Fix the mistake: Basic English Composition (Japanese-to-English Translation)

Basic Principles of Japanese-to-English Translation — The Trap of Literal Translation

Replacing Japanese words one by one with English words often produces unnatural English. Develop the skill of translating by meaning.

Basic Rules

① Supply Omitted Japanese Subjects: Japanese often omits the subject, but English always requires one.
“Busy” → × Busy. → ○ “I am busy.” / “She is busy.” (Decide from the context who is being discussed.)
② Use Inanimate Subjects: Japanese often expresses “reason → result,” while English can change this into “inanimate subject + verb + object.”
- “The game was canceled because of the rain” → The rain caused the game to be canceled. (× The game was canceled because of the rain. is also possible, but the inanimate-subject construction sounds more natural in English.)
- “This road will take you to the station.”
- “His words encouraged me.”
③ Change the Verb: Choose the best English verb instead of being bound by the Japanese expression.
- “He came into the room.” / “He entered the room.” (came in and enter have different nuances)
④ Practice Writing the Same Sentence in Multiple Ways: English offers many ways to express an idea. “I like it.” → I like it. / I'm fond of it. / I'm into it. / It appeals to me. ── Choose according to the context.

Points to Remember

① Both the Japanese topic marker and subject marker must be explicitly expressed in English: “Elephants have long trunks.” (Change it into an English construction using have to show possession.)
② Pay attention to verb tense: Japanese tense can be ambiguous. “I went to school yesterday” and “I go to school yesterday” differ grammatically, but English must use went, the past tense.
③ Show singular and plural: “I like cats.” (Use the plural for a general statement.) / “I like the cat.” (Use the singular for a specific cat.) For “Elephants have long trunks,” the plural elephants is also safest.
④ Whether to use an article: “Having a dream is important.” (Use a for one specific dream; use no article for an abstract concept.)
⑤ Natural English rhythm: Organize the sentence using the 5 Ws and 1 H, and remove unnecessary modifiers. It is often unnecessary to translate words such as “very,” “extremely,” and “really.”

Practice

1. Translate using an inanimate subject: “This book made me like English.”
2. Translate using an inanimate subject: “The strong wind knocked down the sign.”
3. Rewrite the following literal translation in natural English: “I was made happy by her smile.”