http://english.language-room.net/ 米国カリフォルニアを拠点にするALSが提供するブログです。英文ライティング(英文の書き方)、翻訳、英文校正、ビジネス英語、工業英語、論文英語等、英語学習者にためになる情報を掲載しています。 ja http://english.language-room.net/?eid=825244 Hello: This is the 30th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Services (http://www.aaronlanguage.com). We issue Aaron Says monthly. This newsletter is a special summer issue about summer in the United States. We hope it will be of in...
This is the 30th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Services (http://www.aaronlanguage.com). We issue Aaron Says monthly. This newsletter is a special summer issue about summer in the United States. We hope it will be of interest to you.

From next month, we will be changing our format. We hope you will like it.

Summer Vacation

For children and people in the United States who are still students, summer vacation may be the best time of year. Three glorious months of freedom! Today, there are school systems that are exploring different calendars, but they are still the exception.

Even for people who work and have much less vacation, almost everyone still eagerly awaits summer. Different people wait for different things, but there are so many things to wait for.

Baseball Season

Baseball fans of all ages and sizes play and watch baseball, starting with T-Ball, a version of baseball for younger children, baseball for bigger children, and all the way up to the major leagues. Enjoy a day at the baseball park sitting in the sun, savoring your choice of a hotdog, a beer, or a chocolate malt.

Barbecuing Time

Many Americans love to barbecue. For some, a barbecue is almost the equivalent of a religious experience. Barbecue equipment can run into the thousands of dollars for the hardcore barbecuer.

Picnics

Summer time is picnic season, time to enjoy picnics outside. A lot of summer does seem to center around food, doesn’t it?

Food

While we are talking about food, let’s take a look at summer food − watermelon, homemade ice cream for those many American who have ice cream makers, and food that we eat all year round. Truthfully, there is not that much food that we eat only in the summer. Most of it, we eat all year round. Still, it just tastes better in the summer time.

Long evenings
Because the days are longer and because we have daylight savings time, the evenings are longer. The streets in San Francisco have more people sauntering, and the outdoor cafes on streets such Clement, Polk, and Columbus have more people sitting, talking, and watching others walking by.

Street fairs
Street fairs are weekend events in San Francisco. Streets are closed to traffic. Food and craft booths are set up in the street, and people wander past the booths enjoying the sunshine and the live music. The Cherry Blossom Festival is in Japantown at the end of April. The North Beach Festival is in the middle of June, and the Fillmore Street Jazz Festival is the first weekend in July. For chocoholics, the Ghiradelli Square Chocolate Festival is in September.

]]> Aaron Saysバックナンバー 2008-02-19T16:43:21+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=825241 This issue presents: 1. Making efforts 2. Podcasting 3. Daily lives Special Section 4. Foreign language education in Scotland Hello: This is the 29th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Services (http://www.aaronlanguage.com)... 1. Making efforts
2. Podcasting
3. Daily lives
Special Section
4. Foreign language education in Scotland
Hello:

This is the 29th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Services (http://www.aaronlanguage.com). We issue Aaron Says monthly. Each regular issue contains three discussion topics and each special issue focuses on one topic. Topics explore translating from Japanese to English, writing in English, learning English, and understanding American and Western culture. This newsletter discusses making efforts, podcasting, and daily lives.

This issue also includes a special section on translation in the news, which covers foreign language education and gender in Scotland.

Please stay tuned to future Aaron Says issues about translation in the news; English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian translation; and translation in other languages to and from Japanese and English.

1. Making efforts

‘To make an effort’ is not necessarily incorrect English, but it is an expression that is often overused in Japanese to English translation or by Japanese writers. Try is often a better word. Which sounds better to you?

She tried to finish the job on time.
She made an effort to finish the job on time.

We prefer the first for a number of reasons. First, the language is more natural. ‘Make an effort’ often sounds like a literal translation. Second, ‘try’ is stronger and cleaner as it does not use ‘make.’ Almost all expressions where you ‘make’ or ‘take’ something, as we have discussed before, are weaker.

]]> Aaron Saysバックナンバー 2008-02-19T16:42:21+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=825237 This issue presents: 1. Mistranslations in business 2. Teasers (II) 3. Being active Special Section 4. English translation growing in the European Commission Hello: This is the 28th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Service... 1. Mistranslations in business
2. Teasers (II)
3. Being active
Special Section
4. English translation growing in the European Commission

Hello:
This is the 28th issue of Aaron Says, the newsletter of Aaron Language Services (http://www.aaronlanguage.com). We issue Aaron Says monthly. Each regular issue contains three discussion topics, and each special issue focuses on one topic. Topics explore translating from Japanese to English, writing in English, learning English, and understanding American and Western culture. This newsletter discusses mistranslations in business, teasers, and being active.

This issue also includes a special section on translation in the news, which covers English translation growing in the European Commission while French, German, Spanish, and Italian translations are being reduced.

We hope you will stay tuned to future Aaron Says issues about translation in the news; English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian translation; and translation in other languages to and from Japanese and English.

1. Mistranslations in business

Almost every translation is important to somebody or it would not be given to somebody to translate. There are many horror stories of translation errors in business and what they cost the businesses involved. Our favorite story is the story of the Chevrolet Nova. In English, the word nova is a word signifying power. We believe that Chevrolet selected the name Nova to provide a feeling of the power in the car. Many people have heard the story of the Nova being marketed in Latin America and failing miserably as 'No va' has a different meaning in Spanish - 'doesn't go.' We were disappointed to read on the Internet that this is not a true story. It is another urban legend, meaning a modern story that is not true.

Still, there are other stories. We are not sure which are translation errors and which are urban legends, but they are enough to make clients be sure that they get their translations properly done.

There was an airline advertisement in Spanish advertising that first class passengers could sit in leather sits. The advertisement used the Spanish 'en cuero.' Unfortunately, this can also mean 'in the nude' to Spanish speakers.

When the Pope was going to visit America, a T-shirt maker wanted to sell T-shirts to the Spanish speaking market. The T-shirt maker had T-shirts printed up in Spanish. Unfortunately, his Spanish knowledge was not impressive. Instead of correctly writing "I saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts read "I saw the potato." In Spanish, the Pope is el Papa while la Papa means the potato. We wonder how many Spanish speakers bought T-shirts.

We hope you are never confronted by such a situation.

]]> Aaron Saysバックナンバー 2008-02-19T16:37:22+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793854 論文 （ ろんぶん ） とは、学問の研究成果などをテーマにして、論理的な手法で書き記した文章のことです。他人の研究成果を報告する 「 紹介論文 」 と自分の研究成果を発表する 「 研究論文 」 があります。また、特定の研究成果についての記述ではなく、あるテーマにつ...
1 種類
1.1 学位請求論文 ( 学位取得のための文 )
卒業や修了において、論文の提出が必須とされる場合があります。特に学位取得を修了要件とする大学及び学位課程はその主たる存在です。学位論文提出後に発表会や公聴会が開かれ、執筆者による口頭発表の後に、合否の判定が行われます。研究の内容や価値を重視するよりも、研究論文の書式に従って成果をまとめる訓練として認識されることが多くあります。
・ 卒業論文 （ 略して卒論 ）： 学部卒業 （ 学士を取得 ） のための論文
・ 修士論文 （ 略して修論、マスター論文、マス論など ）： 大学院で修士を取得するための論文。一部の専門職大学院においても修士論文を課すところがある ( 取得する学位はあくまで専門職学位です ) 。
・ 博士論文 （ 略して博論、ドクター論文、ドク論、D論など ）： 大学院で博士を取得するための論文

1.2 学術論文
学術論文には、次のような種類があります。
・ 原著論文 ： 著者のオリジナルである内容を著したもの。
・ 解説論文 ： 他の原著論文などの内容を要約したり、分かりやすく解説したりしたもの。
・ 紀要 ： 研究活動の成果を記録するものとして、主として研究機関の内部向けに定期的に発行する論文集。

その他、学会における発表の予稿 （ アブストラクト ） も論文に含むことがあります。

1.3 小論文
入学試験、入社試験などで合格者の判定に用いるため、受験者があるテーマについて論理的に文章を作成するものは小論文と呼ばれます。ただし、一般の学術論文のような章の構成を持つことは少なく、作文に近い体裁です。

2 体裁
論文は次のような章の構成を取ることが多くあります。
1. 題名
2. アブストラクト、サマリー （ 本文の内容を要約した文章 ）
3. 序文 （ 研究の動機、問題設定、先行研究との関連など ）
4. 研究の方法 （ 調査の方法、実験、材料、など ）
5. 結果
6. 考察
7. 結論
8. 謝辞や参考文献
論文の書き方については、参考となる多数の文献があります。その概要は次のようなものです。
・ 文章の論理的構造を明確にする。複数の意味に解釈できる表現は使いません。
・ 客観的に判定が可能な事柄について、根拠を明確に示して書きます。
・ 不必要な接続詞や、修辞表現は避けます。
・ 実験などの結果についての記述と、考察についての記述は明確に区別します。
・ 引用のスタイルを決められている通りに正しくします。

3 査読制度
学術雑誌に掲載される論文の多くは、査読制度によって内容の判断が行われます。研究者の業績評価においては、査読のある論文と、査読の無い論文を区別することが通例です。査読制度とは、著者にはその名前を伏せておく査読者 （ レフェリー ） によって論文の内容について審査を行い、掲載 （ アクセプト ）、修正後に掲載、掲載拒否 （ リジェクト ）などの判定を行うものです。何度かの修正を経て学術雑誌に掲載される場合は、初版の投稿から掲載まで数ヶ月から数年を要することが多くあります。

査読制度は投稿された論文の中から一定水準のものを抽出するに当たっては有効ですが、論文の優劣に絶対的な基準は無いため、一定水準の論文が選定された後は査読者と論文の相性によって採択の可否が左右される場合もあります。したがって、ひとつの論文がある雑誌に掲載拒否されても、別の学術雑誌では掲載されるという場合もあります。このため、稀に同一論文を同時に複数雑誌に投稿することが起こりますが、当然モラルに反する行為であり、判明すれば有形無形に相応のペナルティが課されます。一方、一度掲載拒否された論文を改訂した後に別の学術雑誌に投稿することはモラル違反ではありません。

また、従来の学問に全く無かったような画期的な発見について、査読者がその価値を理解できずに掲載が拒否され、後にその価値が判明する場合が稀にあります。

4 論文作成法
論文執筆の基本
論文を執筆するにあたって、独創的な理論展開をするには、執筆者自身の主張と明らかにしたい課題の提示が不可欠です。その上で執筆者本人による研究分析、実験、実地調査、アンケート調査などにより主張の正当性を検証するとともに、客観的な視点や反対意見への洞察をすることも重要です。 ただ、その手法は分野 ・ 執筆者により様々であり、論文作成において絶対的な統一ルールがあるわけではなく、執筆の上ではその分野の慣習が重視されます。

執筆段階
論文の執筆手法は様々です。しかし、模範的な手法があるとすれば以下のような例があげられます。テーマの選択 → 論文提出までのスケジュール → 文献資料収集 → 先行研究 → 独自の主張を検討 → 論文の骨組みと素案づくり → 執筆、全体の見直し ・ 調整など

脚注
論文は教科書や解説書ではありません。よって、論文を読む側が当人の分析や主張のみですべてが理解できるとは限りません。そうした意味では本文中には言及しなかった背景などを脚注として記すことが重要となります。また、執筆者が用いた資料や他者の理論などを引用した場合、その出典を明らかにする上でも、脚注によって自己の主張と他者の主張の区別をする必要があります。脚注の記載方法は、分野や執筆者により様々であり、ページの最後につける場合や論文の最後に後注としてつける場合があります。

文献の引用の場合は、著者名、著名、頁 ( ページ )、出版社、年度、が明らかにされる必要があります。順序は、国により、また分野により様々です。同じ文献を複数回用いる場合は、著者名を記し、前掲書と書いた上でページ数を記しておきます。

参照文献
論文執筆にあたって、参照した文献は論文の最後に一覧として明記される必要があります。引用した場合は脚注の覧にページ数まで記載しますが、参照文献の場合は必ずしも要求されません。脚注に引用 ・ 参照した文献をすべて明記することで、参照文献の一覧を設けない場合もあります。しかし、脚注に執筆に用いた文献が明記されている場合でも、参照文献リストがついていた方が親切です。

執筆手段
旧来は原稿用紙にて自筆 ( 手書き ) で書かれました。昨今は専ら、パソコンの文書作成ソフトが一般的です。 Microsoft Word または一太郎シリーズが主流です。論文作成ソフトとしては、フリーソフトの LaTeX が高い地位を得つつあります。

この 「 論文 」 ページの説明を楽しく読んでいただけましたか？本ページは、 Wikipedia の 「 論文 」 の文章を基に、当方のページに合うように変更いたしました。翻訳や英作文、英語学習などに関する読み物（和文）をお探しでしたら、ここをクリックして、日本語読み物のメインページをご覧ください。これらの読み物はいずれも、英文校正、翻訳、英作文、英語学習など、ALS が提供しておりますサービスに関連したトピックを扱っております。
]]> Japanese Essays 2008-01-09T09:24:24+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793849 New Year's Eve English topic of the week Last week, Christmas was almost upon us. Today New Year's Eve is almost upon us. As we often do, we turn to Wikipedia for information on this social holiday. In the United States, New Year's Eve is a major s... English topic of the week
Last week, Christmas was almost upon us. Today New Year's Eve is almost upon us. As we often do, we turn to Wikipedia for information on this social holiday.
In the United States, New Year's Eve is a major social holiday. The top destination city for the past three years has been New York, according to hotwire.com. Las Vegas is also attracting a large number of New Year's Eve party goers with the famous Las Vegas strip being closed to vehicles and buses. The city is expected to host New Years Eve festivities for as many as 400,000 people according to lasvegasnow.com.

In the past 100 years the "ball dropping" on top of One Times Square in New York City, broadcast to all of America (and rebroadcast in many other countries), is a major component of the New Year celebration. The 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter Waterford crystal ball located high above Times Square is lowered, starting at 23:59:00 and reaching the bottom of its tower at the stroke of midnight (00:00:00). It is sometimes referred to as "the big apple" like the city itself; the custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at noon in harbors.

From 1981 to 1988, New York City dropped an enlarged apple in recognition of its nickname. Since 1972, Dick Clark has hosted televised coverage of the event called Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, shown on ABC-TV. From 1956 to 1976 on CBS-TV, Guy Lombardo (who died in 1977) and his Royal Canadians serenaded the United States from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City. The Royal Canadians continued on CBS-TV until 1978. The song Auld Lang Syne has become a popular song to sing at midnight on New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve, like Christmas, has changed with the times. Our celebration of New Year's Eve is a new one, a product of the 20th century. In America, we have fireworks at midnight. We also make New Year's resolutions about what we will do in the New Year. These resolutions include stopping smoking or drinking, losing weight, or getting in shape.

Not that long ago, we did not celebrate New Year's Eve at all, only celebrating New Year's Day with a religious feast. New Year's Eve, as a social holiday, is not one we spend with our families, but one we spend with our friends and partners, that is, our wives, husbands, boyfriends and girlfriends. In America, New Year's Day is the family holiday where we eat too much, watch football games and parades, and spend time with close and not so close family.

]]> English Essays 2008-01-09T09:18:01+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793848 A Modern Christmas English topic of the week Once again, Christmas is almost upon us. What is the meaning of modern Christmas? Is it a time for religious Christians, a secular holiday, or both? Could it simply be commercialism gone mad? Or could it b... English topic of the week
Once again, Christmas is almost upon us. What is the meaning of modern Christmas? Is it a time for religious Christians, a secular holiday, or both? Could it simply be commercialism gone mad? Or could it be a time when people simply express themselves? What do you think this Christmas tree expresses?

Ask this question about Christmas of many people and you will get many answers. Some people love Christmas and some people hate it. People see a variety of things in Christmas including religion, a secular holiday, commercialism, good times with family and friends, and the Christmas spirit.

Where did this all start? It started with the darkest time of the year in the Northern hemisphere, the time when the day was short and the night was long. To quote Wikipedia as we often do:
A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included less agricultural work needing to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. In part, the Christmas celebration was created by the early Church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to Christianity without losing their own winter celebrations. Certain prominent gods and goddesses of other religions in the region had their birthdays celebrated on December 25, including Ishtar, Sol Invictus and Mithras. Various traditions are considered to have been syncretised from winter festivals including the following:
So, we had pagan celebrations which were converted to Christmas, a Christian holiday. Today, we have what is considered the secularization of Christmas. That is, Christmas is no longer considered a religious holiday by many. It is considered to be a holiday celebrated by almost all with family, friends, and consumerism.

This offends many religious Christians. One religious site explained the meaning of Christmas as follows:
Since about 400 AD, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. 'Christ' means 'Messiah' or 'Anointed One' - the title given to Jesus - and 'Mass' was a religious festival.

In the West today, the real meaning of Christmas is often forgotten. It has become a non-religious holiday! More children believe in Father Christmas than in Jesus. Christmas Day is a time for eating and drinking too much and watching television.

But the real Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible. It is told in two different books: Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. If you have no Bible, you can read these chapters online. You may think that the story of the birth of Jesus, and the way that the West celebrates Christmas today, do not seem to have many connections.
These religious people have conveniently forgotten how Christianity preempted pagan celebrations. In short, we seen a shift from paganism to Christianity to just a celebration. More time surfing the web will find many more definitions of the meaning of Christmas: traditional religious, new age, and more. Christmas is what we interpret it to be as Christmas and humanity change. Nothing lasts forever. At some point in the future, Christmas will shift to something new. Our human history and culture is always changing.
]]> English Essays 2008-01-09T09:16:39+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793847 Critical Mass English topic of the week Critical Mass aims at drawing attention to bicycle-unfriendly streets. Under 50 bicyclists went up Market Street in San Francisco in 1992 during the first Critical Mass. Now, 15 years later, Critical Mass has t... English topic of the week
Critical Mass aims at drawing attention to bicycle-unfriendly streets. Under 50 bicyclists went up Market Street in San Francisco in 1992 during the first Critical Mass. Now, 15 years later, Critical Mass has thousands of riders in San Francisco as well as riders around the world. Critical Mass has successfully made their statement that the streets are for cyclists too. Critical Mass now takes places on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world.

To quote Wikipedia as we often do:
Critical Mass is an event typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world where bicyclists and, less frequently, skateboarders, inline skaters, roller skaters and other self-propelled commuters take to the streets en masse. While the ride was originally founded with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city streets.
Click the link above if you would like to read more about Critical Mass.

If you would like to see how Critical Mass is doing in Japan, start by going to the Asia page. You can find links to Critical Mass organizations and information in a number of cities in Japan. We would like to mention one more Critical Mass site at http://critical-mass.info/, which bills itself as the most complete directory of Critical Mass rides worldwide. At his site, Michael Bluejay explains that Critical Mass is pro-bicycle, not a war against the automobile. He says, "Some CM riders try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be otherwise confrontational with motorists. Such riders are missing the point about Critical Mass. CM is a celebration of cycling, not a war against motorists. CM is about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road. Those who want to play juvenile games are encouraged to stay at home instead."

Critical Mass has had its moments of confrontation, but all in all, it has been relatively peaceful. Since 1992, bicycle use and special lanes for bicyclists have increased in San Francisco, in California, and around the world. We think Critical Mass has helped.
]]> English Essays 2008-01-09T09:16:04+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793846 Fortune Cookies and Culture English topic of the week Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant in the US? At the end of every meal, when you get your check, you usually get a fortune cookie. Most Americans think these cookies are Chinese, but they ... English topic of the week
Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant in the US? At the end of every meal, when you get your check, you usually get a fortune cookie. Most Americans think these cookies are Chinese, but they are actually from California.

The cookies have fortunes inside them. That is not a fortune as in money, but as in telling your fortune. If you would like to see a picture of the cookies or read more about them, please visit Wikipedia. We have quoted the first part of the article below:
The Fortune Cookie is a delicate, crisp cookie made from flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk which is baked around a fortune, a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or vague prophecy. Unique to the United States and Canada, it is usually served with Chinese food as a dessert. The message inside may also include a list of lucky numbers (used by some as lottery numbers) and a Chinese phrase with translation. Despite conventional wisdom, they were actually invented in California.
The fortune cookie is an example of how we sometimes do not know where things are actually from. We assume that fortune cookies are Chinese until we hear otherwise. Häagen-Dazs is another example. The name sounds European, but Häagen-Dazs actually is from New York. Japanese children sometimes ask their English teachers if people celebrate Mother's Day in America, an astonishing question to an American. The list of examples goes on, teaching us that we often do not know where things actually originated. We tend to determine origination based on names or our cultural beliefs that things which seem to be from our countries actually are. The facts can be different as we can tell from pizza and Sudoku.
]]> English Essays 2008-01-09T09:15:31+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=793845 Cablinasians English topic of the week We live in a race-focused world where people identify themselves as Caucasian, white, black, Asian, African, Latin, Pacific Islander, Cablinasian, and many other races. Even if people do not identify themselves,... English topic of the week
We live in a race-focused world where people identify themselves as Caucasian, white, black, Asian, African, Latin, Pacific Islander, Cablinasian, and many other races. Even if people do not identify themselves, others are eager to identify them. Among golf fans and Oprah watchers, Cablinasians may be well-known, but they are not a large group. Most people who have heard of Cablinasians know of only one Cablinasian: Tiger Woods.

When Tiger Woods, one of the all time great golfers, is asked about his ethnicity, he says he is a Cablinasian. Cablinasian is his own term for Caucasian, black, Indian, and Asian. His father is half-black, one-quarter American Indian, and one-quarter white. His mother is half-Thai and half-Chinese.

On Oprah, Woods said, “I'm just who I am, whoever you see in front of you.” This is a healthy attitude, focusing on the person. While many people are interested in identifying others by race, race is only a social construct. Societies define race by birth, language, ancestors, and a variety of other means. Although many races can be partially defined by science and genes, race is actually first and foremost a social construct, not a scientific one. Race shares more in common with culture and belief than scientific definitions, genes, and logic.

Cablinasian may be be a joke, and it certainly seems like one. We can use more such jokes and less of dividing people by races, especially when the term has so little meaning.
]]> English Essays 2008-01-09T09:14:47+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=195653 こんにちは、 Tomです。 英語を習っている人は英文法と英会話を注目します。 だいたいべつべつのものを考える人はほとんどです。 ただし、英語はすべて文法です。 文法はないと何いも出来ません。 英語を勉強すると文法は出来るようになります。 文法...
Tomです。

英語を習っている人は英文法と英会話を注目します。
だいたいべつべつのものを考える人はほとんどです。

ただし、英語はすべて文法です。

文法はないと何いも出来ません。

英語を勉強すると文法は出来るようになります。

文法だけ勉強するとどうかな？

まあ。。。

英語をつかって、英語の本を読んで、英語を聞って、英語の文法の知識は自然に増える。

文法の本だけでは英語を使える知識あまり増えません。

学問の知識です。

どちらが目的ですか？

英語を上手になりたいですか？

か英語の学問の知識がほしですか？

その選択は大事です。
]]> Thoughts in Japanese (日本語で） 2006-03-26T09:44:21+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=195633 Hi, Here is another of the essays at our site. Hope you like this one! Best, Tom Ten style errors that Japanese translators of English make While it is ideal for translators to translate into their native languages, this is not always...
Here is another of the essays at our site.

Hope you like this one!

Best,

Tom

Ten style errors that Japanese translators of English make

While it is ideal for translators to translate into their native languages, this is not always how things are done. As we know, the quantity of Japanese to English translation far exceeds the quantity of experienced Japanese to English translators. The difficulty of reading Japanese due to long sentences, vague writing, and thousands of characters that must be remembered make it likely that this situation will continue for some time. The situation has resulted in many Japanese translators, who are not native speakers of English, translating into English.

In this essay, we would like to present our list of non-native English speaker style errors. If you are able to avoid these errors, you can make your translations look better and read more smoothly.

Avoid capitals
Native English speakers rarely write solely in CAPITALS. Such capitalization does not add MEANING to the TRANSLATION. Unnecessary capitals look STRANGE. Any native English speaker reading this would wonder what the capitals meant. Save your capitals for titles. Note the title of this essay is sparing of capitals. Acronyms such as LDP should be in capitals. Otherwise, normally only the first letter of any word is capitalized. Capital letters are sometimes used in emails when someone wants to express a strong emotion. English speakers may interpret capital letters as an angry emotion.

Stay away from quotation marks
Japanese documents use quotation marks more frequently than English ones. Your translations should not copy the style of the Japanese original. Quotation marks are used to quote people. They are not used to change the “meaning” of a word. Quotation marks are sometimes used to imply doubt, but doing so is rather subtle and requires a very high command of English to do properly. We suggest being careful.

Learn to paragraph
Japanese paragraph style is very different from English style. Current English uses block style. Look at this English essay and other writing. If your translated sentences finish on one line and you start the next sentence on the next line, you are trying to take a Japanese writing style and making it into an English one. Such paragraphing is appropriate in Japanese but not in English.

Study sentence patterns
Either of the following two sentence patterns is fine:
a) Your translations will read smoothly if you write them well.
b) If you write them well, your translations will read smoothly.

Many Japanese translators who translate into English will use one of these patterns and not the other. We are sure you can tell which one is commonly used. Try to use both.

Transition words such as however, then, and moreover
While transition words are appropriate in some situations, they are not used in every sentence, every other sentence, or every third sentence. Words such as however, then, thus, and moreover are sometimes used for emphasis and clarity.

Look at this essay. You cannot see many such examples. Japanese to English translations written by Japanese translators overuse such words. It is better to avoid introductory words. In English such words are non-standard.

It is said that
Avoid such expressions as It is said that. They do not give information. Tell the reader who said what is being mentioned. Avoid other numerous expressions that use many words but provide little information.

Avoid numbers with circles around them
Numbers with circles around them are not standard English practice. Using numbers in the following ways are more appropriate.
1)
2.
(3)

Keep your sentences at reasonable lengths
English writers normally do not write incredibly long sentences. Many Japanese writers do. Divide long Japanese sentences into two or more shorter English sentences. Dividing long sentences into shorter sentences will make your translations easier to understand.

Avoid Japanese in the Roman alphabet
A number of Japanese to English translators do not translate Japanese terms. They simply use the alphabet to spell them out. Translations into English should use English. If you are not sure if a word is English or not, check an English-English dictionary. Check Google to see if the word is used in English.

Remember that English places the responsibility on the writer
This may be the most important rule. In Japanese, if a writer writes long incomprehensible statements, some people may think the writer is deep and thoughtful. In English, if a writer writes long incomprehensible statements, people think the writing is bad. It is the responsibility of writers to make their writing understandable to readers. Similarly it is the responsibility of translators to make their translations understandable to readers.

The ten style errors are problems to avoid. They appear again and again in the translations of Japanese to English translators who are not native speakers of English. The first step to reducing such errors in your translations is to become aware of them.

]]> English Essays 2006-03-26T08:58:52+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=194957 こんにちは。 今日はすごくいい日でしたね。 天気奇麗でした。 何いか今日は楽しいかったですか 英語の勉強はあまり進んでませんですか たまに大丈夫です。 ただし、上手になるために英語の勉強は毎日のほうは良いです。 その勉強は二つの勉強で考え...
今日はすごくいい日でしたね。

天気奇麗でした。

何いか今日は楽しいかったですか

英語の勉強はあまり進んでませんですか

たまに大丈夫です。

ただし、上手になるために英語の勉強は毎日のほうは良いです。

その勉強は二つの勉強で考えましょう。

まず、一つは勉強ですね、伝統的な勉強。本をつかって、だんだん進む。

それは皆様なれていると思います。

もう一つは練習です。

映画を見て、ペンパルに書く、漫画を読む。

もちろん、英語で。

その二つの方法を進むべきです。

Good luck!

:)

Best,

Tom


]]> Thoughts in Japanese (日本語で） 2006-03-25T18:20:46+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=194951 Hello, Tom here. It is really simple. If you want to get good at English. Practice, practice, practice. There are good ways to study. However, there are no easy answers. Best, Tom
Tom here.

It is really simple. If you want to get good at English.

Practice, practice, practice.

There are good ways to study.

However, there are no easy answers.

Best,

Tom ]]> 今週のワンポイント英語アドバイス 2006-03-25T18:10:46+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=194947 Hello, Have you been reading any of the essays at our sites? Please take a look at this one. It can help you if you are interested in translating, editing, proofreading, and the process. It is also a good way to study English. I hope you li...
Have you been reading any of the essays at our sites?

Please take a look at this one. It can help you if you are interested in translating, editing, proofreading, and the process.

It is also a good way to study English.

I hope you like it!

Best,

Tom

Translate, Edit, Proof
The Process of Changing a Thesis
from Japanese to English

In Write, Edit, Proof, we discussed the three separate types of work that go into writing a thesis: writing, editing, and proofreading. In this essay, we will look at the textbook approach and compare the textbook approach with the situation that occurs when a native Japanese speaking translator translates a thesis from Japanese to English and sends it to us for 英文校正 in Japanese. Although some theses are translated by native English speakers, this is the standard approach.

Both approaches work fine with educated, skilled writers, editors, and proofreaders. Please note that we say native English speakers here for the sake of brevity. When we write native English speakers, we actually mean educated native English speakers who are experienced writing professionals. Being a native English speaker or a fluent bilingual is only the first requirement. After the first requirement, comes a series of other requirements concerning education and professional experiences. We are not quite sure how to translate 英文校正 into English. Our dictionaries say proofreading, but our experience tells us that the work we do is a combination of editing and proofreading.

Although we have never seen a clear academic textbook description that explains the writing process from translation to proofreading, we view the process as having three stages: translation, editing, and proofreading. For the sake of this essay, we will imagine the translation, editing, and proofreading of a thesis. Let's return to our imaginary thesis on English education in Japan, The Future of English Education in Japan. Before we start with the three steps for the translation to proofreading of this thesis, let's look at the Japanese writing process.

The Japanese writing process is not the same as the English writing process. As we discuss elsewhere on the Aaron site, native English speakers writing for an English speaking audience and native Japanese speakers writing for a Japanese speaking audience have different expectations and beliefs as do their audiences. Such differences accompany the dissimilar cultural environments. The native English speaking writer is expected to write for their audience so the audience can understand. This is why native English speaking writers normally follow the process of write, edit, and proofread. A native English speaking writer who does not write so their audience can understand is considered to be a poor writer. The responsibility for reading comprehension rests with the writer.

In contrast, this is not so among Japanese writers. The native speaking Japanese reader is expected to understand the intended meaning of the writing. There is limited responsibility for the writer to communicate with their audience so the audience is able to understand. There is actually a common school of thought that dense and difficult to understand writing is successful writing. People who do such writing are often considered 偉い, which could be translated as distinguished or important. Japanese writers who follow the write, edit, and proofread process in Japanese will produce a thesis that is easier and faster to translate, edit, and proofread into a better English thesis. Japanese writers who follow the 偉い approach in Japanese will produce a thesis that will be more difficult and time consuming to translate, edit, and proofread into a good English thesis.

Thus, native Japanese speakers writing essays in Japanese to translate into English would do themselves a service to follow the write, edit, and proof model. Doing so will enable them to have a better English thesis at the end of the process.

The translate, edit, and proofread process for The Future of English Education in Japan is as follows:

The Japanese translator translates The Future of English Education in Japan.
The native English speaker edits The Future of English Education in Japan.
The native English speaker proofreads The Future of English Education in Japan.
This essay will explain these three essential stages and the consultation and interaction that takes place between the Japanese translator and the native English speaking editor. Conscious knowledge and understanding of this process will help you in writing your project, thesis, and/or dissertation.

Translating

Stage 1: In this stage the native Japanese speaking translator translates the thesis into English. This stage is divided into recurring sections where ideally, the translator reads the thesis, does any research necessary, translates, and consults with native English speakers and other translators as necessary.

Stage 2: Next, the translator does the thesis editing and proofreading. The word ideally is used here, as not every translator is able to consult with native English speakers and other translators when necessary. Not every translator has the luxury of educated, skilled native speaker resources and the team approach.

Ideally, not only is the thesis translated, but a second Japanese speaking translator then checks the translation to make sure it accurately translates the meaning of the original Japanese. This second translator consults with the original translator and native English speaker as necessary. Such consultations are always the best approach to translations.

In our English textbook on thesis writing, the writer sits down and writes a first draft of The Future of English Education in Japan. In reality though, the writer may write a little, edit a little, and proofread a little. Primarily though, the writer creates a first draft as it is not logical to devote too much time to editing and proofreading here.

Native English speaking editing

Write, Edit, Proof explained that this editing stage, rewriting, is the heart of good writing. At the risk of repeating ourselves, if we were to reduce rewriting to three words, they would be: clarity, strength, and brevity. If we look at The Future of English Education in Japan, we ask if it meets these three goals.

Here are the questions we need to ask to judge the quality of the thesis:

Does the writing speak clearly to the reader?
Does the author present the ideas clearly?
Will the writing have an effect on the reader?
Does each section of the thesis present one idea?
Does each idea move to the next idea in a logical way?
Are the grammar, word choices, and tenses of each sentence and each paragraph appropriate and correct?
Is the syntax of each sentence accurate and logical?
Does the thesis have an introduction, a body of ideas, and a conclusion?
Are bibliographical sources correctly cited?

If The Future of English Education in Japan were written according to the native English speaking model of Write, Edit, Proof, this editing stage will be relatively clear and easy. If the thesis was written according to the 偉い model, the editor will need to imagine what the writer wanted to say, and try to edit accordingly. If the editor was confused, it is likely that the translator was also confused. This is not due to poor translators and editors, but due to the Japanese cultural approach in the 偉い writing model. Even if translators and editors try their best, the results will not provide the best possible thesis. The style and information in the 偉い writing model just do not provide enough information for what is viewed as a good thesis in the English speaking world. This is why we recommend that all writers of Japanese theses write or edit their theses according to Write, Edit, Proof. Doing so will enable them to get the best possible English translations of their theses.

Proofreading

Lastly is the proofreading stage, which is carried out as explained in Write, Edit, Proof. If The Future of English Education in Japan was written according to the Write, Edit, Proof model, it will have smoothly progressed to the editing stage, and be just about ready by the time it gets to this stage. This smoothness will then enable the native English speaking proofreader to do a better proofreading job.

If you look at the description of our different levels of editing and proofreading, you will see that they vary from our basic level to our literary level. The greater the budget, the more time we spend on it and the more people work on it. The better product we get to start with, and the more time we have, the better product we will deliver.

As we stated in Write, Edit, Proof, it is not difficult for us to proofread and eliminate errors. National Geographic, the well-known magazine, is very serious about publishing error free articles. After each article is written and edited, four different proofreaders then proofread it, each one proofreading four times. This totals proofreading each magazine article 16 times. While it is possible that National Geographic can miss an error, we doubt that they have missed many over their many years of publication. We admire their serious attitude and dedicated approach.
A final copy of The Future of English Education in Japan

Now, the translation of The Future of English Education in Japan is finished. Your thesis has been translated, edited, proofread, and published. You have successfully communicated your message about the future of English education in Japan to the world. Some of your suggestions have been examined as far away as London, New York, and Sydney. The Future of English Education in Japan was accepted as your thesis for your Master of Arts. You have completed your degree.

Now you are hard at work on your next thesis, and we will be here to help you if you would like us to do so.
]]> English Essays 2006-03-25T18:07:22+09:00 Aaron Aaron http://english.language-room.net/?eid=194939 Hello, It has been a long time. Things have been busy. If you look at our sites you can see the results of our work! :) So, have you been studying daily? Ask yourself two questions: 1. What studying has been going well? 2. What sh...
It has been a long time.

Things have been busy.

If you look at our sites you can see the results of our work!

:)

So, have you been studying daily?

Ask yourself two questions:

1. What studying has been going well?
2. What should I be studying more of?

Then, work on that!

Good luck!

Best,

Tom ]]> 毎日の勉強 2006-03-25T18:00:35+09:00 Aaron Aaron