Difference between saying "サウンドトラック" and "サウンドトラック盤?"

[RosenkreutzXIII]

I'm aware that "サウンドトラック" would just be "soundtrack," but does the addition of "盤" at the end alter its meaning in some way? I was curious because a CD I own had "サウンドトラック盤" written on it which struck me as odd since every other Japanese CD I've seen with "soundtrack" in its title has had it written as "サウンドトラック."

 

[bentenmusume]

盤 is basically just the Japanese word for "record" or "disc."

盤を英語で訳す - goo辞書 英和和英

盤を英語に訳すと。英訳。1〔将棋などの〕a ((go)) board将棋盤a chessboard盤に駒を並べるarrange chessmen on a board2〔板のような台〕配電盤a switch3〔レコード〕a record; a discLP盤an LP record名曲盤a classical record盤面the face of a board - 80万項目以上収録、例文・コロケーションが豊富な無料英和和英辞典。

dictionary.goo.ne.jp

The difference between the two phrasings is about as significant as the difference between "Soundtrack" and "Soundtrack Album/Disc/Whatever".

 

[RosenkreutzXIII]

That's strange because the book that came with this CD says "サウンドトラック盤CD" on it (as opposed to the disc itself which drops the "CD" part.) Wouldn't that be like saying "Soundtrack CD CD" then?

 

[Toritoribe]

CD would be added there to make clear that it's CD, not a record(サウンドトラック盤レコード).

 

[RosenkreutzXIII]

I see, that makes sense. Just for future reference, when translating "サウンドトラック盤" into English do you think it would be best to just go with "Soundtrack," or does the addition of "盤" really make enough of a difference to warrant distinguishing? Looking at examples on VGMDB.net I see that some people translated albums with "サウンドトラック盤" in their titles as just "Soundtrack," but others went with "Soundtrack-ban" or "Soundtrack Disc" as well.

 

[bentenmusume]

I mean, the difference has already been explained here, so it's up to you to determine whether it's relevant or worth distinguishing to your audience. Without knowing more, I'd say it wouldn't be important unless multiple similarly-named (but distinct) products exist for the the same game soundtrack and you need to differentiate between them for archival purposes.

"Soundtrack-ban" sounds ridiculous to me; there's no need to use a Japanese word (or suffix, whatever) to refer to the concept of a disc. "Soundtrack Disc" is fine, but probably not necessary unless there's a need to distinguish it from non-disc versions of the soundtrack.

As a general rule, the best translation is going to depend on what information you need to convey to your audience, not simply a literal analysis of the Japanese.