IJET-25 Translation Conference / IJET-25日英翻訳会議

This year, I'll be attending the International Japanese English Translation (IJET) Conference, hosted by the Japan Association of Translators (JAT), for the seventh time. As far I ask know it is the best J-E-J translation conference for the professional development of translators and interpreters, themselves. One other major conference held in Tokyo annually is mostly aimed at agents and their employees. This year is the 25th anniversary of IJET, and it will be held in Tokyo for the first time.

Most translators work in a bubble (be they freelance, or the sole translator in a company) with little real input or feedback. IJET is an opportunity to learn from our colleagues and more experienced sempai, and improve our skills. I always walk away from IJETs motivated – and glad that I'm a translator and interpreter.

What is the best part about IJETs? The networking! With mailing lists and SNS, colleagues in translation and interpreting are more familiar, but nothing beats meeting them face-to-face and getting to know everyone better. Sometimes our on-screen personas are not who we really are.

What should you know if you are participating for the first time? IJETs are great opportunities to connect with fellow translators and interpreters, and even find clients (amongst the agencies in attendance). Networking doesn't mean you have to talk shop all the time. Don't feel intimidated; get out there and just make small talk. Getting to know each other personally can, in itself, lead to introductions to lucrative jobs. Who better to recommend for a job than someone you like and trust? So have plenty of meishi on hand.

I have worked on the organising committees for two IJETs (17: Kobe, 24: Hawaii) as registrar. This year, I make my debut as an IJET presenter, with Marian Kinoshita from MDK Translations. Our session first thing Sunday morning (yes, starting at 9! ouch!) is titled Getting into the Nitty Gritty.

Here is the blurb:

東西、東西！Marian from Kanto and George from Kansai will present rather tricky Japanese sentences that have stumped even the most seasoned translator. Examples will feature ubiquitous gems that are so easy to understand when reading the Japanese yet require so much consideration and deliberation when rendering them into decent English. Together, they will tackle taxing samples from business, technical, art, entertainment, and other fields, peppered with unique client requirements.

The success of this workshop depends greatly on audience participation, as there is no single correct answer to any translation task. Join Marian and George for lively discussions, a bit of fun, and lots of head-scratching and naruhodo-ing.

We will be using examples from our own work, hoping that we inspire and get inspired about those tricky words, expressions and sentences.

If you have not yet signed up for IJET-25, there are only about 50 places left. This means there are around 500 participants this year, making this the largest IJET ever.

Hope to see you there.

愛は勝つ / Love Always Wins

I received a rush job at the end of the last year to translate the lyrics to a song. When I heard it was Kan's Ai wa katsu I jumped at the chance. The song was released in the summer of 1990, just before I arrived in Japan, and was Kan's biggest hit. I was a big fan of his and I used to sing this song at karaoke often.
去年末に歌詞を翻訳する急ぎの依頼を受けました。その曲はKANの「愛は勝つ」と聞いて迷わず引き受けました。この曲は1990年夏、私が来日するちょうど前にリリースされて、KANにとって最大のヒットでした。私はKANの大ファンで 「愛は勝つ」をカラオケでよく歌っていました。

In the 90s, I sometimes attempted writing English lyrics to Japanese songs, but for some unknown reason it seems I had never attempted this one. I know the song backwards, so it was easier than working with a song I am unfamiliar with. As anyone who has ever tried writing English lyrics to Japanese songs knows,  Japanese melodies have many more notes than English ones, because the Japanese language doesn't really allow for contractions, such as "don't", "can't", "I'll" and so on. So I had to add to the imagery of the lyrics, which was difficult while maintaining the integrity of the original lyrics and melody. I only altered the melody in the second verse, which starts "Look up into the night...," giving the English lyrics the same melody as the first verse, "Don't you worry yourself..."
昔、大好きな邦楽の曲に英語歌詞を時々趣味としてつけたりしていましたが、この曲の英訳がメモ帳に残っていないということはきっと挑戦しませんでした。不思議です。馴染みのある曲なので、全然知らない曲より英語歌詞がよりつけやすかったです。しかし、英語歌詞を書く経験のある方がご存知の通り、邦楽は英語の曲よりメロディーが多いし、英語のように「don't」や「can't」、「I'll」の様な省略がないし、原曲の歌詞とメロディーにできるだけ忠実でありながら、英語に歌詞を増やす必要がありました。結局メロディーを変えたのが1カ所のみ。日本語歌詞に当たる「夜空に流星を...」の箇所を「心配ないからね...」と同じメロディーにしました。　

I finished the lyrics in three days and met my deadline, but they were never used in the planned TV show earlier this year. I thought it was a waste, so have posted them here.
三日に歌詞を仕上げて納期を間に合いましたが、予定通り今年1月に放送された番組に利用されませんでした。折角作ったのに勿体ないと思って、ここで掲載します。

Here is the version Kan recorded with other Japanese singers for Ganbaro Nippon to raise funds for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
以下は「愛は勝つ」の「かんばろうニッポン」バージョンです。

Love Always Wins (愛は勝つ)
Music & Original Lyrics: KAN
English Lyrics: George Bourdaniotis

Don’t you worry yourself
Someone out there feels your love
A new day will dawn for you
And together you’ll start anew
Whatever comes your way
Don’t you let it get you down
Though you want to hide away
You just need belief in yourself

Carry on, carry out
Love will bring pain
You feel you are chained
Waiting forever
Will seem in vain
Tender arms to give you some warmth Oh…Oh…
Through all you see
Remember your dream
Hold it to you
Remember the scenes
Memories of happiness Oh…

Look up into the night
If you see a falling star
Close your eyes and make a wish
You will sense a moment of bliss
Whatever comes your way
Don’t you let it get you down
Faith is all you really need
Have no doubt that love always wins in the end

Carry on, carry out
You’ll try too hard
And feel your heart break
You’ll be betrayed
It’s all give and take
Love takes time to bloom and to grow Oh…Oh…
You feel that day
Seems so faraway
When it’s in reach
You will find a way
Happiness takes hold of your heart Oh…

Don’t you worry yourself
Someone out there needs your strength
A new day will dawn for you
And together you’ll start anew
Whatever comes your way
Don’t you let it get you down
Faith is all you really need
Have no doubt that love always wins in the end
Faith is all you really need
Have no doubt that love always wins in the end

(c) English lyrics: George Bourdaniotis & Media Egg Communications

NHK国際放送視聴者が投票2013 / NHK World Viewer's Choice 2013

NHK World Viewers' Choice 2013

今年監修として務めたNHK国際放送の番組の2本はViewers' Choice* 2013（60本の番組）に選ばれました。結果はCore Kyoto「懐石料理」編はGroup Bの3位、Train Cruise「百年鉄道 ～九州の旅～」（パイロット版）はGroup Fの1位になりました！

Viewers' Choice 2013全体的では、Train Cruiseは25年度の新番組の中では1位で、全体6位でした。2013年の最後にいいプレゼントをいただきました。ありがとうございます！Train Cruise「京都」編が1月末放送予定です。年明けに作業を頑張ります！
 * 厳選された番組にHP上で視聴者が投票する。 

Two of the NHK World programs I worked on this year as script advisor were selected for the 60 programs listed in Viewers' Choice 2013. The result: Core Kyoto "Kaiseki-ryori" came 3rd in Group B and Train Cruise "A Century-Old Railway in Kyushu" (pilot) came 1st in Group F!

Overall, Train Cruise came out as the No. 1 viewers' choice for new programs this year, and No. 6 overall! Now, that's a nice way to end the year. Thank you. Train Cruise Episode 4 "Kyoto" is slated for airing in late January. This is just the right motivation I need when working on the script in early January.

緊張感 - Nervousness

 新年度早々新しい企画がスタート。今回はNHK国際放送局の新番組「Mapping Kyoto Streets」の台本監修を務めます。これから打ち合わせ等のために電車に乗る時間が長いですが、京都へ行ける、京都についてより深く勉強できる機会が増えて嬉しいです。友人や家族をはじめ視聴者の皆さんが楽しく視るためにナレーション等の表現について悩んだりします。そして出演者に台本を読んでもらうのを緊張します。人によって「緊張感」イコール「ストレス」ですが、私にとって緊張が面白くて良いことです。目の前にある仕事に対して感心を持っている証拠だと思います。

With the new financial year comes a new project. This project is the NHK World program, Mapping Kyoto Streets. As script advisor, I will be spending more time on the train to Kyoto for meetings and filming, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to visit Kyoto more often and discover more about this ancient city. When I imagine my friends, colleagues and family watching this show, I start to worry if the narration is interesting enough. I also get nervous about the host and the narrator reading the translations I’ve prepared. Most people look at nervousness as stress, but nervousness, for me, is interesting. It is proof that I care about the work at hand.

The Japanese version first appeared in the April 2012 issue of the goodspeed monthly newsletter. 日本語バージョンはグッドスピードレター2012年4月号に掲載されました。 Mapping Kyoto Streets premieres on April 12 and airs once a fortnight. You can watch the show online, in real time. Check the web site for screening times. Pictured, here, is Randy Channell Soei – the host of Episode 1: Sanjo-dori – rehearsing his lines.

Twitterの力は凄い – The Power of Twitter

先日日本翻訳連盟の関西セミナーでネットワーキングについてのパネルディセカションに参加させてもらいました。同業界者の前で初めて公演する私の意見が皆に役に立つか緊張していました。 講演後、誰かが Twitterに様子を呟いていたと聞きま したが、関心が薄かった様子。でも次の日友人の Facebookの書き込みによると、 当日私の「Facebookなのに、ネットワーキングが目的なら、動物やらのプロフィール写真がおかしい」の意見にに反応した方が多かったそう。Twitterを未だに理解していない私が Twitterの届く範囲にびっくり！

Last month, I was a panelist on the discussion about Networking in Kansai at the Japan Translation Federation (JTF) Kansai Seminar. Being my first time speaking in front of my translation peers, I was quite nervous about having anything useful to impart. After the session, I heard someone in the audience was tweeting the main points of the discussion. Not really understanding Twitter, I didn’t give it much thought. Until the next day, that is. According to a Facebook friend’s status updates, one of my comments had people in a flutter to change their profile photos. Basically, I cannot understand the logic behind people who use Facebook to network using a photo of their pet or whatever as their profile picture, instead of their actual face. Twitter’s influence is greater than I thought.

The Japanese version first appeared in the February 2012 issue of the goodspeed monthly newsletter.
日本語バージョンはグッドスピードレター2012年2月号に掲載されました。