TRAC Meet #8: Dictionaries, Grammar and Style Guides (Oh My!)—Writing Better Japanese & TRAC Hanami

For this session, we proudly welcome back Akira Takahashi for his second trip to Sendai since his presentation at our Sendai IJET-25 Pre-event in February of 2014. And after the session will be our first TRAC hanami! Come fraternize with local translators below the cherry blossoms in what is forecasted to be peak season in Sendai.

Session:
As translators, our translations need a concrete foundation in order for us to take full accountability. In both the target and original languages, the basis for that foundation is a correct understanding of the grammar, syntax and words that are used. Building this foundation requires us to understand the basics of grammar and know how to correctly use our dictionaries.
In this seminar, our speaker will first take the audience through a review of the basic grammatical terms, and then reconfirm Japanese and English grammar in terms of the concepts that translators need to know. From there, he will explain what we need to know about using our dictionaries in a time where digital media is now taken as a given.
Also, in terms of client reference material, we need to devise definite style guides to follow in our translations.
Putting this all together, we'll trade tips and tricks on how to utilize this arsenal of dictionaries, grammar and style guides to create clear, concise Japanese.

Speaker profile:
Akira Takahashi is a professional translator and lecturer who loves two things: pre-CG era special effects and his hat (not necessarily in that order). After splitting time as a cram school teacher and generalist translator for roughly 10 years, he worked in-house for 8 years with a localization company before finally going freelance in 2007. Takahashi currently translates IT news, blogs and more, also lecturing at a well-known translation school in Tokyo and featuring as a prominent figure in the online Japanese translation community.
Blog: Absent Ramblings of a Bald Hatter (禿頭帽子屋の独語妄言) - http://baldhatter.txt-nifty.com/misc/
*Note: This session will take place in Japanese.


Date: Sunday, April 10, 2016
Time: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Place: Sendai Civic Auditorium, Seminar Room No. 6
Capacity: 30
Cost: JAT members 1,500 yen; non-members 2,500 yen
Hanami: From 2:00 pm (Nishi Koen; stands with food/drink will be available.)