Copeland

Copeland’s name not being on the cover of the book but inside on the title page reminded me of how when we looked at the translated books last Monday, some translators weren’t mentioned on the book cover or anywhere in the book; I wondered why. While this may be a way of marketing to the western audience, I don’t think including the translator on the front cover would negatively influence readers much in this day and age where people have knowledge of other countries and are encouraged to engage in cultural exchange – rather it may even bring interest to the work since it’s from another country. And doesn't the author's name kind of give it away too?

Copyright is very important to me as an artist, so I was curious about translation copyright. I looked at some descriptions of copyright regarding translation and it is very similar to copyright regarding art works, specifically fanart. In both cases, translation and fanart are derivative works, so the original copyright belongs to the original creator; but I do think that artwork belongs to the artist and the translation belongs to the translator and that they should have some rights regarding it. Similar to how not all translators are credited on the cover, not all artists are credited for their work on a book cover or concept illustrations for commercial use. However, nowadays many more companies are requesting their artists to help advertise (such a posting on twitter / retweeting), so there is more crediting to the artist and ways to find who the artist is. I think there is a difference in whether an individual is being hired or a company – if a company is hired, then the company should be credited – but generally, crediting is harmless.

I didn’t realize that streamlining and marketing a book for western audiences involves so much more than just localizing a translation – it involves a cover that appeals to western audiences and even cutting or editing the novel plot to suit the pace and style western audiences are used to. I would appreciate more literary and elegant covers rather than just focusing on geishas and seduction, but I agree that in order to give western audiences the same experience as Japanese readers, cutting and reorganizing the original text is necessary. I do wonder what nice tidbits western readers are missing out on by doing this though. Reading Copeland’s article once again made me realize the importance of editors and how while translators lay the foundation, editors are the ones to put the finishing touches on the bridge spanning the chasm between one language and another. 

Tiffany