Translating onomatopoeias

[quamp]

I've been asked to translate a doujinshi for someone. I had no trouble with the dialogue, but the problem I'm having is with the onomatopoeias. Due to this doujinshi's NC-17 rating, I'm afraid to post them. I've tried putting them into several online translators, and they all come back with the same thing: not found. (Yes, even Jim Breen's site did this.)
Is there anywhere I can turn to for help on this?

 

[JimmySeal]

Well, it might be tough without seeing the context, but you could post some of the words here and see what we have to say. The onomatopoeias themselves probably aren't obscene.

 

[MeAndroo]

Yay Google!

 

[JimmySeal]

Yay Google!

?? Are you implying that that page is an exhaustive list of Japanese onomatopoeia?

 

[quamp]

I certainly hope he isn't because all of the ones I still need aren't there.
I have sent them via pm to Jimmy though.

 

[MeAndroo]

?? Are you implying that that page is an exhaustive list of Japanese onomatopoeia?

Of course not. I simply wanted to demonstrate how easily accessible some information is. It takes 2 seconds to google, probably less time than it does to post a request.

 

[yukio_michael]

I'm on another computer and I don't have my favourites with me, but I have another list... frankly I've never heard of them as 'onomatopoeias' though... I mean, doki doki (and I've only heard that in pop songs) is pretty common, but where you might say "The fire crackled" in English, I don't know if how you would use pachi pachi to describe people clapping their hands... I'm thinking it's more of a manga device, the sound effect is most often written in katakana to set it off as the sound of eggs frying, or a doorbell ringing, or even a sort of slapstick comedic effect zu------du of someone falling over...

Japaese know these words, but I've never heard anyone use them in sentence, unless they were at a complete loss for words.

I certainly hope he isn't because all of the ones I still need aren't there.
I have sent them via pm to Jimmy though.

I don't know if there is a complete list... Look at it this way, nobody needed to translate the old Batman show when Batman would get into a rumble and you would see "ZIFF!", "POW!"... on the screen... some of the sounds will just be the sound of what is happening, where "thump thump thump!" might be a good translation for doki doki... some words are just the sound itself, say heavy breathing... The context of the manga should give you some clues.

 

[quamp]

The context of the manga should give you some clues.

That's just it, the context of the manga DOESN'T give any clues at all... many of them are randomly strewn across the pages.

Oh, and MeAndroo, I did search online before posting here.