common challenges of japanese – english translation
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Common Challenges of Japanese – English TranslationTRANSCRIPT
Common Challenges of Japanese – English Translation
日本語 - 英語
日本語 - 英語日本語 - 英語
日本語 - 英語
日本語 - 英語日本語 - 英語
日本語 - 英語
日本語 - 英語
CONTENTS
Subject Slide No
Getting the Basics of Translation Right 3-4
Common Confusions 5-7
What's missing when it comes to Japanese versus English? 8
Understanding What Not to Capture/ Replicate 9-10
The Comprehension Challenge 11-12
EXAMPLE: Comprehending “garagara ガラガラ” 12
Homonyms : When Kanji differentiates the meaning & Context connects the dots!!
13
Missing Background Information & Native Clarity 14-15
• Language Structure
− Distinctly Different
• Literal translation with exactly same meaning
− Can cause the output to sound grammatically incorrect in English
• Comprehension skills
− Hold maximum value for translating Japanese to English effectively
− Can only be developed to grasp the context correctly if the translator is a subject matter specialist
Getting the Basics of Translation Right
Example
Taroo-ga Hiro-ga Hanako-ni zibun-no syasin-o miseta to omotte iru. (Taro Hiro Hanako-to self-of picture showed that thinking is) ‘Taro is thinking that Hiro showed pictures of himself to Hanako.’
• Tenses− Choosing the correct tense is an art
− There is no Future tense in the Japanese language
Getting the Basics of Translation Right
Example
Confused Translation:They proofread after translation
Correct Translation:They shall proofread after translation.
This type of translation is easier to identify
cross-checked, proofread and edited version of translation sounds very native
Original Text:
Common Confusions
• The reason of confusion amongst many master translators
as well
− Many Japanese nouns can also be used as adjectives or adverbs
− Personal/possessive pronouns are used differently in the English
versus Japanese
Example
New in company translator Translator who is new
Common Confusions
• Ability to Differentiate Grammatical Genders – (Nouns):
− Feminine
− Masculine
− Neuter
Did You Know? Grammatical Genders vary from language to language
• Lack of familiarity with the nuances of the words can lead
to incorrect context of the translated manuscript
Common Confusions
• Ability to Differentiate Grammatical Genders – (Nouns):
− Feminine
− Masculine
− Neuter
Did You Know?
• Styling of the script:
− Needs perfect interpretation and understanding of the language
− When the translator is not a subject area expert it may be difficult for
him to maintain the style
− Translators tend to interpret content in the style of their own area of
expertise
Example
The style of a legal document will be completely different than that of a fiction script
What's missing when it comes to Japanese versus English?
• The Japanese language needs massive restructuring and special measures for communicating
the following parts of English Grammar that are missing :
− Definite or indefinite articles (a/the)
− Prepositions as in English (at/by/in/to/from/with)
− Plural forms of words
− Verbs – Appear at the end of the sentence unlike English where verbs give direction to a sentence
− Subject – It is not necessary to have a subject in a sentence. It is normally a hurdle while comprehending the
meaning of a sentence for the Japanese
− Future Tense
− Relative pronouns
No Definite or indefinite articles
No Prepositions as in English
No Plural forms of words
Subject of a sentence is
less important
No Future Tense No Relative Pronouns
Understanding What Not to Capture/ Replicate
• Capture the content, not the form
• There are a lot of classification symbols that are used in Japanese that cause redundancy in
English usage
• Many Translators are under-confident of letting go such symbols even though they are already
addressed in the output
Example
OriginalText
Confused Translation Perfect Translation
Population of ABC towns:
ABCville -10 people
ABCcounty- 13 people
Population of ABC towns:
ABCville -10
ABCcounty- 13
Here Population is understood as people which in Japanese
may be denoted as 人 (10) as a classification symbol
but translating it twice into English causes redundancy. Population obviously means
people
Understanding What Not to Capture/ Replicate
• Sentence formation Position of numbers and letters Level of translation experience
• Wrong sentence formation Incorrect meaning
• The sentence formation that may be correct in Japanese may not be exactly correct in English
Example
Japanese Wrong Translation Correct Translation
C 大学 C University University C
1 論文 1 Paper Paper 1
• The sound-symbolic words of Japanese are the most tricky to translate. They can be classified as follows :
Confused? Take a case in the next slide that is sure to answer your questions!
Sound-symbolic words in Japanese
Phonomime or onomatopoeia
( 擬声語 Giseigo or 擬音語 Giongo)
words that mimic actual sounds. Giseigo refers to sounds made by living things, while Giongo refers to sounds made by inanimate objects
Phenomime ( 擬態語 Gitaigo)
words that depict non-auditory senses
Psychomime (also called 擬態語 Gitaigo or 擬情語 Gijōgo)
words that depict psychological states or bodily feelings
The Comprehension Challenge
Example
• The translation of this word “garagara ガラガラ” can take multiple literally correct forms and yet be incorrect. How?
• It is the context that changes the entire meaning of the word
If we try interchanging rattle, empty, raspy as translation of the same word in different sentences; it could turn into a blunder. This is exactly where nativity and comprehension skills of a translator come
into play
Comprehending “garagara ガラガラ”
子供はガラガラを持っています。Kodomo wa garagara wo motteimasu.
The child is holding a rattle.
電車はガラガラです。Densha wa garagara desu.
The train is empty.
私は声がガラガラです。Watashi wa koe ga garagara desu.
My voice is raspy.
Homonyms : When Kanji differentiates the meaning & Context connects the dots!!
Pronunciation Meaning Same Pronunciation
Different Meaning
kinen 記念 commemoration kin'en 禁煙 no smoking
san'en 三円 three yen sannen 三年 three years
maki 巻 scroll makki 末期 last period
hako 箱 box hakkou 発行 publish
soto 外 outside sotto そっと softly
soto 外 outside sotou 粗糖 unrefined sugar
soto 外 outside souto 僧徒 Buddhist disciple
yuki 雪 snow yuuki 勇気 courage
kinyuu 記入 fill out kin'yuu 金融 finances
There is something known as homonyms in the Japanese language. These are words that are pronounced
the same way but have different meanings, which raise caution for careful understanding and usage
Missing Background Information & Native Clarity
• Translator MUST know purpose of the document
• Knowing the purpose aids the translator in addressing the target audience through translation
effectively
• Nativity of a translator carries immense value
• A non native Japanese Translator may not know many culture driven aspects of the language
• Some words cannot be translated in other languages due to the (cultural/religious) derivation
behind it
Missing Background Information & Native Clarity
Did You Know?
Japanese like most languages has unintelligible
variations of it, which could take all you have to
master it.
Kanto-ben ( 関東弁 – Kanto
Dialect)
Kansai-ben ( 関西弁 – Kansai
Dialect)
Tohoku-ben( 東北弁 – Tohoku
Dialect)
Kyushu-ben
Tokyo dialect Considered as
standard Japanese Why? Tokyo being
the center of mass culture of Japan
Usually flat with less intonation
Japanese language learners being with Kanto-ben
#2 dialect of Japan
Spoken in Osaka and Kyoto and throughout the south-western area of Honshu
Spoken faster with much more intonation than Kanto-ben
Examples of Unique words: okini ( おおきに – thank you)
honma ( ほんま -really?)
It’s also called zuu zuu ben because of the mumbling way Tohoku speakers talk
When Tohoku-ben speakers appear on TV, there are subtitles
Tohoku speakers also use sa, sometimes substituting it for the particles e ( へ ) or ni ( に )
Kyushu is the southern and westernmost island of Japan
Other Japanese speakers find it difficult to understand few dialects of Kyushu
The –i at the end of adjectives changes to –ka (for example,
amuka rather than samui means cold) Variations in dialects
sometimes confuse to an extent that natives of neighboring regions get mistaken as foreigners
