Technical translation from Japanese into English

Subject: Technical translation from Japanese into English
From: Noriko Yotsuyanagi <noriko -at- BOOMBOX -dot- MICRO -dot- UMN -dot- EDU>
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 00:39:52 -0600

I was also a bit offended by Robert $B%f (Js statement that Japanese technical
writing
is the laughing stock of the entire world. But Ms. Nancy Hofts defended
Japanese technical writing very well. It is very true that Japanese tech
communicators are devoted to producing quality manuals despite the fact their
profession is not yet established in Japan. But I would say that they are still
the minority. Most of them are privileged ones working for big manufacturers
with relatively large budgets for the whole development of products. But even
they tend to suffer budget cuts (in case of a lingering recession, etc.) or
minimal understanding from the top management because the high quality of
manuals does not lead directly to the increase of profits.

Anyhow, I worked as a technical translator in Osaka, Japan, for 10 years before
I came to study technical communication at the U of Minnesota. I know quite a
bit about what is going on in the translation business in Osaka, which might be
slightly different from that of Tokyo. Maybe I should also defend Japanese
technical translators who are really devoted to bridging Japan and other
cultures. Please understand that I am now talking specifically about technical
translation from Japanese into English.

I would like to remind you that Japan is one of the few nations where
translators translate from their native language into foreign languages, because
there is a very small population of English native translators who can translate
Japanese documents well into English. I do not like people to laugh at bad
English translations from Japan and conclude that Japanese cannot write English.
There are many non-native English people who can write good English. I know
several Japanese translators who can do a ultra excellent translating job from
Japanese into English.

I would say, from my 10-year experience in the translation business, that
technical translators are not primarily responsible for incomprehensible or
intelligible English translations from Japanese you might have seen here in the
US. Technical translation usually involves several people: original writer (I
would not like to use the word $B%a (Jtechnical writer $B%b (J here), technical
translator,
English-native copy editor, final checker, etc. The majority of Japanese
original documents I have translated were poorly written; they had no flow of
logic, organization, consistency or coherence. I shared this opinion with my
fellow translators in Japan. When we translate such documents into quality
English, which must be logical, direct, and concise, we have to do a major
surgery, which needs a lot of time and brains. In addition, it is not easy to
translate even technical materials between the two completely different
languages. At the word-to-word level, for example, there are not many English
and Japanese words that have equivalent denotations, not to mention
connotations. As you know, translation is always a rush job because original
documentation does not come until the last minute. Translators are thus
overburdened.

I should also touch on English native copy-editors, who check English
translations translated by Japanese translators. Many of such copy editors I
have worked with were not qualified. Just because they speak English, they are
considered the authority of English and have more "says" about final English
documentation than Japanese translators. I mean English natives do not always
improve the quality of English translations; sometimes they make the
translations worse.

I have witnessed many disastrous translations produced in Japan. I just wanted
people to see a better whole picture of technical translation from Japanese into
English.

Let me know how horrible English translations from Japan are. I would like to
know how true it is. Is there anyone who knows any journal article or something
that touches upon this issue. Noriko


*******************************
Noriko Yotsuyanagi

Scientific and Technical Communication
University of Minnesota

noriko -at- boombox -dot- micro -dot- umn -dot- edu
yots0001 -at- maroon -dot- tc -dot- umn -dot- edu


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