on, and I've been brushing up a bit, and I work with real Russians so I can probably have them check my work.

If you'll buy me the book, I'll study the Ghanan...the language of KWASHIORKOR!
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 03:51pm on 08/07/2009
Sweet. You're hired!
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posted by [identity profile] russiandude.livejournal.com at 03:56pm on 08/07/2009
I can check up on the Russian, but I don't really have time to commit for full time assistance.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 04:01pm on 08/07/2009
All-in-all, there's going to be at most 10 sentences in Russian. Most of the Russia part of the story takes place on the east coast, which (in this story) is mostly ethnically Chinese.
yrs--
--Ben
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 04:06pm on 08/07/2009
But I'm totally going to take you up on that offer, regardless. Would rather have 10 sentences of beautiful, authentic Russian than 10 sentences of google-translated schlock.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 03:52pm on 08/07/2009
If you're serious about the Ghanan, I will totally fund a Ghanan textbook for you.
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posted by [identity profile] kitsuchan.livejournal.com at 05:58pm on 08/07/2009
I can do the Japanese if you can't find someone better. But you can probably find someone with better Japanese.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 12:16am on 09/07/2009
See q below to Andy.
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posted by [identity profile] kitsuchan.livejournal.com at 12:51am on 09/07/2009
Indeed, I thought Andy might volunteer.
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posted by [identity profile] moreocean.livejournal.com at 09:00pm on 08/07/2009
Pinche carbron!
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 12:14am on 09/07/2009
Cool. I will use you and Alison for the Americans then.
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posted by [identity profile] zigguratbuilder.livejournal.com at 10:27pm on 08/07/2009
I can do Japanese.
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 12:10am on 09/07/2009
Hired!
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posted by [identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com at 12:14am on 09/07/2009
Okay, first thing.

I want, like, a few snippets of rant from a ultra-right Japanese TV host. Think like the Bill O'Reilly or Pat Bucchanan of Japan.

(In point of fact, this guy is Korean, but at this point the Koreans in Japan consider themselves "Japanese" and are considered "Japanese" like the Irish {O'Reilly and Buchannan, natch} are consider themselves and are considered "white" these days in the US. So there's more than a bit of "we got ours" going on.)

Context in the story: The main character's room-mate is a Korean-Japanese, and really really into right-wing politics. Watches the show all the time. So it appears as background noise and distraction.

yrs--
--Ben
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(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] locke61dv.livejournal.com at 08:50pm on 09/07/2009
i've got quite poor bengali at your service
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