As an exercise I like to try and make a translation and then compare it to yours to see how well I understood the passage. When our translations differ, I think your translation is almost always better, but there are so many areas where a sentence could legitimately be translated slightly different ways (and maybe seeing the whole book/page in context also would affect word choice) but overall I'm struck by how radically different Japanese is from English, creating a lot of ambiguity about the best way to phrase something. For example from French --> English there is usually a "best" way to translate a sentence, but Japanese --> English there are often several possibilities.
I also know people advise against translating when learning a language, but honestly I think that mostly applies when first starting to learn. At later levels, it can be a good exercise in considering the different ways to state something, and how languages differ. Anyway, enjoying the posts, thank you!
Hi Jeff, I completely agree. My translations are always completely up for discussion, all the more because English isn't my native language. I often see English translations and think: this is brilliant, I would have never thought of this. And then there are other times where I just don't get why someone would choose such a translation. But I think this is what makes - as you mentioned - translating Japanese so interesting. There are so many logistical issues you run into that are unique to these two languages. And then you have to choose one of the options (this is usually the hardest).
From the app - love these as they are. When I get about 80%~ it picks me up. Occasionally wishing to see a passage with dialogue - but all good / you be you :)
Your passage selections are a big part of the appeal. Finding good dialog in the same vein might be a tall order. I suppose I often wonder about vocab because of the many times people have stopped me and said 'we only use that in writing' ... oh well, so it goes.
As an exercise I like to try and make a translation and then compare it to yours to see how well I understood the passage. When our translations differ, I think your translation is almost always better, but there are so many areas where a sentence could legitimately be translated slightly different ways (and maybe seeing the whole book/page in context also would affect word choice) but overall I'm struck by how radically different Japanese is from English, creating a lot of ambiguity about the best way to phrase something. For example from French --> English there is usually a "best" way to translate a sentence, but Japanese --> English there are often several possibilities.
I also know people advise against translating when learning a language, but honestly I think that mostly applies when first starting to learn. At later levels, it can be a good exercise in considering the different ways to state something, and how languages differ. Anyway, enjoying the posts, thank you!
Hi Jeff, I completely agree. My translations are always completely up for discussion, all the more because English isn't my native language. I often see English translations and think: this is brilliant, I would have never thought of this. And then there are other times where I just don't get why someone would choose such a translation. But I think this is what makes - as you mentioned - translating Japanese so interesting. There are so many logistical issues you run into that are unique to these two languages. And then you have to choose one of the options (this is usually the hardest).
Glad you're enjoying the posts!
From the app - love these as they are. When I get about 80%~ it picks me up. Occasionally wishing to see a passage with dialogue - but all good / you be you :)
Thanks Paul! And that's a good idea, I'll include some dialogue soon.
Your passage selections are a big part of the appeal. Finding good dialog in the same vein might be a tall order. I suppose I often wonder about vocab because of the many times people have stopped me and said 'we only use that in writing' ... oh well, so it goes.
I'm sure I can find something...:)