The Art of Translation

"Isn't translating boring?" I get asked that quite a bit. It's true, certain types of translation only require you to look up technical terms and those are boring. But what I specialize in requires creativity and literary sensibility. Japanese is an extremely indirect language. Conveying this indirectness in English is not an easy task.

After 40 comic books, 150 NHK programs, and countless hours in front of the computer, I'm proud to say I deserve a break. I'm putting my 10-year career on hold to backpack around the world. Here's a look at the different genres I've translated.

Comic books:
Onomatopoeias and jokes are very difficult to translate. Japanese has far more onomatopoeias than English. The most extraordinary sound word, I think, is "shiin", which describes the state of silence. Isn't it fascinating how you can describe silence with sound?

Jokes are deeply rooted in culture. A joke that may be funny in Japanese does not always translate well into English. (In fact, most of the time, it doesn't.) Sometimes the punch line doesn't even make sense in English. It's the translator's job to 'rewrite' the joke so that it stays true to the original Japanese and is funny enough in English.

Documentaries:
When translating documentaries, it's important to capture the director's style. The narrative style and video needs to be in harmony with each other and finding that harmony is rewarding and strangely addictive.

Dramas:
The use of slang and colloquial expressions is essential to make conversations sound natural. Choosing expressions that are fitting for the characters is also an important factor. With subtitle translation, you have to convey everything within a certain word limit. It's kind of like doing a puzzle -- looking for the right words that fit into the subtitle.

Childrens' Programs:
What I enjoyed most about translating childrens' programs was the song lyrics. You have to make the English lyrics just as rhythmical and childlike as the Japanese version. Sometimes it felt like I was rewriting the lyrics rather than translating them.

翻譯不是很無聊嗎？很多人問我這個問題。有一些翻譯真的無聊。但是我專門的是漫畫跟電視節目。這種東西很有趣。日文是很暧昧的語言。英文是不暧昧的。用英文表達日文的细微差别非常難。我當翻譯當了１０年。４０本漫畫、１５０個NHK節目、我坐在電腦前数不尽的時間。我決定我要休息一下。我搬到紐約以後可能要繼續。