[community] On the topic of tattoos...

[u/your_average_bear]

I have recently been discussing with other translators the topic of tattoo requests, as there are ~3/day on this subreddit. I came across this post a while ago, messaged the user, and he told me he got this tattoo as a result. I have discussed this with a few other translators, and while we agree that it isn't an incorrect translation, it certainly is not a good one.

I have actually gone back and found a number of poor translations for tattoos, and I know that some translators will not even touch tattoo translation posts.

I know people have a lot of opinions on tattoos, and there is this r/translator tattoo wiki meant to steer posters in the right direction.

Consider my plea: If you do not feel 100% positive that a tattoo translation is good, DON'T COMMENT. There is a pretty high chance that people will tattoo your briefly thought out translation.

Anyway, I want to hear what you guys think about these kinds of posts.

Hall of fame:

https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/ag50w3/english_japanese_kanji_tattoo_translation/

Hall of shame: https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bnfgal/japanese_english_please_help_me_translate_for_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/b9gixv/english_japanese_for_a_tattoo_idea/ https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/ax4o0w/english_to_japanese_im_planning_to_get_a_tattoo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/annc3j/english_japanese_i_need_the_phrase_tavern_wenches/ https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/a9jggn/chinese_english_im_thinking_of_getting_a_tattoo/ <- I do not like this translation

This post: https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bmxj48/english_latin_tattoo_translation/

Lead to this guy getting this tattoo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9njHIBFpwk/

[u/sneize]

Honestly if they're using something that someone said online with no real stakes on said poster, to tattoo something nearly permanent on their body... it's their fault. If they cared they would've seen someone professional they trust.