#6 Lost in Translation? Here's what you need to know before starting a translation project

If you're working on a translation project, there are a few important things to keep in mind about the language you're translating to. You don't have to be an expert in the language, but it's good to think about some key elements before getting started, especially if you're translating from English to Japanese.

But don't worry, these tips can also be helpful for other languages! The more you know, the better your end result will be. So take some time to get familiar with the target language, and keep these tips in mind. Happy translating!

Types of Translation Projects

Translation projects come in two main types: direct hiring of translators or ordering the entire project to Language Service Providers (LSPs). When you hire a translator directly, the number of target languages is limited. Although many translators handle multiple languages, the amount of work they can handle is restricted since they are one person. On the other hand, LSPs have numerous registered translators from all over the world, which allows you to order multiple language translation projects at once.

Estimating the Work Effort

Several common factors affect the translation fee, such as the translation project type (as mentioned earlier), the volume of the translation (usually the number of words), the due date (tight schedules cost more), domain (the topic of the contents), translation language (rare languages cost more), and complexity (if any special conditions apply). Keep in mind that conditions may vary depending on the translator/LSPs, so it's best to discuss details before starting the project.

Characters

Do you know how many characters are in your target language and how they look? Japanese has three different characters: Hiragana (ひらがな), Katakana (カタカナ), and Kanji (漢字). These three characters can be mixed within one sentence.

For example, here's a sentence from Wikipedia about LinkedIn:

LinkedIn（リンクトイン）は、世界最大級のビジネス特化型SNS、および同サービスを提供するシリコンバレーの企業。

(Meaning) "LinkedIn is one of the largest SNS specialized in business and the company name which provides that service in Silicon Valley."

As you can see above, there are English alphabets within Japanese text. Sometimes a client requests their brand or service name to remain in English. A skilled translator will always follow your instructions carefully, so if you have any specific requirements, it's best to communicate them before the start of the project!

TEXT DIRECTION

Japanese can be written horizontally and vertically. If the original content is written horizontally, it's usually best to translate it horizontally. However, vertical writing is still common in printed media like newspapers and novels. When writing vertically, we use a special paper called "原稿用紙" (Genko-yoshi), with one character per cell.

WORD COUNT

In Japanese, there are no spaces between words, so it's difficult to count the number of words. Instead, we count the number of characters. If you need to estimate the size of an English-to-Japanese translation, count the number of words in English instead of the Japanese characters.

FONT

Do you know the font your target language uses? You might have a problem viewing the translation if your computer doesn't have that particular font. Yu Mincho and Yu Gothic are common fonts in Japanese.

FONT STYLE

Font styles, such as bold, italic, or underlines, are commonly used in Japanese as well as English. In most cases, we can just follow the original style. However, due to the nature of Japanese characters, there's no way to do All-Caps in Japanese. If the original contains All-Caps, we will apply one of the font styles available for Japanese.

MARKS

PUNCTUATION

• “。”(maru) is used at the end of a sentence and is similar to the English period.
• "．" (Japanese period) is used for the same purpose, but mostly in academic reports, so we rarely see them.
• "、"(Japanese comma) is used in the middle of a sentence.

BRACKETS/QUOTATION MARKS

"「」"(Japanese quotation marks) are used to quote, highlight, or showcase a proper noun.

OTHER MARKS

Marks such as "?" or "!" in English can be also used in Japanese as they are. Some prefer using them in fullwidth form ("？" or "！") and not adding "？" at the end of the sentence if it's a question form (the final particle "か"(ka)).

NUMBERED LIST

Besides the numbers, you can use katakana to indicate the numbering in Japanese documents. Microsoft Word provides several numbered lists as a standard in the Japanese environment. The Japanese also understand numbering lists in an alphabet or Roman numbers, so normally we use the same numbered list as the original language unless there are specific needs.

RUBY/FURIGANA

Ruby or Furigana is a Japanese reading aid, consisting of smaller hiragana or katakana, printed either above or next to kanji to indicate their pronunciation. If the content is generic, you don't need to worry about Ruby as the translator will not use the Japanese words required by Ruby. However, Ruby is essential in subtitle translations.

JAPANESE HONORIFIC SPEECH

Using Keigo is a way to show your consideration and respect for a person older than you or someone with a higher social standing. Knowing some Keigo can help you stand out if you're studying Japanese. However, if the audience is generic, in most cases, you don't need to worry about Keigo. Applying Keigo to generic content makes the Japanese sound even more unnatural. If the content is for someone specific and you want to apply Keigo, share the background and relationship with that person with the translator.

We hope this guide will help you with your first translation project. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to let us know in the comments below. Good luck!

Read more blogs about the translation:

"Get started with your first translation project" to link here

"6 steps to order your order your localization" to link here

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Access Lab is a Tokyo-based company that supports the business development of foreign start-up companies in Japan. We’re run by bilingual IT engineers who have been engaged in system development in Japan and overseas for many years. With countless years of experience, as well as knowledge of technology, localization, and the Japanese market, we can provide a wide range of products and services to our customers.

Website:?https://accesslab.co.jp/en/

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