I would agree that playing Japanese video games helps a lot if that’s the sort of translation you’re doing. I’m a native English speaker, but I have a BA in Japanese and lived in Japan for a while and I worked on a translation project with someone who grew up in a Japanese household but didn’t play a lot of Japanese video games… my familiarity with common terms was a HUGE help.

It’s interesting to me because it sounds like if there’s one thing in common between what I do (I’m in video games QA though I hope to move to localization eventually) and doing translation work is the importance of clear and frank communication.

DBP: Some companies like their translators to use Computer Assisted Translation software like Trados or Wordfast. At my company, some of our clients require it for certain projects, so we have to find a translator who uses the software.

But other than that, basic Microsoft Office is fine. Also, please please PLEASE tell your project manager if you are using Open Office or another set of software. Sometimes these programs can subtly alter files (fonts and colors get changed, cell widths get messed with, etc).

Blue Shoe: For contracts, you should read a lot of contracts in English, learn to understand the real nuances of the terms, and then start reading contracts in English as well. There is a government site that offers searchable sanctioned bilingual versions of many major laws, which is great to figuring out equivalent terminologies. Here is the link: http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/

For patent translations, I think technical knowledge is actually more important than legal/business knowledge. Patents are very precise descriptions of technologies, and there is really subtle language describing the spatial, chemical, and other relationships between various parts and ingredients. If both your Japanese and your understanding of the general field of technology are not extremely strong, you are likely to make a huge mess of it. (I speak from woeful experience translating a couple of semiconductor manufacturing patents.)

If you don’t have a technical background, try reading an English patent, and see if you actually, really, truly understand what they are saying or what the diagrams are showing. If you don’t, you’re going to want to study up.

Luckily for the aspiring patent translator, patents are all clearly labeled with numbers, and many are available in both English and Japanese online. If you start studying in advance, then you will be in good shape to use these resources in real-time translation when trying to meet a deadline. Here is one example: http://www.ultra-patent.jp

For what it’s worth, there is also a school called Sunflare Academy (http://www.sunflare.com/academy/) that offers distance courses in patent and other forms of translation. Most students are Japanese, but they offer translation courses in both directions. I have not taken any courses myself, but I have a Japanese friend who works in an IP law office here, and she has taken a course or two there each semester over the last couple years. There’s also a certification test your can take to be able to register with their translation company after the course, but I hear it is really tough.

Finally, the Honyaku mailing list (http://groups.google.co.jp/group/honyaku) that Dan mentioned is a great resource for questions about these things. It’s a really active community and there are several very experienced patent translators who are willing to help decode difficult syntax, abbreviations, and vocabulary.

Basically, the core message behind this and my last comment is that it is really important to improve your Japanese and English writing, but it is almost as important to be aware of what you *don’t* know and be confident enough about the rest of your abilities to admit that to the people hiring you. Otherwise you may end up giving them a bad translation, cause them trouble, and like the guy that Dan stopped sending work to, you will be out of a source of income.

Thanks! It’s fantastic to have the perspective of (not one, but two!) project managers on this sort of thing. For the most part, I think I’ve already been doing the sorts of things you mentioned– whenever I’ve added explanatory information, I’ve always called it out in a note, and whenever I’ve been unsure about names or transliterations I’ve included notes on that, too. So whoever is editing this should be pretty clear as to what I’ve done.

But the advice about being a little more proactive in asking about expectations is probably pretty good. I’ve done some of that in the past and the answers were a bit vague, partially because this is a rather small outfit and I think this PM has a few other hats to wear. (Again, what I’m doing now is volunteer, so it’s one step below the level you are working at.) Anyway, they seem to be pleased with my output so far, but I’ll ask them a few of these questions specifically in the near future, to try to get some more prodcutive feedback.

That brings up a good point, though. I get these files in plain text format, so although I usually attach a Word document (the one I use while translating) with my reply, I also paste the full plain text in the body of my reply, since I assumed they wanted plain text back. That means that my notes are inserted in the text like this [*1] with footnotes at the bottom. I suspect this works, since the articles aren’t really that long, usually. But Word comments would be a lot easier, if they could handle them. Is that what both of you use? Are there any other software tools that you’d be expecting your translators to use?

Heh, I suppose I may be getting into the realm of asking too many questions of PMs here. ;) Sorry, but this is all very informative, and I really appreciate it! Looking at my stash of translated articles, it looks like I’ve done 30-odd or so, so far; I don’t know if that’s enough experience to really recommend myself, and it’s only volunteer, but maybe I’ll start looking for companies to drop a hook near.

DBP: I agree with what Julia said. Leave comments in Word where you are unsure. However, leaving too many comments may send the message “This guy doesn’t know what he’s doing/is really unsure of his translation/doesn’t understand the Japanese.” I’ve seen coworkers leave really long comments for the client, trying to explain some subtlety in the translation, only to have the client come back with questions and revisions – more work, and not always the best translation as a result. So you have to be selective with what you ask. That said, if you can air out any questions beforehand, that’s always best. It’s also important to know the client. I change my commenting depending on the client. The 担当者 of the major game I worked on last summer was excellent – he always liked lots of comments, especially when we were loose with the English.

And I totally agree with what Julia said here: “its always better for the PM to know what you’re doing so they don’t get a nasty surprise in the event that the client comes back angry about added information.” When you’re working with a PM, make sure you ask questions at the beginning of a project and leave comments where you are unsure. Again, you have to get to know the PM as some may prefer that you just make a call and do the translation rather than ask too many questions.

Digging around on a company’s website can turn up a lot of information, especially if there is an English version of the site.