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Post by smith on Oct 31, 2014 15:56:28 GMT 9
Here I'm going to list a few basic (free) translation tools and useful websites to help a budding translator. Eijiro / Space AlcAn online database of example sentences. Very helpful for figuring out how a particular word is used and any collocations it may have, but probably not suitable as a dictionary. Lite Text GlossSimply pop the Japanese text into the box below and press the button. Can handle everything from single words to small paragraphs. This is not a translation machine, it just reads all the Japanese and then spits out a list of kanji readings and definitions. Great for obscure Kanji; I don't think I have ever found a character that it wasn't able to define. JGramA database of Japanese grammar forms. It's more geared towards students and those studying for that horrible Japanese Proficiency Test, but it does come in handy now and then. Multi Radical Kanji LookupFind the character you are looking for by selecting its radicals. Handwritten Kanji LookupIf you find yourself stumped by a certain character, you could always have a try at drawing it. While not as reliable or easy to use as the radical lookup, it has its uses. JQuickTransDespite the name, it's just a dictionary program and not a translation memory device. It is basic in its functionality and not any better than any of the other links here, but it is a program that sits on your desktop and can be used off-line. It comes in handy anytime my internet connection goes out.
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Post by averyudagawa on Jan 8, 2015 17:10:49 GMT 9
Hi,
Thank you for creating this site!
If anyone here wishes to translate stories for (or also for) children, I invite you to check out SCBWI Japan Translation Group (http://ihatov.wordpress.com; japan.scbwi.org > Translation). We have a listserv of about 40 members who discuss J>E translation for children and teens. SCBWI membership is not currently required to join, though it is recommended as is membership in SWET (www.swet.jp).
These professional organizations, with their publications and networks, also offer valuable "tools" to emerging (and experienced) translators.
All best, Avery
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Post by mike on Feb 3, 2015 23:13:07 GMT 9
Of what avail is it to plonk down a wodge of Yukichis to go to a translation school, when the most you can expect out of it is just one possible translation and sometimes idiosyncratic feedback based thereupon? Sure, I can understand the utility of school-based training insofar as specialized translation is concerned. But literary translation?--Nah. Am I perverse in thinking thus? Am I missing out? Am I still submerged in the demimonde of literary translation? Give me your objective, unembellished feedback as pros, please, based upon my past works here. And while I pursue this raging literary ambition, what options do I have, do you think, based on my writing? I took a tryout for a legal translation position with no prior knowledge except how to write in, and translate ordinary, non-specialized Japanese into, natural English--as you can surmise, it was a total bummer. What should I do?
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Post by smith on Feb 4, 2015 19:50:24 GMT 9
I wouldn't worry too much about striking out on a trial translation. I happens to the best of us.
As for studying literary translation a university or school? I can't comment. I can't even think of a place that offers specialised courses in Japanese to English literary translation. And I doubt they will be able to teach you anything you wouldn't eventually learn the hard way for free.
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Post by mike on Feb 4, 2015 19:57:43 GMT 9
You can say that again!
I'm used to translating using a dictionary and online references, so when I can't use those, I lose confidence in my writing. Does it happen to you, even in your native language?
Also, how often has the use of references, online as well as offline, been banned in your tryout experience? Is it more of a rare thing in the industry?
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Post by elipsett on Feb 6, 2015 16:10:20 GMT 9
I think it's pretty silly to have a translation test without access to the Internet. Even in worst case, assuming someone has the whole thing translated by Google, so what? It obviously won't pass... And if it does the entire test is worthless! That said, legal writing is not normal language, in either Japanese or English. Likewise patents and medicine, and indeed most highly technical fields. Each has a specific terminology that you cannot get from a dictionary because you have no idea which word is correct for a given case, or how to use it properly. It can be learned, but you have to learn quite a bit to be good at it. Take a look at the BCLT program for literary translation, Mike: www.bclt.org.uk/summer-school/(Don't now what country you're in, but anyway...)
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Post by mike on Feb 6, 2015 22:35:40 GMT 9
elipsettYeah, I totally agree with you! But that said, when I apply for a translation position, they'll have me actually visit the office and take the test (time limit: usu. approx. 1 hr) then and there, using a simple paper dictionary! Is this industry standard? I think they are in this school-exam mentality, which says you have to be on your own on a test, without any aid (to their mind, using the Internet and such tools is as good as cheating--at least not a true reflection of your skill as a language expert). What is industry standard anyway in this field---both in the specialized types of translation and in the general type, as literature, webpages, business documents, etc.?
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Post by smith on Feb 7, 2015 8:31:19 GMT 9
Yeah, I totally agree with you! But that said, when I apply for a translation position, they'll have me actually visit the office and take the test (time limit: usu. approx. 1 hr) then and there, using a simple paper dictionary! Is this industry standard? I think they are in this school-exam mentality, which says you have to be on your own on a test, without any aid (to their mind, using the Internet and such tools is as good as cheating--at least not a true reflection of your skill as a language expert). What is industry standard anyway in this field---both in the specialized types of translation and in the general type, as literature, webpages, business documents, etc.? That doesn't sound like industry standard to me. I don't do a lot of legal (or medical) translations, I'm more geared towards finance/tourism/advertising, but still, that really doesn't seem normal. I have taken a lot of translation tests and all of them were online from my own home. Even proficiency tests like the JTF and the TQE have you take the exam online. In fact, I don't think I have ever heard of a translation test you have to take on site with nothing but a paper dictionary.
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Post by elipsett on Feb 7, 2015 18:11:27 GMT 9
Agree. It is impossible to function as a translator without access to reference material, and the Internet is the best available reference for almost everything.
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Post by mike on Feb 7, 2015 20:43:49 GMT 9
elipsettI see. So my companies thus far have been out-of-the-way... Thank you guys!
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