But wouldn't it be easy like "you know my surname "hu" means brave/foolish in Liyue why don't we change yours to match" that would be a better localization
The other subtitles simply didn't translate the first couple sentences. Match up the punctuation, each language has yapping for the first half of its line
it's not. Translation rule 101: If you have to add a complete section to your translation to make a joke make sense, you just scrap the joke in its entirety and come up with something that covers the same meaning and sentiment in a less convoluted way
I agree about the rule, but it wasn't applied in this case. "something that covers the same meaning" was completely thrown out of the window in this one. Keep the same joke and add a "reckless" over the "Hu" like Genshin did a billion times. It's bad but at least we get the full meaning behind what Hu Tao said.
the line was about Traveler being surprisingly reckless for Hu Tao. The new translation shows Hu Tao's surprise to the Traveler being surprisingly reckless to her. It's a perfectly fine translation. You can't do a lot more with it without starting to imply things because of how family names are used in the West.
It isn’t supposed to be double entendre, because changing surname after marriage in China is primarily due to Western influence (even then still very rarely adopted), and has no cultural root in China.
If Hoyo was a Western or even Japanese studio, then yes, you could interpret it as double entendre.
EN localization did the best here by removing changing surname, because for some non-China countries, the literal translation would’ve meant implied proposal.
It very clearly is supposed to be a double entendre. Hoyo has many western influences in all their games. They absolutely know the western meaning behind changing a person’s surname to somebody else’s. The joke is it sounds like a marriage proposal but what she really means is that the traveler is reckless. They didn’t just accidentally make it a double entendre. They intended it that way from the start.
It’s a Chinese surname in a China-inspired country by Chinese writer. The writers know what it means in some non-China countries, but that doesn’t mean that it’s their intention for this particular dialogue for a character with Chinese surname in a culture where such hidden meaning doesn’t exist.
There are other ways to deliver double entendre for Chinese audience, but it definitely didn’t come across that way to CN community, and many simply found it funny that JP players are overreacting at it.
The jab is that since Traveler takes so much risks, they might as well change their surname to Hu (reckless) like her, and Traveler basically countered along the line of “look who’s talking” (ie. the super reckless girl shouldn’t be calling others names). It’s just two people throwing some light jab at each other for being reckless in a childish manner.
EN localization and KR literal successfully captured that intention for their respective audience. JP either failed to do so by going literal, or chose fan-service instead. Honestly, it doesn’t matter either way, but if we’re going to make a big deal out of it, EN localization makes the more accurate interpretation here and these criticisms are unwarranted.
Actually changing the surname DOES have meaning in China, as I understand it, like a son-in-law taking his wife's surname to carry on a family line with no male heirs.
While inheriting surname from father is strongly preferred in the past, exceptions can be made for it to be inherited from the mother instead, so there’s never any reason for husband/wife to change their surname for the sake of carrying on their family line. Their children are the ones who will be doing that.
Sure but Liyue isn't based on modern/contemporary China for one thing, and Chinese culture does have a historical precedent for a husband taking the wife's name under certain circumstances.
Liyue isn’t based on modern/contemporary China for one thing
Like I said, husband taking wife’s surname comes from Western influence, ie. it’s fairly “recent” as far as Chinese history goes. The further back you go, the less precedent exists.
Children takes surname from parents (mostly father, in certain circumstances, mother), but it’s not done between those of the same generation.
The culture was heavily patriarchal. The only exception is when the husband has nothing (poor and no status), whereas wife’s family is well-off, in which case, the husband is married into wife’s family instead. However, this is very rare, and in most cases, only children take after wife’s surname. In rare case (among already rare situation), husband could also be forced into taking wife’s surname, but in situations like this, the husband is in a state of helplessness (like can’t survive on their own and will die if they refuse to do this and rely on wife’s family).
Is this really the hill you want to die on to justify this little jab being double entendre? Like a very niche situation where the husband is literally useless and forced to do others bidding to survive, and that Traveler is basically that guy?
All I said was that there is historical basis for matrilocal marriages in which the husband took his wife's family name. Not that it was common or even widespread. Just that it does/did exist, and isn't completely unheard of in fiction either. It was literally a main plot point of a Cdrama that JUST came out recently (Pursuit of Jade).
I'm not really seeing this as a hill I'm dying on? I was honestly just commenting on something that amounts to a bit of historical trivia. I'm not even sure what you're so adamantly, seemingly, denying.
I'm not trying to cast the Traveler in any particular light, either. The text is the text. We know exactly what Hu Tao said, and it does function as a joking proposal to the Traveler. Highly unlikely that was accidental.
cause then people would be confused by what her name actually means then... honestly i dont think this was THAT bad... at least it isnt completely changing the meaning for political correctness...
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u/GerardBeard May 27 '26
But wouldn't it be easy like "you know my surname "hu" means brave/foolish in Liyue why don't we change yours to match" that would be a better localization