More and more I see people say "it's ONLY used for translation" when it comes to genAI in games. As if the act of writing into another language is not worth respecting. As if people in other countries (both gamers and workers) don't matter at all.
Translation IS writing. Translation IS art.
Translation IS writing. Translation IS art.
May 1, 2026 at 9:38 PM
More and more I see people say "it's ONLY used for translation" when it comes to genAI in games. As if the act of writing into another language is not worth respecting. As if people in other countries (both gamers and workers) don't matter at all.
Translation IS writing. Translation IS art.
Translation IS writing. Translation IS art.
There is no argument for machine translation that can't also be used to justify AI art / writing / whatever else you like. Stop being a fucking hypocrite just because machine translation is useful to you and you don't understand / don't value the work of translators.
June 15, 2026 at 4:26 PM
There is no argument for machine translation that can't also be used to justify AI art / writing / whatever else you like. Stop being a fucking hypocrite just because machine translation is useful to you and you don't understand / don't value the work of translators.
the way people talk about 'accuracy' in translation between languages endlessly frustrates me.... translation is as much creative process as Writing
January 3, 2025 at 11:54 PM
the way people talk about 'accuracy' in translation between languages endlessly frustrates me.... translation is as much creative process as Writing
Often see stuff around AI increasing access to English language spaces through translation, but.....machine translation has been around for *decades*!
Generative AI increases access to English *writing* and creation, meaning it also coaxes non-English speakers into packing landmines into their work
Generative AI increases access to English *writing* and creation, meaning it also coaxes non-English speakers into packing landmines into their work
September 25, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Often see stuff around AI increasing access to English language spaces through translation, but.....machine translation has been around for *decades*!
Generative AI increases access to English *writing* and creation, meaning it also coaxes non-English speakers into packing landmines into their work
Generative AI increases access to English *writing* and creation, meaning it also coaxes non-English speakers into packing landmines into their work
I don't speak any Japanese but this translation feels... uh... either the writing is bad or the translation is bad and I doubt it's the writing
September 24, 2026 at 9:37 PM
I don't speak any Japanese but this translation feels... uh... either the writing is bad or the translation is bad and I doubt it's the writing
Writing translation notes that are longer than the translated text is so embarrassing for me. I have stuff to say though.
September 24, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Writing translation notes that are longer than the translated text is so embarrassing for me. I have stuff to say though.
This is fantastic so far, excellent writing/translation.
September 19, 2026 at 9:43 AM
This is fantastic so far, excellent writing/translation.
Oh no, this is awful news! Eien ni Hen was a staple of the fan translation community and her writing can be found in so many iconic games. May she rest in peace.
September 26, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Oh no, this is awful news! Eien ni Hen was a staple of the fan translation community and her writing can be found in so many iconic games. May she rest in peace.
Translation is creative writing
October 25, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Translation is creative writing
how often
the essence gets lost
in translation
#dailyhaikuprompt - lost
#haiku
#poetry
#poetrycommunity
#writing
#writingcommunity
#senryu
#lost
#translation
the essence gets lost
in translation
#dailyhaikuprompt - lost
#haiku
#poetry
#poetrycommunity
#writing
#writingcommunity
#senryu
#lost
#translation
May 16, 2025 at 6:55 AM
how often
the essence gets lost
in translation
#dailyhaikuprompt - lost
#haiku
#poetry
#poetrycommunity
#writing
#writingcommunity
#senryu
#lost
#translation
the essence gets lost
in translation
#dailyhaikuprompt - lost
#haiku
#poetry
#poetrycommunity
#writing
#writingcommunity
#senryu
#lost
#translation
wilson reviews nolan's movie like she's reading the script as a translation of homer, & not as a movie, imo. like it is a piece of writing solely. sometimes the answers are in the sound, the score, the acting, the edit etc
July 28, 2026 at 5:41 PM
wilson reviews nolan's movie like she's reading the script as a translation of homer, & not as a movie, imo. like it is a piece of writing solely. sometimes the answers are in the sound, the score, the acting, the edit etc
I once saw two people fighting viciously on Twitter, one writing only in English and one writing only in Chinese, both using straightforward literal sentences to make sure the translation feature would convey their insults properly. It was beautiful
We do not talk enough about the "translate" function on social media posts and how, poor as it is in practice sometimes, its the closest thing to an actual babel fish our species has ever managed and how magical that is.
August 31, 2024 at 7:56 PM
I once saw two people fighting viciously on Twitter, one writing only in English and one writing only in Chinese, both using straightforward literal sentences to make sure the translation feature would convey their insults properly. It was beautiful
normie translation: there are legal limits on what you can print without hard evidence if you don’t want to get sued into oblivion. many times, all journalists can do is publish what they can while writing it up in a way where readers can connect the dots
As I often say, sometimes a journalist's job is to bring you the ingredients and the recipe but you gotta bake the cake lol
June 23, 2026 at 1:47 PM
normie translation: there are legal limits on what you can print without hard evidence if you don’t want to get sued into oblivion. many times, all journalists can do is publish what they can while writing it up in a way where readers can connect the dots
Another design commission for @tekitacs.bsky.social!
Seiyu-Chan born in Hamamatsu is based on a 1982 Suzuki GSX1000S Katana!
Big thanks to @vg99kinsei.bsky.social for help with cultural references and translation, and to Rat Basher for writing the blurb text!
Seiyu-Chan born in Hamamatsu is based on a 1982 Suzuki GSX1000S Katana!
Big thanks to @vg99kinsei.bsky.social for help with cultural references and translation, and to Rat Basher for writing the blurb text!
January 23, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Another design commission for @tekitacs.bsky.social!
Seiyu-Chan born in Hamamatsu is based on a 1982 Suzuki GSX1000S Katana!
Big thanks to @vg99kinsei.bsky.social for help with cultural references and translation, and to Rat Basher for writing the blurb text!
Seiyu-Chan born in Hamamatsu is based on a 1982 Suzuki GSX1000S Katana!
Big thanks to @vg99kinsei.bsky.social for help with cultural references and translation, and to Rat Basher for writing the blurb text!
Worst translation ever award (sign at Uruk)
May 5, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Worst translation ever award (sign at Uruk)
100% this. Translation is just about the hardest and most skilled sort of writing there is!
“She’s just a translator” shows that you don’t understand what translation is. Some of this comes from the ‘automation’ of translation, through things like Google translate. It’s as though it’s just looking words up in a dictionary. No. It’s an art and a science at once. To get meaning and feeling.
July 30, 2026 at 11:03 AM
100% this. Translation is just about the hardest and most skilled sort of writing there is!
I'm available for game writing, sensitivity consulting, and translation work!
New year also means my 2 horror writing slots have refreshed. 👀
New year also means my 2 horror writing slots have refreshed. 👀
Let's do a #TTRPGIntro!
I'm Basil, a queer Black and Seminole neurodivergent game designer, sensitivity consultant, and translator.
I've worked with MCDM, Hit Point Press, Evil Hat Productions, Brotherwise Games, and more!
Website: towerofbasil.wordpress.com
Games: kobanya.itch.io
I'm Basil, a queer Black and Seminole neurodivergent game designer, sensitivity consultant, and translator.
I've worked with MCDM, Hit Point Press, Evil Hat Productions, Brotherwise Games, and more!
Website: towerofbasil.wordpress.com
Games: kobanya.itch.io
January 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I'm available for game writing, sensitivity consulting, and translation work!
New year also means my 2 horror writing slots have refreshed. 👀
New year also means my 2 horror writing slots have refreshed. 👀
Wrote about writing about literary translation in this opinion/review for ArtReview
At once a science and an art, the act of translation is a fiercely humanist endeavour, as Damion Searls explores in ‘The Philosophy of Translation‘ artreview.com/the-philosop...
Why Should a Translation Be ‘Faithful’?
At once a science and an art, the act of translation is a fiercely humanist endeavour
artreview.com
April 29, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Wrote about writing about literary translation in this opinion/review for ArtReview
It's technical writing! We're communicators first and foremost, and specialize into industry or scientific subdomains, learn how they talk, and do the translation work!
September 22, 2026 at 1:34 AM
It's technical writing! We're communicators first and foremost, and specialize into industry or scientific subdomains, learn how they talk, and do the translation work!
AI dubs aren't just an attempt to replace voice actors. Engineering, mixing, writing, directing, and QC are also cut, narrowed down to a single prompter.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
AI dubs aren't just an attempt to replace voice actors. Engineering, mixing, writing, directing, and QC are also cut, narrowed down to a single prompter.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
“Maybe” is too kind, imo 😌 Translation is also a writing process!
Whole book “translated” for $100? You get what you pay for, and if you don’t understand what makes human translators valuable, maybe you don’t value the creative work that goes into the writing process either.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
AI translation service launched for fiction writers and publishers prompts dismay among translators
UK-based GlobeScribe is charging $100 per book, per language for use of its services, but translators say that nuanced work can only be produced by humans
www.theguardian.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:14 AM
“Maybe” is too kind, imo 😌 Translation is also a writing process!
A new postcard in my collection. Can anyone read this? My devices think it’s Polish but I really have no idea. I guess I would have thought German. Help!
May 29, 2025 at 12:30 AM
A new postcard in my collection. Can anyone read this? My devices think it’s Polish but I really have no idea. I guess I would have thought German. Help!
After teaching translation for a few years now, my best advice to would-be translators is to get better at writing in English. The majority of issues I see in my students' work are not TL-specific problems like misunderstanding the source text, but basic English writing errors.
June 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
After teaching translation for a few years now, my best advice to would-be translators is to get better at writing in English. The majority of issues I see in my students' work are not TL-specific problems like misunderstanding the source text, but basic English writing errors.
Translation for language learning and translation for entertainment are two VERY different things.
Removing linguists who are experts in writing for learners and replacing them with the slop machine is going to result in the quality dropping fast. 🧵
Removing linguists who are experts in writing for learners and replacing them with the slop machine is going to result in the quality dropping fast. 🧵
Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI
Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI
Duolingo is making some AI-focused changes.
buff.ly
April 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Translation for language learning and translation for entertainment are two VERY different things.
Removing linguists who are experts in writing for learners and replacing them with the slop machine is going to result in the quality dropping fast. 🧵
Removing linguists who are experts in writing for learners and replacing them with the slop machine is going to result in the quality dropping fast. 🧵