• kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    23 hours ago

    Transliteration is another thing entirely: it’s translating the sounds. “I’ll beat you so that the lights in your eyes go out” translated to Japanese is “君の目の光が消えるまで殴ってやる”. Transliterated back, it’s “Kimi no me no hikari ga kieru made nagutte yaru”.

    • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      22 hours ago

      It’s a bit more complicated: if you’re dealing with the sounds it’s transcription, if you’re converting from writing system into another it’s transliteration.

      So for example, what you did is transliteration. But if you were to record some Japanese guy speaking and wrote it down (in kanji+kana, Latin, or even IPA), or if you handled how it’s actually spoken, it would be transcription.