Intermediate Japanese Translation Skills
- Course Description
- Learning Objectives
- Who should take this course
- Textbook
- Instructor
- Instructor Biography
Course Description
This is an intermediate course for students who already have basic translation skills and wish to improve their skills further for professional purposes. The objectives of this course are to 1) learn practical translation techniques in business, 2) develop a knack for translating business-related materials such as business emails, press releases, essays, and PowerPoint slides, 3) learn how to edit and improve machine-translated texts, and 4) learn to become better writers in both Japanese and English. This course mainly focuses on Japanese-to-English translation but covers various approaches to translation from English into Japanese as well.
Learning Objectives
1. Improve Japanese-to-English translation skills.
2. Achieve better writing skills in Japanese and English.
3. Have greater understanding of translation in media and corporate communications.
2. Achieve better writing skills in Japanese and English.
3. Have greater understanding of translation in media and corporate communications.
Who should take this course
Those who wish to improve their overall translation and writing skills and aspire to work as professional translators.
Instructor Biography
Naoto Okamura is a freelance reporter-cum-translator. He earned a BA in intercultural communication from Dokkyo University and an MA from Waseda University with focus on journalism and international relations. For over two decades, he has worked as a translator in Tokyo and Hong Kong and has also had stints at English-language media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Nikkei Asian Review, and Automotive News, covering various news about Japan in English. His motto is that translation is not about switching words from one language into another. It is a form of cross-cultural communication. As such, translators need to bridge different worlds of perception and therein lies the beauty and challenge of the trade. He hopes to help students to grasp an intended meaning or message behind words and develop their overall translation/writing skills in both Japanese and English.