Jenn Wesley O Donnell - Japanese-English Game and Media Translators
Without prior localization experience it can be tricky to know who to pick to translate your game. I’ve been a translator for over a decade, and a localization producer and localization director for almost eight years. I’ve worked with a The post Green Flags When Picking Localization Company appeared first on J-En Translations .
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Leah Bree Marshall Can you tell us about yourself? Hi, I’m Leah Bree Marshall, and I’m based out of Shiga, Japan. I’m a former Japanese-English freelance translator and The post Leah Bree Marshall Localization Project Manager Interviews with Localizers appeared first on J-En Translations .
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Leo McDonagh Can you tell us about yourself? My name is Leo and I’m a queer trans guy from the UK living in Tokyo. I’ve loved languages and The post Leo McDonagh Manga and Game Translator Interviews With Localizers appeared first on J-En Translations .
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – John Neal Can you tell us about yourself? I’m John! I’m a freelance translator for both manga and video games, and I do a bit of editing for The post John Neal Manga and Game Translator Interviews With Localizers appeared first on J-En Translations .
I attend a small coffee group of local translators and this month’s topic of conversation was “your five do’s and don’ts of localization.” Of course I had too many, so I decided to focus on specifically game translation. Do… Read, The post My Five Do’s and Don’ts of Game Translation appeared first on J-En Translations .
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Carrick Lomas Can you tell us about yourself? I can indeed! My name’s Carrick, and I’ve been working (with varying degrees of intensity) in localisation since 2015. I’m The post Carrick Lomas Video Game Translator Interviews With Localizers appeared first on J-En Translations .
2025 was yeah But at least 2026 looks it s going to be better. Right? right? Sadly the rampant generated slop is encroaching more and more on translation. It s not only stealing people s work (for training and in terms of jobs), it s The post Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2026 appeared first on J-En Translations .
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Kevin Yuan Can you tell us about yourself? Hi there! My name is Kevin Yuan, and I’m a Tokyo-based Japanese-to-English translator working in-house in government (since 2023) and The post Kevin Yuan Manga and Light Novel Translator Interviews With Localizers appeared first on J-En Translations .
Between February 2019 and April 2022 I conducted 32 Interviews With Localizers, casual interviews with people in the Japanese-English media translation industry. I stopped for a few years as work got busy (and I did a podcast instead), but now The post Interviews With Localizers is BACK! appeared first on J-En Translations .
I regularly collect articles that interest me and then throw them together in a translation link roundup when I have enough. I wrote a link roundup last year, which have some great articles. Highly recommend checking that out. I feel The post Media Translation Link Roundup [2025] appeared first on J-En Translations .
Feedback is incredibly important in the translation industry. It helps people improve their skills and increase the overall quality of their work. Giving feedback should be more common than it currently is but how you receive the feedback is just The post How to Take Feedback in the Translation Industry appeared first on J-En Translations .
Feedback is incredibly important in the translation industry. It helps people improve their skills and brings up the overall quality of work. Whether you’re a translator, editor, proofreader, or project manager, if you work in the translation industry you’ll have The post How to Give Feedback in the Translation Industry appeared first on J-En Translations .
How is it 2025 already?! As we roll into another year I try to hunt down another round of Japanese to English translation competitions. There aren t many new ones (I only found one ) but you still have a few options The post Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2025 appeared first on J-En Translations .
As I mentioned in my last post How I Read Over 50 Books in 2024 I read 56 books in 2024. A feat that was not easy to achieve. I had to slowly build the habit and learn about my The post My Favourite (and Least Favourite) Books of 2024 appeared first on J-En Translations .
I read 56 books* in 2024! This was a mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, literary fiction, and non-fiction books. Ranging from 115 pages to the longest at 845. Half of these were in Japanese and half were in English. (*Not The post How I Read Over 50 Books in 2024 appeared first on J-En Translations .
Subtitles are lines of text on a screen that depict what is being said. These are incredibly useful for allowing a lot of people to better engage with media. Subtitles aren’t just for people who are hard of hearing, they re The post Why Do Video Game Subtitles Suck? appeared first on J-En Translations .
I recently mused about the career path of an aspiring entertainment translator and the tendency to move from direct word-for-word translation to a creative translation before settling somewhere in the middle. Gauging this “somewhere in the middle” can be tricky The post Balancing Japanese-English Translation appeared first on J-En Translations .
I was chatting about how to get good at game translation with an aspiring translator the other day when I noticed there is a common pattern in how successful translators approach their work throughout their careers. Beginner translators stick incredibly The post The Common Career Path of Media Translators appeared first on J-En Translations .
There were times when I was a freelance translator when (I think) I had a healthy work/life balance. And there were times when I definitely did not. It’s never static, especially when, as freelancers, we have the issue of feast The post How to Establish Work Life Balance as a Freelance Translator appeared first on J-En Translations .
Translation comments are incredibly useful. Not just for you, the person writing them, but also for everyone else who’s working with you. Why We Write Translation Comments Comments are your best tool to explain why you chose to translate The post How to Write Effective Translation Comments appeared first on J-En Translations .
When I’m in my 50s and game localization is too much for me, I want to become a lecturer in translation studies. I would love to create a post-graduate equivalent translation course that teaches aspiring translators effective and useful translation The post My Dream Translation Course appeared first on J-En Translations .
Lots of people want to be freelance translators, but they often don’t consider the business side of things—specifically the finance. This article will go over some things you need to consider when setting yourself up as a freelance translator, including The post Financing for Freelance Translators appeared first on J-En Translations .
If you’re studying a language (whether that’s in school or on your own) you might be thinking about a career in translation. Whatever the language and whatever field you’re interested in, there are a few things you can do to The post Top Tips for Language Students Interested in Translation appeared first on J-En Translations .
I hate the phrase “lost in translation.” Not only because it’s a terrible, terrible movie, but because it’s a phrase that perpetrates the myth that translation is inherently evil or wrong. When people use the phrase “lost in translation” The post Gained in Translation appeared first on J-En Translations .
A project manager can make or break a project, but a project is more than just the sum of its parts, it’s reliant on everyone working on the project. Great managers make a team (and therefore a project) thrive, while The post Best Practices for Localization Project Managers appeared first on J-En Translations .
Another year another list of translation competitions for Japanese to English translators! This list comprises of the competitions I could find split into two categories: ones that provide the materials for you to translate, and ones that expect you to The post Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2024 appeared first on J-En Translations .
Often times, when getting into translation, you’re told to “specialize.” But what does that mean? How do you “specialize”? Does that mean you need another degree? How do you develop the skills for a specialization? Will it help you get The post Finding Your Translation Specialization appeared first on J-En Translations .
I used to do link roundups, where I shared interesting articles I’d come across. These were very infrequent and I eventually dropped them altogether. But that doesn’t mean I stopped reading cool stuff related to the localization industry. I figured The post Interesting Localization Articles from the Last Year [2024] appeared first on J-En Translations .
I love reading. Every year my goal is to read at least 24 books, but my secret (real) goal is 48. (That way I have an achievable goal I can feel good about completing even if I don’t hit my The post My Favourite Books of 2023 appeared first on J-En Translations .
There is a distinct lack of education and support for aspiring entertainment translators. Most translation related degrees and university courses cater towards more lucrative fields or offer very generalized courses to appeal to as wide a variety of prospective students The post Everything You Need to Know About Mentoring for Translators appeared first on J-En Translations .