I have to admit that I’m perplexed. In my day job, I’m a technical writer. That means I need to understand general computer hardware/software, the particulars of my business (mortgage/finance), as well as all the aspects of English – audience, grammar, and so forth. What I’ve found is that apparently editing fansub scripts is more complicated and involved than the job I get paid to do! I edited a roughly translated script and was told that I should do QC instead. Really?
There are a few possible explanations here: one, the FSG is immature and petty. Two, I missed something categorical (like honorifics, for instance) that I just didn’t know. Three, they wanted perfection. There might be others, but heck if I know. I’ve seen the quality of English that goes into fansubs, and while there are some standout outfits, most of the time it’s just there, and it’s not rarely awful.
I know that I did better than most of what I’ve seen, although I’m sure it wasn’t perfect. What frustrates me is that I received no useful feedback; I have no idea whether I missed by an inch or by a mile. And the script was for Shiki, not something like Saiunkoko Monogatari!
I guess this is just one of those weird experiences that leaves you wondering.
