This part of the article series Polishing Your Translation Style focuses on the machinations of grammar.

Now, that may sound like a grand, all-encompassing ambition. But, rest assured, the goal is to simply highlight a few common errors that persist in translation products — Nothing but a few tips ‘n techniques to give shine to your style!

Run-on Sentences Do Not Translate Well

Japanese-to-English translation can often be challenging. This is because as a language, Japanese emphasizes subtleness that produces multiple phrases in run-on sentences. The object of these marathon sentences is dropped in at the end. Obviously, this doesn’t translate well!

Run on-sentences should be reconstructed with a single idea or thought per sentence. Not only will the translation be easier, but it will read better. Don’t be shy about taking the knife to unwieldy sentences!

Omitted Words Are Not Translated

In the English language, much is implied and therefore omitted. It is common to do away with constructions such as “that.” An example of this point would be “I know that I can do it!” which often becomes “I know I can do it!” in translated text. Some languages require these constructions, and the translation would be incorrect without them.

There are numerous other words, such as particles (“the”) that are often omitted in English. Indeed, all languages have these grammatical “quirks” that are ill-defined. A simple rule-of-thumb to follow is that if you are not sure, do not omit it.

Acronyms Can be Misleading

And that, translators, can lead to the “lost in translation” malaise. Take “ASAP”, for example. Now, everyone knows that ASAP stands for “as soon as possible,” right? Think again! According to acronymfinder.com, “ASAP” has roughly 90 definitions, including “as soon as possible.”

The definitions of acronyms vary from language-to-language and are very much dependent on the reader’s professional training and background. Avoid using acronyms in your translation. And, where you absolutely have to use an acronym, provide the definition. Use an easy-to-understand format such as “Applied Securities Analysis Program (ASAP).”

Avoid Abbreviations

If I’ve convinced you that acronyms can be misleading, and, therefore, should be qualified with a definition in an easy-to-understand format, you’ll have no problem in adopting the same format for abbreviations. If you still need convincing, then lookup “ATM” on the web!

Do a Double Check on a Double Check!

Numbers, dates, times, and names — Check, double check, and then check again.

Japanese is one of those languages that has a particularly un-wieldy number system. One billion, for example, translates as 10 one hundred million(s). In doing a Japanese translation on super computers, I achieved a level of notoriety by turning one of the fastest computers on the planet into a “that is so last year” has been — I inadvertently dropped a single digit of the machine’s teraflop speeds. Fortunately, it was caught at proof reading.

Here’s what you do. Create a spreadsheet, and list the numerals of your native language, for example English, on the left and the corresponding numerals of the target language in the adjacent cell on the right. It should look like this:

1,000,000,000 (1 billion, English) -> 10, 0000, 0000 (1 billion, Japanese).

When deadlines are looming large and you’re balls to the wall, it is easy to confuse numbers, dates, and times especially when different formats are required. Develop handy cheat sheets -nothing fancy or complicated- to reference at a glance.

Consistency Rules!

Your writing style should be creative and varied (refer to Polishing Your Translation Style – Part 1). The technical aspect of your style, however, must be consistent. For example, acronyms and abbreviations should be defined in a consistent format throughout your translation work. If you’ve adopted a particular word or phrase for a term, ensure that you consistently use the same term throughout. For example, an “aircraft” is an “aircraft,” and not alternatively a “plane,” an “airplane,” or a “flying object.” There are professional tools, such as glossaries and termbases, to help with this task.

Conclusion

Adopting a translation style that puts you on a level by yourself is easy — Follow the 6 simple steps above and apply these steps to your translation projects. Clients’ will be asking for you by name!

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About the Author
Ivan Vandermerwe is the CEO of SAECULII YK, the owner of Japan based Translation Company Tokyo Visit SAECULII for the latest professional case studies, articles and news on Japanese Translation Services

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