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JAT MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 19: Richard Thieme
JULY 18 JAT MEETING REPORT: Hiro Sato
JAT Board Report for July/August 1998: Kathy Taji
FIT Asian Translators' Forum: Fred Uleman
Constitutional Review: Fred Uleman
Strengths and weaknesses of
academic translation programs: Leslie Tkach
A Reasonable Doubt: Bill Lise
Nihongo Wonderland
(collection of four 'karui' essays): Emily Shibata-Sato
On Saturday September 19 JAT will welcome Tony Laszlo as our monthly speaker. The meeting will be held at Shiba Seinen Kaikan, 2-1-20 Shiba Minato-ku, Tokyo (time:14:30-16:30).
Journalist Tony Laszlo has been writing in Japanese for Japanese magazines since around 1988, three years after he came to Japan and began teaching himself the language.
In recent years he has contributed to Sekai (Iwanami Shoten), Ronza (Asahi Shimbun Sha), Shukan Kinyobi, Shukan Asahi, Shukan Shincho among other publications. Laszlo's recent string of articles in the weekly opinion magazine "Shukan Kinyobi" focused on Japan-related news from fringe media around the world. Other publications include an ongoing column with CAT (ALC Press) follows Internet-related developments.
The bulk of Laszlo's articles and essays deal with social issues related to social minorities, human migration, race and regional conflict. This latter set of themes is reflected in Laszlo's volunteer work with ISSHO, a non-profit organization that he founded and directs and in his recent thesis "Gaikokusekijumin to atarashii shakaiketsugo ni tsuite" (Foreign Residents and a New Social Cohesion) which will be published by invitation of Tokyo University's Faculty of Social Science later this year.
At the JAT September Meeting, Laszlo will share a few trade secrets together with his other experiences in writing for the Japanese media in the language of the land.
See you all there!
Richard Thieme
7月18日の会合は、税理士の石井氏をお迎えして開催されました。 以下、その概要についてお伝えします （佐藤幸浩さん、まとめをありがとうございました。）
個人事業主は、生活者の立場と事業主としての立場の両方の面を持つ。 会社組織にすると、法人は生活者としての個人とは別の人格として存在する。
株主は法人を設立−株主（出資者）が役員を委任−役員が経営する法人が従業員
を雇用。
小規模の会社では、株主は役員と従業員を兼ねていることが多い。役員は役員報
酬をもらうが、一日一時間しか働かなくとも（しかし、体を動かさなくとも頭の
中は２４時間経営を考えているはずである。）毎日徹夜して働こうとも、利益を
出している限りはほぼ定額の報酬をうけとる。
従業員は労働の対価で給与をもらうため、規定時間以上の拘束に対しては残業代
金を受け取る。
会社とは営利社団法人のことで、合名会社、合資会社、有限会社、株式会社に分
類される。
一般的にいわれている公益法人には社団法人と財団法人があり、許認可が必要。
個人経営にくらべ会社組織にした場合の利点（有限会社と株式会社）
小規模の会社では3と4の理由で会社組織にしようと考えている人が多い。税金で 有利になる一例を下に示す。
個人事業 （単位千円）
売り上げ： 10,000
経費： 4,000
事業所得： 6,000
基礎控除： 380
個人所得： 5,620
所得税： 794 (5,620 x 20 % - 330)
会社組織（会社の法人税 ＋ 自分の給与）
売り上げ： 10,000
経費： 4,000
給与： 5,000
会社の所得： 1,000
会社の法人税： 250 (1,000 x 25 %)
給与： 5,000
給与所得控除後の給与： 3,460
基礎控除： 380
個人所得：
3,080
所得税： 308 (3,080 x 10 %)
法人税＋所得税： 558
よって会社設立により、236千円節税となる。（794 ‐ 558 = 236）
ただし、法人には事業税がかかるため、すべてこのとおり節税できるとは限らな い。節税にはいろいろなケースが考えられる。会社に多く利益がでそうな場合に は、社長の配偶者を従業員として雇用したり、祖父母を非常勤取締役にしたりし て、利益を分散させて節税をはかることも可能であるが、経済的合理性がある場 合に限られるのでよく検討することが必要である。一般的に個人事業から会社組 織にすると有利になる所得の第一段階のレベルは、600万円から700万円あたりで ある（個人事業の所得を給与にして給与所得控除を利用する節税レベルとし て）。第ニ段階の有利不利のレベルは、個人に対する税率と法人に対する税率の 比較になり2000万円から3000万円あたりとなる。
消費税の話
法律上、売り上げの大小にかかわらず、販売した場合には消費税を預かる。しか
し、２年前の売り上げが3千万円以下の場合は税務署に納付する必要はない。仮
に受取金額が10万円の場合は、内税方式として計算され、税抜き価格が95239円
で消費税4761円という考え方をとる。世間で誤解されているケースとして、10万
円プラス消費税5千円で販売しようとしたとき、客先が、「あなたは個人事業主
で、売り上げが3千万円いかないはずだから、消費税はとらないでくれ」と要求
されることがある。基本的に消費税を預かることになっているので、5千円を受
取らない場合は、上に説明したような内税方式と考える。
税務署には、「課税事業者」となるか「免税事業者（課税から免税になる時の
み）」となるかを届ける。どちらになるかは、2年前の事業年度の売り上げを基
準とする。また、消費税の扱いの届け出には「本則課税」と「簡易課税」があ
る。選択の仕方により有利・不利があるので注意して届ける必要がある。
質問： 「社団法人」という会社名を名のり、「株式会社社団法人」という会社
は認められますか。
回答： たぶん法務局で認めてくれないでしょう。
質問： パスポートの申請代金を会社の必要経費で落とせますか。
回答： 海外旅行が仕事のためであれば、認められると考えます。経済的合理性
の有無が論点になりますので、よく検討してください。
質問： 自分が経営している会社とまったく同じ仕事を自分が個人としてやって
もいいですか。
回答： まったく同じ仕事を個人でやることは背任行為になるのでいけません。
まったく同じでなければかまいません。ただ、その仕事で得た収益は、一部の例
外を除き確定申告する必要があります。
意見： 外国の大使館に消費税は請求できない（輸出免税となるため）。
意見： 10万円の価格プラス消費税5千円で売ろうとして、お客さんが消費税を払
わないといってきたら、実質的にはお客さんからの値引き要求ととらえる。こう
いう場合のことも想定して、最初から価格は10万5千円ですといったほうがい
い。
以上
The July JAT Directors' meeting was held on July 18, 1998 from 12:30 to 2:30 at the Shiba Seinen Kaikan. It was attended by William Lise, Robert Oliver, Kathleen Taji, Richard Thieme, George Tokikuni, and Jeremy Whipple.
Emily Shibata-Sato and Leslie Tkach were absent and Judy Wakabayashi in Australia was not in attendance. The following items were discussed.
There was no JAT Directors' meeting in August and no JAT Bulletin. However, a summary of the e-mail communication that took place in August among the directors on some of the items of business shown below has also been included in this report.
1. Treasurer's Report (Bob Oliver)
For the period of April 1, 1997 to July 13, 1998, the total inflow of revenue generated from the IJET-9 Conference was 5,556,032 yen and the total outflow of revenue for conference expenditures was 4,697,814 yen. There was a net total of 858,218 yen as of July 13, 1998. IJET-9 conference expenditures have been paid in total.
The total cost incurred for the JAT HONYAKU List for the past two years, including the cost of archiving was 127,038 yen. This amounted to approximately 60,000 yen per year.
2. Membership Secretary's Report (Jeremy Whipple)
There was a total of 285 JAT members as of July 18, 1998 of which 119 members were residing overseas. With the exception of 31 members, all members were signed up on the JAT List.
3. Talks with the zeirishi (Richard Thieme)
In his meeting with the principal of the Sasajima Tax & Accounting office, the following major points were discussed and are summarized as follows.
a. The zeirishi did not want to provide a written commentary in reference to a list of questions on withholding taxes on seven cases sent to him by Richard Thieme on behalf of JAT, since the Tax Office would only respond to these questions unofficially or off the record.
b. The unofficial statement provided by the National Azabu Tax Office on the issue of whether withholding taxes should be assessed in the case of a translator residing overseas, was dependent on the facts in question. The major issue was whether the Japanese original was a creative work. Since the Japanese tax law does not define what a creative work is, the Copyright Law would apply. If the original is a creative work, then the translation is a derivative.
c. The unofficial recommendation for an overseas translator faced with withholding taxes in Japan is to protest and negotiate through the company providing the work. The company is required to apply for a refund from the tax office.
d. In order to achieve more specific results, Richard suggested contacting and working with various other translation organizations such as JTF on this issue. He will be contacting other translation organizations for this purpose in future.
The Board recommended that Richard go ahead and compile a detailed report on this issue without using the zeirishi's name.
4. Website Committee Report (Bill Lise)
Website Director, Leslie Tkach, has been efficiently keeping the JAT website up-to-date. Bill Lise has mainly been responsible for uploading articles to the site. The website as it stands now suffers from a dearth of Japanese content.
5. Meeting with Japan-based FIT members (Bill Lise, Fred Uleman)
A meeting of the heads of the four Japanese FIT translation association members was held on July 3, 1998 to discuss the issue of a regional FIT conference to be held in Tokyo in 2001. The outcome of this meeting was that none of the attendees were interested in hosting such a conference in the face of the lavish hospitality that had been provided in Beijing or Seoul and the need to procure governmental and corporate sponsorship to cover delegates' costs to Japan.
In a subsequent report by Fred Uleman who represented JAT at the FIT Seoul Forum in Seoul, Korea in August, the issue of establishing an Asian Regional Center was discussed. The event was attended by over a hundred translators from nine countries (Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam). It was agreed that more personal networking would be promoted among the associations. FIT will make its website available for Asian information exchange and each association in the region will appoint one representative who will be responsible for providing association information to the site and for getting information from the site to their respective association members.
6. Upcoming JAT meetings (Richard Thieme)
A speaker could not be secured for August and many of the JAT Directors were planning to be away in mid-August. Therefore, it was unanimously agreed by the directors present to cancel the August JAT meeting. The subject of machine translation was discussed as a possible topic for a JAT meeting in future.
7. The Bookshelf Project (Bill Lise, Leslie Tkach, George Tokikuni)
As reported in the June JAT Board Report, the Bookshelf Project committee made up of Bill Lise, Leslie Tkach, and George Tokikuni who will the chair committee, has decided to solicit the assistance of specific JAT members to help work on this project. It was decided that each of the three committee members will recruit one person to create a committee of six persons. Bill Lise recruited Dan Kanagy and George Tokikuni recruited Emily Shibata-Sato to help with the project in August. Leslie Tkach's recruitment is still pending. Hopefully all directors will have successfully recruited one JAT member for this project by the next JAT Board meeting on September 19, 1998.
A summary of the e-mail communication that took place between committee directors in August is as follows.
a. In principle, the JAT Bookshelf will be published on the closed, members-only section of the JAT website.
b. The Bookshelf Project is a JAT-driven project carried out for the benefit of JAT members.
c.. The current existing JAT Bookshelf needs to be downsized to a more reasonable size.
d. Assistance will be solicited from specific JAT members rather than open participation of the general membership for book list submissions, in order to avoid chaos and diffusion and to increase the list's value added.
e. Specific JAT members whose assistance/suggestions are solicited do not have to be members of the Bookshelf Committee.
f. The new JAT Bookshelf may be compiled into an actual publication in future.
8. Constitutional Revision (Bill Lise)
Several issues have been posted by the Constitutional Revision Committee that were responded to by only a few of the directors. Comments by all JAT directors are encouraged. One of the issues centered on extending the term of a director from one to two years. The majority of the directors in attendance were against such an extension.
An Interim Report on Constitutional Review was submitted on August 22, 1998 to the Board by Fred Uleman, chairperson of the Constitutional Revision Committee (Wolfgang Bechstein, Ichiro Urushibara, and Jeremy Whipple). A summary of the two major issues which were addressed by the committee are:
a. Defining JAT's character
JAT has grown increasingly from a Japan based organization into an international organization. Changing the name of the organization has been proposed as one means of reflecting this change, but due to strong pro and con opinions on this issue, a good alternative name has not been found.
b. The addition of by-laws to the Constitution which would cover administrative details such as election procedures, dues, and Board operations has also been suggested.
9. Kansai IJET Proposal (George Tokikuni)
A meeting was held on July 25 with Mayumi Nishioka, representing the Kansai group that volunteered to organize an IJET-Conference in 2000, and George Tokikuni, Bill Lise, Bob Oliver, Fred Uleman, and Jeremy Whipple to discuss the framework for an IJET-Conference in Kansai. The serious intent of the Kansai members was ascertained and the following criteria was explained.
a. The IJET tradition is a JAT activity when it is held in Japan and the organizers must be willing to volunteer their time, work, and energy.
b. As a JAT activity, the IJET committee must have the participation of one JAT director and one former IJET organizer on either the operating or standing committee.
c. An IJET must be independent in terms of accounting. JAT will provide a minimal amount of core funds to cover initial expenditures. The total expenditures of the conference should not exceed the total revenue when the IJET-conference has ended.
The Kansai group agreed to the above and it was unanimously decided by the Board that the IJET-11 Conference for the year 2000 will be held in Kyoto at the Kyoto International Conference Hall on May 20-21, 2000.
The operating committee members for the conference in Kyoto are (in alphabetical order) Stephen Carter, Friedemann Horn, Bill Lise, Mayumi Nishioka, Richard Sadowsky, George Tokikuni, and Steve Venti. In addition, as of August 9, 1998, the extended committee members are (in alphabetical order) David Eunice, Bob Oliver, Fred Uleman, and Jeremy Whipple.
10. JAT President's message in the directory
It was unanimously agreed by the attending directors that the JAT's President's message will be included in the JAT paper directory in future.
Compiled by Kathleen Taji
JAT Recording Secretary
E-mail: ktaji@gol.com
Following up on the Beijing conference three years ago, an Asian Translators' Forum was held in Seoul in the first week of August. It was a great opportunity to see Seoul, to renew acquaintances with the many outstanding Korean, Chinese, and other Asian translators I had met in Beijing three years ago, and to meet a number of excellent people who were not in Beijing. It was also significant in including Oceania as part of the FIT Asian network. There are many good things to be said about this conference (including profuse thanks to the Korean Society of Translators for their extremely generous hospitality), but that personal joy has to take a back seat to administrative matters in this record of what happened in the conference as opposed to what happened between sessions, Even so, this is still a personal report and is not to be confused with the official report that the Directors have already gotten.
Basically, the idea behind the Seoul ATF was that it is a good thing for translators from Asian countries to develop personal networks for exchanging ideas and information. I have no problem with that. Networking is why I am in JAT and why JAT is in FIT (the International Federation of Translators). There is, however, some question as to why it should be more important for JAT to network with, say, the KTS in Korea than with, say, the ATA in the United States. Here I think the idea is that we are all in similar situations and that the distances are less if it is a regional thing. But we are not all in similar situations -- at least I would be hard-pressed to argue that Japanese translator and, say, Malaysian translators are in the same market working under the same overall conditions -- and the distances within Asia (if physical distance is still important in this Internet age) are still formidable. Such is not to negate the value of Asian networking. It is simply to negate its possible primacy.
Another part of the agenda for this ATF was that some people wanted to institutionalize such conferences and were expecting the Japan-based, FIT-affiliated organizations to host the next one in 2001. Aware of this expectation, the Japan-based organizations (JAT, JST, JTA,, and JTF) met in late July to discuss the possibilities. We decided it was a non-starter. It is not going to happen. We don't have the money, clout, or energy to organize and subsidize such a conference. We might (repeat, _might_) be able to host a conference if all of the participants paid their full ways, but Japanese prices make that a non-starter for many Asian translators. So we signaled out position and went warily to Seoul.
At the same time, there were hopes in some quarters that institutionalizing the conferences would result in setting up a FIT Asian Regional Center with a secretariat and all. Where would it be? Who would run it? How would it be financed? It is only fair that it would be financed by the member organizations, but we were not able to figure out what it would do except for the conferences, and it makes more sense to have the secretariat (if indeed a secretariat is needed at all) handled by whoever is going to host the next conference. We did not want to get into a situation where any individual or organization developed undue influence over what happens.
Happily, nobody wanted to argue about this and a solution was found: FIT will make space available on its web site for the Asian organizations to announce their meetings and to put information out for the other organizations. There is no need for a secretariat. And if we want to have another conference for Asian translators, we can discuss possible dates and venues at the FIT World Congress in Mons (Belgium) next August.
All of this has already been reported to the Directors, and I hope the Bulletin will start running more activity information from other translation organizations. In that vein, I will report on some of the papers that were presented in Seoul after I get my copy of the Proceedings and am able to do them justice.
As you know, the JAT Directors have appointed a four-member committee to look at the JAT Constitution and consider how it might be revised to better reflect our position and aspirations as well as to help things run smoother. The committee is Wolfgang Bechstein, Fred Uleman, Urushibara Ichiro, and Jeremy Whipple.
We have already posted a note to JAT-list explaining what we are doing and asking for input, so I will just repeat the highlights. If you lost that message, please drop me a note at fmu@gol.com and I will send you a copy. Basically, we are talking about splitting a lot of the administrative details off into By-laws. This is material such as the actual election procedure. We are also looking at the nature of the organization and thinking it might be well to specify up-front that translators (includes interpreters) working between Japanese and English are the focus. This is somewhat controversial with some people, and your views would be appreciated. (There has been talk of changing the name, but we have yet to come up with an alternative we all like. Any suggestions?)
Of course, once we are able to agree among ourselves, we will submit our suggestions to the Directors and, if they pass review there, to you in the form of a Referendum. So you will have a chance to approve or disapprove the package. But we would like your input before pass/fail time so our draft can reflect your thinking as much as possible.
Please send your contributions for October JAT Bulletin to editor@jat.org by the end of September.
Bill LISE, President president@jat.org
会長 W. A. リゼ
Bob OLIVER, Treasurer treasurer@jat.org
会計担当 ロバート・オリバー
Emily SHIBATA-SATO, Publications editor@jat.org
会報担当 佐藤 綾子
Kathleen TAJI, Recording Secretary: ktaji@gol.com
記録担当 タジ・キャサリン
Richard THIEME, Program rdthieme@gol.com
会合担当 リチャード・ティーマ
Leslie TKACH, Website tkach@gol.com
ホームページ担当 タック・レスリー
George TOKIKUNI, IJET and Special Projects PFG01116@niftyserve.or.jp
IJET&特別プロジェクト担当 時國 滋夫
Judy WAKABAYASHI, FIT Relations j.wakabayashi@mailbox.uq.edu.au
FIT担当 若林ジュディー
Jeremy WHIPPLE, Membership Secretary membership@jat.org
会員担当 ジェレミー・ウィップル
To learn more about JAT, please visit our Web site at http://www.jat.org/.
The Japan Association of Translators (JAT) is a nonprofit association dedicated to serving the interests of individual translators. Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed in JAT Bulletin articles are solely those of individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Japan Association of Translators.
c) 1998 Japan Association of Translators, All rights reserved, including those of republishing in any media, including but not limited to printed and electronic media. Individual authors of articles in the Bulletin retain copyright to their articles, permitting them to use the articles as they see fit, including granting permission for reprinting in other media.
(Note: This is a rewritten version of part of Leslie's masters' research paper. Thanks Leslie for sharing your insights with us.)
For many years, "translation studies" courses were found as adjuncts in English or linguistics departments in many universities. However, in the past twenty years, practical and theoretical translation studies has become more popular in its own right as a separate academic discipline. Designing such courses presents challenges for academic institutions in terms of finding appropriate instructors, targeting course levels and content to meet the needs and requirements of a diverse range of students, and balancing course content comprised of an appropriate mix of theoretical and practical knowledge. Combining these factors with flexibility in order to meet the changing needs of translation marketplaces throughout the world is certainly a formidable task for many course coordinators.
In addition, researchers have conflicting opinions as to when students should undertake translation studies: should students study translation at the undergraduate level, perhaps while pursuing a combined degree in another area, either the language itself or another area? Alternatively, should translation courses be aimed at mature students who seek formal translation qualifications after completing their basic university education or after spending a certain amount of time in the work force? Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. For example, in the United Kingdom and other European countries, translation courses are offered at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. According to Keith (1989a:41):
One might expect these postgraduate courses to combine with the 'applied" undergraduate courses to form a double structure for the training of translators. One could argue that this would be an ideal system. In reality, however, the postgraduate courses still seem to function largely as 'conversion' courses for people who have taken more traditional undergraduate degrees in modern languages. As such they have an important and necessary function within the system as it is at present.
This brief article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of academic translation programs. It proposes some ideas in terms of maximizing the strengths of formal translation education and provides suggestions for ameliorating the weaknesses. In order to narrow the scope of this section, the following discussion regarding the relative strengths and weaknesses of formal academic translation programs is confined to the postgraduate level.
Academic translation programs are attractive to students from the following backgrounds: (1) those with experience in formal language study and who have made the decision to become professional translators; (2) those who have spent a considerable amount of time in the country of their second language who may lack formal language study but have learned the language through a combination of work or study and desire formal recognition of their language skills (as well, these potential students may have academic qualifications in non-language areas); and (3) those who already work as professional translators but want to improve their skills or enhance their marketability. Given the potential diversity in students' backgrounds and language ability, it is unrealistic to rely on academic translation programs to meet the needs of all three groups. However, well-structured programs can assist students by offering a range of courses which:
* Provide them with practical knowledge about business, computer, and problem-solving skills and the application of these skills;
* Make students aware of the existing theoretical body of knowledge, including the differences among languages and translation strategies;
* Expose students to a wide range of document styles;
* Give feedback to students;
* Integrate students' existing educational background and experience with formal translation skills and; * Increase the overall status of translation as a profession by applying standards.
Academic translation programs can play an important role in accelerating students' development as professional translators by providing them with practical knowledge about business, computer, and problem-solving skills and the direct application of these skills in translation careers. These are basic procedure skills that are transferable regardless of the specific translation field or language (Keith, 1989a:167). Course offerings may include topics such as marketing their services directly to clients and through agencies, client management, basic analytical strategies, and computer knowledge. The maxim "time is money" is particularly appropriate to translation as a professional career in that translators should avail themselves of as many time-saving and productivity enhancements as possible to ensure that they remain competitive: computer knowledge, skills, and use of technology are of paramount importance.
Academic translation programs can also enhance students' awareness of the existing theoretical body of knowledge including the differences among languages and translation strategies. Language- and linguistic-related courses undertaken within an academic environment can promote more careful examination of the source- and target-language texts and increase students' comprehension speed. These skills are especially useful for students who translate between languages such as Japanese and English which present many differences in linguistic, sociocultural, and logistical structure (Chriss, 1995).
Target-language writing skills is arguably the most important skill that can be emphasized in an academic translation program. Most translators translate into their native language and should avoid taking their native-language fluency for granted. Newmark (1988:8) stresses the importance of target-language writing skills and warns translators about the tendency to write unclearly or to lapse into "translationese." He notes that "translationese...fails to transmit the tone and mood and feeling of the original-its style diverts the reader from its message." Academic translation programs can identify students' potential problem areas and instructors can provide suggestions for choosing expressions and writing in a register that meets the needs of the client and the target audience.
Related to the point above, exposing future professional translators to a range of document styles prepares students for translation careers in which they may be called on to translate a wide range of documentation styles-anything to general business documentation to highly specialized technical documents. Although self-employed translators who have targeted field-specific niches and have already built their client base in certain translation areas can often afford to specialize, translators who work in-house may be called upon to translate documentation styles that range from business letters and facsimile requests to technical and legal documentation. The range may be even greater for freelance translators who receive a variety of work from translation agencies. Academic programs can introduce students to "different ways of classifying texts according to criteria relevant for the translation process...and the particular problems associated with translating them" (Keith, 1989a:168). Regardless of their job category, exposure to a wide range of document styles and translation experiences can only benefit students.
Instructors or course convenors of academic translation programs can give feedback to students at an important stage in their development as translators. Such feedback allows students to work on improving their skills in an educational forum. For many professional translators, the real test of their abilities and expertise in translation is the satisfaction level of their client base. If a translator produces a bad translation-for whatever reasons-one effect may very well be losing that client. Honing their translation skills in a supportive and educational environment allows students to gain confidence in their translations, teaching them to ask the right questions as professional translators, and permits them to make mistakes which will not have serious economic repercussions or negatively affect their client base. As well, students can learn useful problem-solving and analytical processes which they may utilize in their future careers as professional translators such as when to ask for extensions for deadlines and how to conduct searches for background information.
Field-specific knowledge is another important skill area that could possibly be enhanced in a formal university environment. Academic translation programs can help integrate students' existing educational background and experience with translation skills and techniques. Targeted courses in technical writing and terminology for specific fields such as medicine, law, business, or engineering may be especially helpful and build on individual students' interests and talents. It is hoped that students with a strong background in a specific field have already have mastered basic concepts and fundamentals that can enhance their understanding of the source language text and the purpose of the target language translated product. In other words, "the vocabulary of a specialist field gives students a structure around which they can organise their acquisition of subjective expertise" (Critchley, Hartley, and Salkie, 1996:112).
Lastly, academic translation programs increase the overall status of translation as a profession by applying standards. While in many cases completion of a translation program does not automatically lead to accreditation (standards for which may differ by country), it does certify that students have attained a certain level of proficiency in the languages involved, have studied translation methodology, and learned the basic practical skills of translation. "Formal training programs...can help raise general professional standards by selection procedures...This in turn may help raise the social status of professionals, especially if standards are set at the postgraduate academic level" (Gile, 1995:3). For translators who perform work for clients from remote locations-an increasing phenomenon due to technology enhancements such as electronic mail (e-mail), file transfer, and facsimile-formal academic credentials in translation studies signal a professional attitude and commitment to the profession which may in turn lead to more business activity. This is especially important when translators deal with new clients or advertise their services in international marketplaces.
(to be continued)
When JAT was formed more than 13 years ago, one of the things on the founders' agenda list was exchange of glossaries between colleagues. Wide-eyed optimists, the founders of JAT seem to have made some basic errors of judgment about the habits of their colleagues. The years that followed saw a breathtakingly low level of activity in the area of translator- created glossaries, and I would like to offer a few suggestions as to the reasons roadblocks have been thrown in the path to a world where, when faced with a terminology problem, we simply refer to a glossary we received from a fellow translator.
Translators generally do not produce glossaries that are of use to their colleagues unless given some special reason. There are several reasons for this. One is simply the lack of time; translators who are capable enough of producing valuable terminological compilations are usually swamped with work. Time spent building glossaries is extremely expensive in terms of lost income. Another reason is that, ironically, the translators who are capable of creating such glossaries have no need for them. Thus, they would need to be doing so out of purely altruistic motives. Such people have generally not come forth to take up the profit-diluting challenge of glossary creation. Yet another reason for the lack of translator-created glossaries is an awareness on the part of translators who could create such resources that they are very personal in nature, and tend to be a very limited set of terms that the creator happens to need.
Even after the internet provided translators with the tools to make glossary exchange easy, translators still made little progress in the area of glossaries. When glossaries are talked about among translators, they tend to be monolingual glossaries produced by people outside the translation professional. Useful, but not addressed to the specific needs of the translation process. Instead of glossaries however, produced by identifiable humans with identifiable qualifications (or an equally identifiable lack of them), translators are more and more turning to a source with a distinct lack of accountability: the mob, in the form of the Honyaku mailing list. I am a member of that mob, but am having second thoughts about the hype that many of us fed ourselves about that forum. The potential is certainly there; what seems to be lacking is a willingness to look critically at the quality of advise we give each other on Honyaku, and the pitfalls involved in the lightning-quick response of the list.
Consider the case of translator A who, faced with a few
tough terms, turns to his colleagues with a short list (let's say
4 terms), posting his question on Honyaku one day. The
following time sequence could (and has been seen by me to)
happen.
10:00 am Translator A posts questions.
10:30 am Translator B posts a reply, giving two correct
answers and two completely incorrect answers.
10:45 am Translator A post a note of thanks to Translator
B, stating that he will use the terms given in the translation,
and that he is very glad to be able to get the translation out
the door (modem) on time.
10:47 am Translator A (and B?) quickly forgets about the
exchange.
10:50 to 11:10 Three other translators, C through E, realize
that translator A has been misled by translator B, but they
are either (1) too busy to correct the situation, or (2) don't feel
a moral obligation to do so.
I don't think translators C through E can be faulted for remaining silent, but translator A still remains happy with his misinformation, as do others listening in who know no better.
At the root of the above-noted problem is the lack of accountability for comments made on Honyaku in particular and the internet in general, and the lack of willingness to be critical in evaluating such comments. Too often comments made off hand with little basis are accepted as facts without any doubt. The operative word here is doubt, perhaps the most powerful weapon in a translator's arsenal. With it, translators might spend a bit more time on their translations; without it, the entire translator community could be lulled into a dangerous state of complacency, in which worship of the medium comes before the need to assess the value of the messages. As a member of the mob, I will certainly continue providing the best advice I can, when I have the time and feel the inclination to do so, but will also try to maintain a reasonable level of doubt - about the message I read, and the messages I write.
最近、jat-listやhonyakuで話題となった事柄を題材にして 調べたものをお届けします。最初の短い３つは日本語、 最後のちょっと長いのは英語で書かれています。
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Funny Japanese (1)
9月7日付タイム誌の広告で「この日本語コピーはぜったい手抜きだ。もとの英語がす ぐわかる！」というのを見つけました。今、話題 となっているアップル新製品 iMacの次のような広告です。
Say hello to iMac ＜タイトルは英語のままでした＞
いま、アップルという２０世紀の生んだ独創的な企業から、 ２１世紀へのドアーを前にして、ユニバーサルな夢の結晶体iMac （アイマック）が誕生しました。今までのコンピュータのイメージとは 打って変わったパラダイムのiMacは、端麗にして頭脳明晰、 全方位３６０度のクールなフォルム。その中身には、才覚と英知が 満ち充ちて。ひとつ、力量を見ても、人間の感情の機微、 デリカシーに触れながら、いわゆる高性能パソコンに搭載の Pentium IIをも卓抜する。しかも、セットアップに臆することなく、 インターネットの大宇宙へ。iMac。真っ白なページから 思考の泉がマッハのように沸き立ち、日常のシーンが 劇的に転化する。興奮。さあ、無難とか時代の風潮より、 自分の志をすくと掲げて、胸いっぱいに、こんにちは、iMac。 いまiMacとの出会いが、あなたの未知の可能性を発光させる。 ...
「21世紀へのドアー」の「ドアー」には、何か意味があるのでしょうか。（ページの 上方のスペック説明では「ドア」が使われています。） 「自分の志をすくと掲げて」はウェブでも使われていましたが、 どっか変。英語のコピーをそのまま訳したのでは？と思えますが どなたか原文のコピーをご存知ありませんか。
このiMac、日本での発売初日にある大型店では600台も売れた とのことですが、さて今後はいかに？
* * *
Funny Japanese -2-
今月のお勧め本です。ぜったい笑えます。
VOW全書１ 「まちのヘンなもの大カタログ」 （宝島社文庫）
―「看板、駄菓子、チラシに誤植。ありとあらゆる 「まちのヘンなもの」を集めまくって１０数年。驚異の ベストセラーVOW（Voice of Wonderlandの略）が、ハンディな 文庫本でついに登場」という宝島らしい本です。
外国がらみで掲載されていた誤植の例を１つ。「…国連アフリカ 緊急作戦本部が作成したアフリカ危機１１―１２月号の中に 奇妙なもの（？）がまぎれ込んだ。ニューヨーク・タイムズほか、 世界の主要紙の題字を（デザインとして）載せたつもりが、 日本に関しては新聞とは全く無関係な"もの"が載ってしまった のだ…」
そこに掲載されていたのは、The New York Times, Berlingske Tidende, Il Messaggero, Helsingin Sanomat, The Globe and Mail そして！！ ハイボラギノールＳでした。
Berlingske Tidende はデンマーク、Il Messaggero はイタリア、 Helsingin Sanomat はフィンランドの新聞です。 でも「ハイボラギノール」は「じに〜はボラギノ〜ル」で おなじみの痔の薬です。新聞広告の題字が新聞自体の 題字だと思われてしまったのでしょう。
さきほどのiMacに関係するわけじゃないけど、誤植の例も いろいろ載っていました。その中から１つ：
「ビッグマックの愛称で日本で初めて開場した屋根付きスタジアム 『東京ドーム』」
正しくは「ビッグマック(Big Mac)」でなくて「ビッグエッグ(Big Egg)」。 でも「ビッグマック」は、最近だったらまずMcGwireを連想する 人が増えたでしょうから、彼が将来、東京ドームに来るようなことが あれば、日本のスポーツ紙はまたいろんなキャッチを考えること でしょう。
Names now and 100 years ago
It was in today's paper that the number of Japanese aged 100 and over exceeded 10,000 for the first time. The longest-living of all is 松永タセ, who is now 114 years old which means that she was born 1884, or before the Sino-Japanese war.
Every year as I look at the list of top 20 or so long-living people, their old-fashioned (and sometimes weird) given names amaze me. This year's top 10 given female names after タセ are: やす、まつ、チヨ、シエ、かまと、カマド、カヨ、ミエ and あさ. There are only three men among top 20 who are: 伝蔵、定義 and 雄吉. There may still be baby girls named ミエ(or more likely Yasuko, Kayoko, Mieko or Asako) but Japanese names have changed a lot in the past century as seen in the "rise and fall" of girl's names with 子, which was used for over 80% of girls in my days.
Then that reminded me of the "Neldeen" discussion on Honyaku a while ago (note to Non-Honyakkers: somebody asked what implication a female name "Neldeen" has) and I wondered what names were commonly used in the US 100 years ago and now. So I've searched Office of the Chief Actuary's website at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/NOTES/note139/note139.html suggested by Tom Gally.
Here are top 10 male/female names of the years 1898 and 1998.
1898 (samples: 9035 males, 7861 females)
| 1. John | Mary |
| 2. William | Anna |
| 3. George | Helen |
| 4. James | Margaret |
| 5. Joseph | Ruth |
| 6. Charles | Elizabeth |
| 7. Frank | Florence |
| 8. Edward | Rose |
| 9. Robert | Lillian |
| 10. Henry | Ethel, Marie (tie) |
1998 (samples: 20264 males, 19662 females)
| 1. Michael | Emily |
| 2. Jacob | Sarah |
| 3. Matthew | Taylor |
| 4. Christopher | Jessica |
| 5. Nicholas | Ashley |
| 6. Austin | Samantha |
| 7. Joshua | Madison |
| 8. Andrew | Hannah |
| 9. Joseph | Kayla |
| 10. Brandon | Alexis |
I didn't know that my name 'Emily' was so popular these days! I thought it was an old-fashioned name.
Other searches suggest that Amanda, Jennifer, Michele, Kevin, Anthony and Daniel are also common. Some of these names (mostly Bible names?) have been used for centuries whereas traditional nihongo names have been replaced by Yuki, Yuta, Sayaka, Miki and the like.
One thing I'm pretty sure is that there will be very few 'Bill's among baby boys born this year. And Monica too will probably be considered an 'inappropriate' name...