General Instructions
The translation should not be a literal, word-for-word translation. The translation should recreate the meaning of the original; it should be complete, accurate and natural.
Japanese-to-English contest
The following is a news release from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Please translate the highlighted portions into US English for a client who is interested only in those specific portions of the news release. It is not necessary to duplicate the exact formatting of the Japanese text, but please maintain the paragraph structure and the numbering system that appear in the original.
Download the source text from here
English-to-Japanese contest
Download the source text for the English-to-Japanese contest from here
Contest Guidelines
The contest has closed.
File naming conventions
Name your file as follows:
- Japanese-to-English category CONTEST E your name (e.g., CONTEST E MICHAEL PHELPS)
- English-to-Japanese category CONTEST J your name (e.g., CONTEST J KOSUKE KITAJIMA)
Submissions will be confirmed by return e-mail.
Only one entry per person is allowed in each category.
Disqualification
You may be disqualified if:
- Your entry application is incomplete,
- Your entry is received after the deadline,
- You enter under someone else’s name,
- You submit work done by someone else, or
- You are dishonest about your qualifications (the contest is open to anyone with less than three years’ experience as a professional translator).
Contest schedule
- 2012 October 8 (Mon.): Source text and Contest Guidelines available for download
- 2012 November 12(Mon.): Deadline for accepting first 50 entries for each division (24:00 JST)
- 2012 Late December: Five finalists announced on the JAT website
- 2013 Early February: First- and second-place winners announced on the JAT website
and by direct e-mail to the winners - 2013 June 1-2: Winners invited to IJET-24 in Hawaii and award-giving ceremony
Judging
- Entries will be judged in two stages in accordance with evaluation criteria set by the judging panel.
- Entries are anonymized during the judging period. We will assign an ID number to each entry and notify you of your ID number.
- The ID numbers and translations of the five finalists will be announced on the JAT website in late December, 2012.
- The names of first and second place winners and finalists will be announced in early February , 2012.
- The decision of the judges is final. No appeals or contesting of the results will be accepted.
Judges
Preliminary
- Japanese-to-English: Nora Heath, Ko Iwata, George Bourdaniotis:
- English-to-Japanese: Mayumi Adachi, Takaaki Aono, Yukihiro Sato
Final
- Japanese-to-English: Ken Wagner, James Davis, Ruth McCreery
- English-to-Japanese: Yukari Ishihara, Kiyoshi Chimasu, Kiyoshi Fujimura
Copyright
All submissions become the property of JAT and will not be returned. JAT retains the copyright to all submitted entries.JAT reserves all rights to publicize the winners’ names, winning entries, photos and likenesses, and background information on its website and mailing list and in electronic or printed publications.
Awards in Detail
JAT will pay the following for the first place winner:
- Round trip economy travel from the winner’s home to IJET by the most direct route.
- If traveling by train, “economy” includes a seat reservation but excludes first class and sleeper fares.
- If traveling by personal vehicle (e.g., car), JAT will pay base mileage allowances (as defined by the relevant tax authority) plus parking expenses (for a maximum of three nights at the hotel where the winner is staying).
- Hotel for three nights standard accommodation at or near the IJET venue.
Receipts are required for all reimbursements.
Travel arrangements and details will be discussed with the winners in advance of purchase.
The second-place winner is entitled to free registration for the 24th International Japanese/English Translation Conference.
All finalists are entitled to one-year complimentary JAT membership.
Find out more about the contest here and below for the details of the past contests (pdf files, Japanese to English; refer to the Japanese site for English to Japanese).
For further information please contact [email protected]
Contest Committee
Mayumi Adachi, James Davis, Yukari Ishihara, Naoko Uchida, Marian Kinoshita, Emily Shibata-Sato