雨の日 / Rainy Days

例えば、天気予報を朝見て雨が降ると分かりました。降る確率は何パーセントでしたら、傘を持って出掛けますか。営業マンなら、常に折り畳み傘を持ち歩いているでしょう。万が一退社した時雨が降った場合のために、職場には予備の傘も置いている方もいるでしょう。私だと降る確率が50か60パーセントでしたら、少なくとも折り畳み傘を持って行きますが、もちろん外も確かめてから出掛けます。私にとって傘が魔除けか時々思います。こんなことを考えているのがまた梅雨がやって来ましたね。

The morning weather report forecasts rain. What probability of rain would encourage you to take an umbrella with you as you go out? If you spend most of your time visiting clients and customers, like a salesman, you may always carry a fold-up umbrella in your bag. Some people may even have a spare umbrella at work, just in case they get caught in rain on the way home. I would at least take a fold-up umbrella with me if the weather forecast predicted a 50 to 60 percent chance of rain. Of course, I would also look outside, because the forecast is unreliable most of the time. Sometimes I think that carrying an umbrella is like a good-luck charm against rain for me. The fact that I’m even thinking of rain and umbrellas must mean that rainy season is here.

The Japanese version first appeared in the June 2014 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2014年6月号に掲載されました。

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.

Novelty / 新鮮

Be it overseas or in your own country, when travelling to a new town for the first time, everything looks fresh. I have my camera in easy reach so I can take photos of the cityscape or anything that catches my eye. But when I have friends or relatives visit me, I am always have difficulty deciding where to take them, especially when they have limited time. Everyone has an image of what to expect from their travel destination. Visitors from abroad take delight in everything they see in Japan, because everything is new to them. That exhilarating feeling of discovery infects me, too, as I show them around. When there are kids in the group, their curiosity is particularly infectious. I start to see things or customs that I take for granted with different eyes, and I feel like a tourist in my own town.

海外でも国内でも初めて旅行する街では、何でもかんでも新鮮です。カメラを抱えて色々な物や風景をパチパチ撮ってしまいます。でも自分の街へ友人が来る時、どこを案内したらいいか結構悩みます。特に見せたい場所が多過ぎる時。もちろん個人個人は既に街のイメージができているでしょう。海外からのお客さんなら、全て新しくて何でも喜びます。案内しているうちに自分も新たに新鮮さを感じます。普通でもある物や風習は、お客さんの目を通じて全て新鮮に見え、自分の街で観光客になった気分でしょう。好奇心いっぱい持っている子供も案内していましたら。

The Japanese version first appeared in the July 2013 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2013年7月号に掲載されました。