Charles Terry and Lynne Riggs Response - Suis

Perhaps Charles Terry’s outdated and frankly sexist simile for translation affected my reading of his notes on translation, but I don’t agree with his rigid philosophy. Although he gives good general advice on the technicalities of Japanese to English translation, I find that faithful translations can be “beautiful”, it is just difficult to produce (or not always possible). His philosophy seems to be more applicable to writing that is academic, historical or the like. Lynne Riggs uses the phrase “transmigration” to describe the process of translating academic essays and magazine articles which I found more illuminating.

Riggs says of translation that it is “not just the translation of words, but a communication in the fullest sense of the word.” I think that translation is definitely communication and I find that communicating the meaning or sentiment from one language to another is important, and it is the best if one can do that accurately or faithfully. Riggs’ advice on translating articles is very useful. I found that many of the problems she poses with translating Japanese articles came up when translating the article on Fumika Hideshima. The metaphor I had the most difficulty translating was the one that likened small talk to a “teppan.” Translating it as “iron plate” would not make sense to the English speaking audience and with strenuous effort, I came up with the translation “sure-fire tool.” I felt that the phrase stayed somewhat relevant to the original and conveyed the same meaning.