Translator - P.B.
B.Sc.(Hons.) Physics
11 yrs. experience
Could you tell me about your areas of specialization?
I graduated from the Physics department of Imperial College. I was involved in antenna design of the population satellite and development of software for it. Then, I was head-hunted by NEC Corporation Space Development Division in Yokohama. While I worked there, I used only Japanese in all situations of my work and for communicating with office colleagues. I translated articles, books, and manuals in the subject area of not only physics, programming satellites, computing, mathematics, and space science, which are my major subject areas, but also electronic engineering, environment engineering, and nanotechnology.
Why did you select to be a translator?
My experience of staying in Japan for 15 years made me become a translator. I thought I should take advantage of my experiences in Europe in a recession. I also have experience as an English teacher for more than 5 years in Nissan, Hitachi, Toyota, and high school in Japan. I feel satisfied and excited when I read documents regarding new technology and products which are not known to the world.
Please tell me about your history and experience with Japanese as a language.
I passed Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 2. But I thought studying Japanese to pass an exam is not useful in translating. So I studied all Kanji and the way of writing Japanese words every day. As a result, I can translate not only with software but also by myself. It was my dream to be able to do this.
How are you able to maintain and improve your Japanese skills?
I think reading books which include complex sentences is the best way to study Japanese. Whenever I have time, I read and research for better learning.
What type of translator do you want to be?
I want to be a translator who excels in technical documents. In the subject areas of science or new forms of technology, I feel I can perform my best.
What is the most interesting point you have come across while translating documents?
I didn’t have confidence in my ability when I started translation. But gradually I found the most important thing for translators; it is the ability and extent to which one can understand the theory of a document. Even if we have knowledge of Japanese language, we cannot translate a document accurately. It is important to have expertise and knowledge in the subject área in addition to language skills. For the authors, I think the most important aspect is to articulate without contradiction.
Which was the most remarkable translation assignment you have ever done?
When I translated advanced mathematics papers, I found Invariant feature extraction theory very difficult to translate. I had to carefully read the PDF file and write all equations in the document with dedicated software. This was a really good learning experiece for me.
How do you keep yourself updated with the recent happenings in the subject you are translating?
I regularly read about the latest research trends and also check journal articles on the Internet. When I translate a document, I need to study and investigate the subject in detail. The Internet is very useful in getting information.
