General Question

luigirovatti's avatar

In the Dragon Ball manga, why 如意棒 is sometimes translated as "mind stick"?

Asked by luigirovatti (3002points) February 11th, 2016

The english name is “power pole”. It serves to change length at will and connects Korin Tower to Kami’s Lookout.

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4 Answers

ragingloli's avatar

according to this
the original name means “Staff That Obeys One’s Will”

luigirovatti's avatar

Yes, but can you tell me why it is indicated as “mind stick”?

ragingloli's avatar

I guess that “mind” is closer to “will” than “power” is.

SavoirFaire's avatar

The underlying reason is that there is no such thing as a perfect translation. No two languages contain all and only words with the exact same meanings and connotations. Because of this fact, all translations are to some extent localizations, which is to say that all translators have to make choices about how to convey the ideas of one language into the words of another language. Translation is as much an art as it is a science.

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