1. Video Interview with Chris Craigo, 20th Annual Translation Contest Winner in the Japanese-to-English Division
Watch the video.
The source text is here.
Chris's translation is here (together with those of the other finalists).
2. Interview with Faye Duxovni, Runner-up in the Japanese-to-English Division
The source text is here.
Faye’s translation is here
(together with those of the other finalists).
Q1. What was your translation background/experience before you entered the JAT contest?
Before entering the contest, I had gotten one translation job serendipitously via a friend, working on an expansion rulebook for a tabletop role-playing game called Kamigakari, and I had been looking into translating manga with DLSite Translators Unite. All my prior translation experience was around entertainment and creative media, so this was my first time working on a nonfiction piece like an op-ed.
Q2. How did you approach the task of translating this source text?
At the start of the month, I went through the whole piece and typed up a first draft translation, just getting it all written out even if some of my phrasings were awkward. After that, I would let it rest for a bit, come back to it with fresh eyes, polish up my wording, and repeat that process several times. I find it really helpful to step away from a piece for a bit before coming back to revise. Even when I am working on deadlines much shorter than a full month, I always like to at least sleep on it, if at all possible. Sometimes I would start a revision by reading through the source text and then going through my translation to compare, sometimes I would start by just jumping right into my translation and approaching it on its own merits; I feel like both of those are helpful to do when I can.
Q3. What was the most challenging thing about this translation?
As a translator and as a former software engineer, my personal views on LLMs and Stable Diffusion are much more pessimistic than Dr. Inoue's. Translating an article that I personally disagreed with, and doing my best to faithfully convey the writer's voice and perspective and arguments, was a new challenge for me, and a valuable one in my opinion.
Q4. Is there one word or part of your translation that you are particularly satisfied with?
指示待ち人間 was one of the more challenging phrases to translate smoothly, and I am still pleased with my choice of “passive and unmotivated employees” there.
Q5. Is there any part of your translation that you would change, with hindsight?
I would say that “Looking at the history of old media such as painting” was my biggest failure to get into the author's head across a difference of opinion. It seems like Dr. Inoue and I think about art and creativity in very different ways, and the idea that it is possible to "run out" of new paintings to paint, or new novels to write, just does not make sense to me at all. Even seeing him say exactly that in the next paragraph, it still did not occur to me that 「絵画のような昔ながらのメディアでは」 could be talking about old media being "exhausted" in that way, so I instinctively assumed it was a statement about comparing historical trends to the present moment.
Q6. What benefits (other than the prize) have you got out of the contest?
Having that official recognition as a contest runner-up was a nice thing to be able to add to my resumé, especially at a point where I had very little other translation experience I could list. I think the most important thing I got out of the contest was self-confidence, though. I tend to be overly self-critical a lot of the time, so it was really nice to see experienced professionals affirming that they liked my work. Getting detailed feedback was also incredibly valuable. I felt especially good about being able to read through the judges' critiques and think "oh, that's a good point, I could've handled that better" for a lot of things, and "I see what you're saying, but I still prefer the way I did this" for a few things. Ultimately, translation is subjective and there is no single right answer; sometimes we are going to have genuine differences of opinion, and I want to be able to sit comfortably within that subjectivity while I learn and grow as a translator.
Q7. Do you have any advice for future JAT translation contestants?
My main advice would be, just go for it, it is a nice challenge to take on and there is nothing to lose. I would also encourage doing background research on the subject matter and on the writer, which I did not do much of; it can be really valuable for properly understanding an article’s full perspective, as the judges pointed out in their feedback.
Q8. Did you enjoy the contest?
I did have fun working on the translation, I enjoy writing and language in general. It is a fun creative challenge figuring out how to render things into English prose that flows well, especially when the phrasing in the source text is highly idiomatic.
Go to JAT's 21st Annual Translation Contest (Oct. 1-31, 2024)