Eight Ways to Say You - Aaron Epshteyn

It's no surprise at this point that translating between English and Japanese is an art that requires much creativity due to the syntactic and cultural difference between both languages. But while reading this, it hit me how much the art of translating between English and Japanese is different from translating between English and, say, a romance language. The art of translating between English and Japanese is quite a unique one in how much extra thought needs to go into it, due to the major differences between the two languages.

Cathy Hirano's discussion of writing style differences between the two languages also fascinated me, because it never occurred to me before. She says that while English writing is linear, stressing clarity, Japanese writing is more circular, stressing subtlety; and converting one style to the other is necessary in making it readable in the target language. I can't say I understand at all what she means by this, which makes it all the more fascinating that it's apparently an important consideration in translation. My understanding of the Japanese language is still fairly weak, and I am yet to make it through a full Japanese text, so I have not experienced this difference in structure that she refers to. But I think this difference is fascinating, and I will make sure to look out for it when I read Japanese texts in the future.

I thought Hirano's discussion of translating humor was also fascinating. I personally feel like I would struggle with translating humor. But it sounds like an interesting creative exercise that I want to try at some point.