Occupation or Class Options

[Rukiri]

I'm done with my translation but after translating the last tidbit I've come across an inaccuracy in translation or Class was just a better word.

If I were doing a prof. translation I would translate this (職業) into (Occupation), while that's a more accurate translation considering Class in Japanese is (クラス)

So, I wondering why Class was chosen over the obvious one? Or was it just smaller to write? I guess I could even translate it into Job as that has to do with "work".

I just find it weird they chose Class instead of something as accurate as Job.

In the end, it doesn't matter now does it?



This post has been edited by Rukiri: Jan 9 2012, 08:15 PM

[amaro57]

Well, I think they use 'Class' as means of "Classification". I mean, some things do use Occupations or Jobs (Hence Job Change), but I've always felt Class was a better usage of it. For example, I believe it would be strange to say: "That man's Job is a Spear Knight!" There might be many kinds of Knights amongst him, so I'd say his class would be a Spear Knight. There's nothing wrong with Job though, his Job can be claimed as a "Knight", but it's more broader than a "Spear Knight".

Hey guys, my job is a Dark Necromancer!

or

Hey guys, I'm classified as a Dark Necromancer!

I prefer the second.

This post has been edited by amaro57: Jan 9 2012, 08:24 PM

[Kread-EX]

Just because the literal translation is Occupation doesn't mean this is the best to use. Class is the standard term is RPGs, the one most people are familiar with - way before the first JRPGs came here, the term was already used for D&D campaigns - so it's the most obvious choice.

[Kaust]

Just because the literal translation is Occupation doesn't mean this is the best to use. Class is the standard term is RPGs, the one most people are familiar with - way before the first JRPGs came here, the term was already used for D&D campaigns - so it's the most obvious choice.

Its sorta like dubbed anime, a literal translation may possess more fidelity to the source but it would sound jagged and unstructured in our language that possesses different rules.
The way it was written in Japanese was most likely intended colloquially, ergo a better translation would be to use the corresponding English colloquialism, and Class does sorta seem the standard round here.

[amerk]

Kread spoke my thoughts, in that is primarily what it's been called. As far back as I can even remember (first Final Fantasy for NES perhaps), the word has been "Class" for the American side. For me, it meant sort of a categorization, but it can pretty much mean the same thing as "Job", "Occupation", etc.

I actually like the name "Class" because it has a sort of retro appeal, but ultimately it doesn't matter what it's called as it does the exact same thing.

[Tohsaka]

クラス is used for similar things to 授業, but where 授業is more commonly used to refer to the lesson/lecture, クラス is used to refer to the room + lecture. At least, that's what I've experienced in my 4.5 months here.

It can get a little confusing, since I've heard things like キャラクタークラス as well. More commonly in video games/entertainment, sometimes, they'll also read kanji as katakana with English terms.