♂ What an unjustified complaint! The client wrongly accused me of translating Ms XX as Mr XX. My translation was Smith-sama (様). On top of that, the client expressed her concern that the address in the translation differed from that in the original.

♀ Let me explain for those not familiar with Japanese. The address “sama” is gender-neutral and can be used both for male and female addressees. Besides, you would never say “Dear Ms Smith” in a Japanese business letter. 親愛なるXX 様 is awkward as it sounds so-much like translation. You write 拝啓 and that’s all.

The letter was addressed to a high-ranking person. Sure enough, the client wanted to make sure everything is all right by translating my translation back into English using Google or similar.
As a translator, you need to be an evangelist bringing enlightenment on cultural issues, i.e. “Aufklärungsarbeit leisten”, as one would say in German.

After hearing my explanation on Japanese grammar and letter-writing style, the client was finally put at ease.

🔃 Here is a lesson to learn: You can easily swap genders when translating with such free MT service.

But if what you want to translate really matters, go for professionals. As a bonus, you will get a free consultation on cultural issues – at least with me.

#translation #gender #letterwriting #google #japanese #culturaldifferences #MT #machinetranslation #humantranslaion