C. Terry and L. Riggs - Danielle

I think both of these texts discuss an important concept that we have only hinted on in class thus far. English and Japanese literature have very different styles and structures, so translations between the two must be restructured if we do not want them to sound awkward. As Riggs puts it, a translation's "bones and internal parts may have to be reorganized and rebuilt so that the “meat” will not be lost." I have noticed often in the past that English and Japanese do not often follow the same flow and have different standards for sentence, line, paragraph, and even chapter lengths. We already know that Japanese sentences often have to be separated in to two or more sentences in the English equivalent. In the same sense, Japanese paragraphs may also need to be pieced apart differently. Terry also discusses how English often prefers more concision than Japanese. Terry comments on one detailed Japanese sentences, saying, "in English, it would be insane even to try to put all this detail into one sentence, or even one paragraph. In Japanese, presumably the small points make the description seem more vivid, but in English they are distinctly in the way." On top of this, I have also noticed that Japanese accepts repetition that would sound poor in English writing. I have noticed many times how 言う can be used over again in Japanese writing. In English, if you were to repeat "to say/said" as often as in the Japanese text, the writing would seem boring and juvenile.