10/13

     Charles Terry raises some interesting points, and then offers solutions to variety of particular phrases or techniques often found in Japanese writing that I either never considered, or have yet to encounter thus far in my 'career' as a translator. The first point he makes is about omitting the translation of phrases like "needless to say", as he characterizes it as being  "nearly always a sign of bad writing in English". I'm not sure I entirely agree with him on this point, as if there was no use for the phrase then it wouldn't exist. Although, I can understand the argument, in that perhaps one should be more comprehensible in their writing to the extent that the usage of this phrase is no longer warranted. He continues on and informs us many instances in which bits and pieces of the Japanese should be omitted for the English reader, as it either doesn't make sense, would be considered insulting due to the description or line of questioning,  or just would not be mentioned (e.g. itadakimasu). For me personally, I think Charles Terry's 'pointers' will change the way that I approach translating a text from here on out. When translating, I often feel the need to try and include absolutely every little detail and cultural nuance in the English, and as a result I think the quality of my work has been negatively impacted. Every week after reading these articles, I somehow  feel that the difficulty of translation increases with the knowledge obtained from them, yet they make me more aware about the flaws in my own work.