# Would this offer sound rude? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667 "2010-03-24T20:29:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/1 "2010-03-24T20:29:49Z")
I just got a comic that’s independently produced by an artist who lives in Europe (I ordered it through her website). English is not her first language, so she’s enlisted the help of two translators who I suspect are also not native English speakers. The storyline and artwork are fantastic, but the translation is a bit lacking. There are no massive errors, but there are a number of smaller ones and sometimes the phrasing is stiff and awkward. The artist is planning to release more of the series over the coming months. Would I be rude if I offered my services (gratis) in polishing the English translation? I’ve done something similar for bands in the past, but at their request. If it’s not rude to ask, how should I make the request without sounding overly pendantic? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/2 "2010-03-24T20:38:48Z")
I don’t think it would be rude, but you’d have to be tactful in how you approach the subject. Maybe point out how the characters don’t speak the way modern American people of their age/status normally speak, and show her an example or two of how you would improve the dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/3 "2010-03-24T20:56:14Z")
Be tactful, but don’t expect them to accept your offer. Creators can be very protective of their work, and she may not trust anyone else to do the translation. True anecdote. My company once had a Japanese client that put together a brochure describing the organization’s work. The account executive asked me to proofread it and the translation was so awful, I urged her to have a native English-speaker rewrite it. The client refused. Finally, in frustration, I offered to do it for FREE, and they still refused. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/4 "2010-03-25T01:25:55Z")
OK, I sent an email that praised the work and humbly offered to polish up the English for free if she was amenable to the idea. Thanks for the advice, I did keep it in mind. Let’s see what she says. Kunilou, that must have been frustrating in the extreme. I mean, a comic book is one thing but scaring customers away is quite another. And you bring up a good point about the trust factor. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/5 "2010-03-25T02:08:13Z")
Do you speak the original language? Or are you just going to correct the English once the translation is done? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/6 "2010-03-25T02:13:04Z")
I have fair-to-middlin’ reading comprehension of the original language, but it’s not good enough to do the first pass-through with confidence. I would be able to tell whether I’d be getting too far away from the author’s sentiments in the polishing phase. So it would be the latter of your questions. Tweaking and removing typos. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-offer-sound-rude/533667/7 "2010-03-25T03:27:37Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > If it’s not rude to ask, how should I make the request without sounding overly pendantic? Oh, that silly Gaudere!