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chiqelatasblog · 2 months

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Hi guys! I’ve been absent for a while and didn’t have time to draw. Recently, I stumbled upon a drawing on the internet that inspired me, but I couldn’t find the artist to credit them. Their work inspired me to experiment with colors, although usually, I stick to doodles due to the time-consuming nature of coloring. However, this time, I wanted to try some new techniques. Here, I present to you Kung Lao🙌🏻 (I’m currently obsessed with him, those dimples are to die for😩)

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tuktukpodfics · 1 year

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The Problem With "Dao Swords": My love-hate relationship with pleonastic translations

An essay that no one asked for.

A lot of fanfics call Zuko’s broadswords “dao swords.” As a Chinese to English translator, this phrase makes me pause every time. Here is my humble opinion on “dao swords” and other pleonastic translations:

What the heck is a pleonastic translation?

I’m so glad you asked! “Pleonasm” is a fancy term for a redundant phrase, like “black darkness” or “burning fire.”

A pleonastic translation is a phrase that puts the source language and the translation back-to-back. A common example is “chai tea” which literally means “tea tea.”

“Dao swords” is a pleonastic translation. “Dao” 刀 is the Chinese blanket term for blade. The phrase basically means “sword swords.” Sounds pretty silly, right?

Pleonastic translations are bad?

I think it depends on your audience, the text purpose, and how special the word is.

In advertising, pleonastic translations can help increase a product’s searchability. Ex: “Longjing Dragonwell tea” would appear in a Google search for either “longjing” or “dragonwell.”

Tourist destinations often use pleonastic translations to help foreigners navigate. Ex: “Nanzhan South Station” on a map helps foreigners know what the place is, but also gives them the Chinese pronunciation so that they can communicate with their taxi driver.

In literature, a pleonastic translation is a succinct way to introduce a culturally significant term without a footnote or distracting tangent. A lot of translators will sneak in a pleonastic translation the first time the word appears in a text, and then use the untranslated term alone every time after. Ex: "He slouched on the kang bed-stove. His grandmother sighed and took a seat on the kang too.”

Is "dao" a culturally significant word?

No.

Dao is a super mundane word used to describe any kind of single-edged blade, from butter knives to ice skates. It feels weird to keep such a normal word untranslated. Using the Chinese word emphasizes its foreignness. They’re not just swords, they’re special, Chinese swords.

Yes, words take on different meanings as they pass from culture to culture. That’s how language works. But English is also a unique case. Because of imperialism. I think English speakers have an obligation to avoid exotifying every-day words.

Also, English is a global language. Chinese speakers are reading your translation, and…I dunno...“sword swords” feels off putting. Disruptive.

But I want to acknowledge the real-life culture behind the swords

Giving credit to the cultures that you're borrowing from is an A+ idea.

...I don't know how to do this in a fantasy setting.

Zuko’s swords and fighting style is based on oxtail sabers (牛尾刀）and Shaolin dual broadswords (少林双刀). @atlaculture has a very cool post on oxtail sabers. But calling his swords "oxtail sabers" doesn't work because cows don't exist in atla. Shaolin is a type of martial arts that originates from Shaolin temple in Henan, China (Shaolin itself literally means “young forest”). But you can’t call them “Shaolin broadswords," since Shaolin does not exist in the Fire Nation.

It’s quite a pickle.

Maybe just use a footnote?

So what should I call Zuko’s swords?

I don’t know.

I think you can just call them broadswords. That’s what the TV show calls them.

Dao by itself could work too if you need to differentiate Zuko's dao from Sokka's jian (double-edged blade). Readers can probably figure out what dao means from context.

If it’s not clear from context what dao means? *sigh* ..."Dao swords" it is, I guess.

To end on a happier note, here is a video of Chang Zhizhao busting some sweet moves.

youtube

#atla #dao swords #shaolin #zuko #transaltion #dual broadswords #thank you for coming to my tedtalk #Youtube

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kungfuwushuworld · 3 months

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Shaolin monks practice kung fu in '1000 Buddha Hall' 👊

#kung fu #wushu #chinese martial arts #shaolin #shaolin temple

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short-wooloo · 5 months

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Sigh

For the last fucking time, THE JEDI ARE NOT CATHOLIC!

They're not based off of the catholic church, that's just people's fanon interpretation (and it's mostly just people projecting their issues with catholicism onto the Jedi), if you actually take a minute to look up what George Lucas' sources and inspirations for the Jedi, you'll find that he based them off of everything EXCEPT christianity, the inspirations for the Jedi being Japanese and East Asian cultures, Arabic ideas (Jedi may be derived from "Al-Jeddi" which means "Master of the Mystic-Warrior way"), Buddhism, Jewish Mysticism, Samurai Bushido, Shaolin Monks, Hinduism, Qigong, Greco-Roman philosophy and mythology, Sufism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism, the only christianity you might be able to say influenced the Jedi is Methodism, since Lucas was a Buddhist-Methodist

Like yes, you can certainly find Jedi beliefs and practices to be similar or parallel to catholicism and Christianity, I have, but that's on you, that's YOUR interpretation