I realized a long time ago that I didn’t have what it takes to be an interpreter. However, thinking that I still might learn something useful from a meeting aimed at interpreters, I attended the joint JATINT/TAC meeting held in Yoyogi on November 17, 2018. And so I did.
The first speaker was Izumi Suzuki, whose presentation was titled 通訳ビジネスの成功に向けて. Suzuki-san provided a comprehensive rundown...
On the heels of the JTF Translation Festival in Kyoto and the 7th medical translation seminar organized by International Medical Translation Service, Inc., a small group of JAT members specializing in medical and pharma held an informal meeting in Osaka on Sunday October 28. Each attendee was tasked with preparing an eight-minute presentation on a subject of their choice in Japanese or English,...
To be or not to be … productive? We will be now!
The Tokyo Activities Committee meeting of Saturday October 20 featured twenty-year veteran translator Cathy Eberst reprising and expanding her IJET-29 presentation on productivity.
Cathy began by asking the audience about whether they were productive and/or efficient, and whether there were any differences between these concepts. We were...
How Not to Lose It in Translation.....
by Emily Shibata-Sato and Cliff Bender
“I can't believe it. My hands are shaking from excitement as I type this message!” replied Mako Sato upon hearing that she had won first place in the English- to-Japanese division of the First Annual JAT Translation Contest for new and aspiring translators sponsored by the Japan Association of Translators...
The Sound of One Hand Clapping (Against Another): Murakami and Shibata Discuss Translation
Kevin KIRTON (ケビン・カートン)
If I had to offer a single compelling reason for translators to read 『翻訳夜話』(Hon’yaku Yawa) by Murakami Haruki 村上春樹 and Shibata Motoyuki 柴田元幸 (文春新書、2000 年、 ISBN コ－ド 4-16-660129-6), it would be this: it’s a very pleasurable way to find a renewed sense of wonderment for the...
How Customers Can Make the Most of J-To-E Freelance Translators’ Services
Frank Moorhead
Translation services are usually provided by freelance translators or agencies. Freelancers work alone as individuals or small incorporated entities, while agencies are usually incorporated and have a number of translators on their books, including in-house employees, outside translators under exclusive...
Translator Profiles: Melinda Hull and Ichiro Takahashi
In 1993, Dan Kanagy conducted interviews of four JAT translators, Two of these interviews are reproduced here from the JAT Bulletin of that year.
Translator Profile: Melinda Hull
I'm interested in hearing about your background and how you came to live in Japan. I know Japanese wasn't the first language you studied.
No. I met a Japanese...
An English writeup is in the works. In the meantime you can read the full Japanese language report here.
https://jat.org/ja/blog/pre-ijet-2018-patent-report
A Visit to Kyoto, the Capital Capital (IJET-2000)
by Ann Macfarlane
President, American Translators Association
In planning for attending the IJET-2000 conference last May, I decided that I would work up my conversational Japanese. Like most translators and interpreters, I dislike being in a country where I can't exercise at least minimal politeness. And it's handy to be able to attach...
Finding My Way Through Game Translation: Karma, Rules, and Irony
by Jason Franzman
Good Karma Strikes (for Once)
My initiation into game translation was a bit of luck, perhaps accompanied by some good karma. In the early 90's, I helped a friend get a position at the translation company in Japan where I was working. I left a couple of years later to pursue my freelance translation career, and...
A Look at the Business Side
by Fred Uleman
I have a very simple, yet very important, reminder for you: We very often say we are in the translation business. And we spend great amounts of time honing our translation skills. These skills are important. But just as important is the other half of the “translation business.” It is a business, and we should not lose sight of that side either.
...
Meaning-based Translation and the Search for Equivalent Impact
James L. Davis
Two key questions for translators are: “What is the writer of the source text saying?” and “What would a native speaker of the target language say in this situation?” To answer the first question, translators need at least a near-native grasp of the source language grammar and patterns of usage, as well as a clear...
Dear JATPHARMAcists and other JAT members:
JATPHARMA proudly announces the release of the updated and expanded version of the JAT Pharma Handbook bilingual glossary, which JATPHARMA initially released with the JAT Pharma Handbook in 2011.
The glossary represents the first of hopefully many glossaries to be released under the JATPHARMA Terminology Project, which is headed by John Stroman. The...