rick@cs.arizona.edu (Rick Schlichting) (04/09/91)
[The following is the document resulting from my recent query about
translators capable of doing technical translations from Japanese
to English. As you can see, it has become much more comprehensive,
thanks to David Cowhig (wa1lbp@n3dmc.svr.md.us), who supplied the
additional information and organized everything. Corrections or
additions can be sent to me at rick@cs.arizona.edu.
This information is also available for anonymous FTP from host
cs.arizona.edu, filename japan/japanese/translator.info
- Rick]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese - English and English - Japanese Translators Specializing in
Computers 8 April 1991
Table of Contents
1. Japanese translators listed in the ATA Japanese Language Division
Directory
2. Other Japanese translators
3. Translation company list
4. Comments on translating and finding translators (David Cowhig)
5. Japanese language typesetting companies
6. Comments on the machine translation of Japanese
7. Japanese translation resources
8. Reference books and other resources for translators
*********************************************************************
1. Japanese translators listed in the ATA Japanese Language Division
Directory
The July 1990 edition of the ATA Japanese Language Division directory
lists 18 of its 234 members (not all are translators or interpreters)
as having a speciality in the translation of computer related
materials. Some Japanese translators are not members of the ATA and
so are not listed in the directory.
The 1990 edition of the directory is available for $15 from
John Bukacek, 10000 S. Claremont, Chicago, Ill. 60643
FAX: (312) 779-9843
John Bukacek is now preparing the 1991 edition.
****
Ms. Lauren M. Barrett. 119 Winthrop Road 2A, Brookline, MA 02146.
Work: (617) 734-3827. Fax: (617) 738-7514.
Japanese -> English translator.
Ms. Dorick Jean Byard. 66 Howard St., Cambridge, MA 02139.
Tel. and fax: (617) 868-7946.
E-mail: DORI@clyde.clearpoint.com
Translator and Interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese.
Mr. David F. Cowhig, Jr. 6317 May Blvd., Alexandria, VA 22310.
TEL: (703) 922-3742. Fax: (703) 922-8568
E-mail: WA1LBP@N3DMC.SVR.MD.US
Translator: Japanese -> English
Ms. Marcia Dubiel. 103 Village Circle, Jupiter, FL 33458
TEL: (407) 747-2843 Fax: (407) 747-2843
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Mr. Alan Gleason. 1011 Contra Costa Dr., El Cerrito, CA 94530
Home: (415) 658-7262 Work: (415) 525-8366 Fax: (415) 525-7448
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Ms. Melinda Hull. Hoei Station Plaza 1310 5-30-17 Ogikubo,
Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167, Japan.
Tel: 011-813-393-3155 Fax: 011-813-393-3350
Translator: Japanese -> English
Native language: English
Mr. John Y. Hung. 141 Zengel Drive, Centerville, OH 45459
Home: (513) 434-9288 and (513) 255-3235. Fax: (513) 43-9288
Translator: Japanese -> English and Chinese -> English
Ms. Itsuko Kanna-Wada. 169 G St. #2, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103
Tel: (801) 531-0371 and Fax: (801) 359-6030
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Ms. Susan Tatsue Koyama. PO Box 952, Wheatbridge, CO 80033
Home: (303) 420-7704 Work: (303) 556-2614
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Ms. Carol McAlpine. 231 E. Harrison Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018
Tel: (215) 868-4615. Fax: (215) 974-8962
Translator: Japanese -> English
Mr. James Meek. 3335 N. Arlington Heights Rd., Suite F, Arlington
Heights, IL 60004-1573
Home: (708) 934-7505 Work: (708) 818-8880 Fax: (708) 818-8801
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English
Dr. Hiromi Nakaoji. 1601 18th St. NW #803, Washington, DC 20009
Home: (202) 483-5049 Work: (202) 939-8858
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Native language: Japanese
Mr. Kanji Niwa, K&H. 1280 W. Lambert, A-2, Brea, CA 92621
Home: (213) 691-6685 Fax: (213) 690-0685
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Native language: Japanese
Mr. Shunsuke Obinata. 974-A La Mesa Terrace, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Tel: (408) 732-9185 Fax: (408) 737-8145
Translator: English -> Japanese
Ms. Constance Prener. 28 Hastings Avenue, Croton-on-Hudson, NY
10520
Tel: (914) 271-5664 Fax: (914) 271-3203
Translator: Japanese -> English
Mr. Walter C. Rasmussen. 14 Calendar Ct., Columbia, SC 29206
Tel: (803) 787-7191 Fax: (803) 787-7219
Translator and interpreter. Japanese-English and English-Japanese
Mr. Arnold Rusoff. 209 Hudson Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
Tel: (607) 277-2292 Fax: (607) 273-4394
Translator: Japanese -> English
Mr. Frederick L. Schodt. 144 Parnassas Avenue, #14, San Francisco,
CA 94117
Tel: (415) 681-9803 Fax: (415) 681-2945
Translator and interpreter: Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese
Ms. Michiko Walraven. 915 Woodhall Drive, Victoria, BC V8X 3L7
CANADA
Home: (604) 727-0372 Work: (604) 727-6667 Fax: (604) 727-2152
Translator: Japanese -> English and English -> Japanese
Native language: Japanese
E-mail: COMPUSERVE 76466,432 or compuserve.com!76466.432
Ms. Reiko Kitamura Young. 300 Westview Ct., Vienna, VA 22180
Tel: (703) 938-7253 Fax: (703) 938-1263
Translator and interpreter. Japanese -> English and English ->
Japanese.
**************************************************************
2. Other Japanese translators
Here is a list of part-time and full-time Japanese translators who
submitted names in response to the query broadcast on comp.research.japan,
or whose names were otherwise gleaned from USENET:
----------------------
Keith and Hiromi Dipboye. 510 W. University Ave, 2E, Champaign, IL 61820
Tel: 217-359-8045 Fax: 217-333-8868 (please specify Keith Dipboye, MSP)
Email: lkdg8281@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Lucia Hayakawa. Las Cruces, NM
Tel: (505) 527-4406 Fax: (505) 527-4403.
William Archibald. 3-32-7-101 Hazawa, Nerima-ku, Tokyo 176, Japan
Email: billa@tdo.sps.mot.com, and my
Takahiro Wakao. The CRL, NMSU Box 30001, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003
Tel: 505-646-5466 (office), 505-522-1555 (home)
Email : twakao@nmsu.edu
John Ho, Dallas, Texas, USA
Tel: (214)-907-9801.
Email: john@iex.com
Hiroshi Inoue. 106 Pinecone Dr., Lawrence, KS 66046
Tel: 913-749-5389
Email: hinoue@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Peter Henstock. 807 Hawkins Grad House, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47906
Tel: (317) 495-7041 (home), (317) 484-1744 (work)
Email: henstock@ec.ecn.purdue.edu
Summer Address: 13746 Durango Dr,e r, CA 92014, Tel: (619) 755-3577
David Lakritz. The gaitek group, 1806 Parkwood Dr., San Mateo, CA 94403
Tel: (415) 780-4681 (day)
Email: David_Lakritz@NeXT.com
Hirotoshi Takeda. 186 Rockview Dr. Irvine, CA 92715 USA
Tel: (714) 854-2158
Email: htakeda@bonnie.ics.uci.edu
David Luke. 609 E. 200 South, Provo, UT 84606
Tel: (801) 373-3538 (evenings)
Email:luke@everest.ee.byu.edu or luke@wombat.ee.byu.edu
Robert Bailey and Kazumi Matsuyama. 2338 American River Dr. #F, Sacramento
CA 95825
Tel: (916) 483 7594
Email: rbailey@wc.novell.com and matsuyak@athena.ecs.csus.edu
Rie Skelton. 413 McArthur Blvd, Warner Robins, GA 31093
Tel: (912) 923-2189
Michael Yokoyama. 99-583 Aliipoe Dr., Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Tel: (808) 488-1327
Email: michaely@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu
***********************************************************
3. Translation Company list
Japanese Language Services. 186 Lincoln St., Boston, MA 02111
Tel: (617) 338-2211 Fax: (617) 338-4611
Japan Communications. 419 Occidental Ave. S, Suite 509, Seattle, WA 98104 USA
Tel: (206) 343-3965 Fax: (206) 621-1786
Email: compuserve.com!76662.351
JLS Language Associates. Japanese Linguistic Service, 135 Willow Rd.,
Menlo Park, California 94025
Tel: (415) 321-9832 Fax: (415) 329-9864
Polyglot Language Service. 393 7th Avenue, suite 201, San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 387-0290 Fax: (415)387-5528
WIN Corporation. 7-18-9 Nishi-Shinjuku, Suite 207, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 160, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3365-5484 Fax: +81-3-3365-0109
WIN International Corporation. 111 Pavonia Ave., Jersey City, N.J. 07310
Tel. (201)216-3230 [L.A. (213)734-8774 Ms. Hirata] Fax: (201)216-3231
Tech Search Int'l, Inc., E. Jan Vardaman, Box 200295, Austin, Texas 78720-0295
Tel: 512-343-4508 Fax: 512-343-4509
JTT, Inc., 959 Reed Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.
Tel: (408)739-9215.
Coda International. 3528 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503
Tel: 800-235-1339 (in the US) or 213-792-1391 Fax: 213-792-1392
*******************************************************************
4. Comments on translating and finding translators (David Cowhig)
ATA List and Organization:
This list is not exhaustive. I know or know by reputation about one-
third of the people on the above list. Japanese-English freelance
translators are spread around thinly except in a few areas such as
San Francisco. Only recently in the last five years or so have they
organized in the Japanese Language Division of the American
Translators Association thanks mostly to John Bukacek our Division
Adminstrator and ATA Board member.
Membership in the ATA is $50 per year and in the Japanese Language
Division another $15. The ATA also has a Science and Technology
Division ($10 additional) for S&T translators. Write American
Translators Assocation, 109 Crofton Ave., Ossining, NY 10562.
Tel: (914) 941-1500 Fax: (914) 941-1330.
I have been an ATA and Japanese Language Division member during my
six years as a freelance Japanese-English translator. Knowing
colleagues and getting translator newsletters such as the Japanese
Division newsletter and ATArashi, an independent Japanese translator
newsletter edited by Ron Granich in Seattle, has helped me find work,
get advice on how to be a better translator, learn what the going
rate for Japanese translations is, and share my concerns with
colleagues.
Translation Companies:
If you have a large translation job or need something translated fast
you may want to call on a translation company. Some translation
companies are merely an intermediary between the client and the
translator; others provide real service through tight quality
control, editing and coordinating chunks of work in a big project
which have been parceled out to a number of translators. Translation
companies will charge much more than individual translators in order
to pay for their overhead. You might find an individual translator
who is reliable, conscientious, knowledgeable in your area and a joy
to work with but finding these people and building up a relationship
takes time.
Other Sources of Translators:
Japanese translators can sometimes be found on the Foreign
Languages Education Forum (FLEFO) of COMPUSERVE and on the WELL,
a communications utility based in Sausalito, CA (415) 332-6106.
Directory of Japanese Technical Resources in the United States
published by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) lists
many Japanese translators. Order for about $36 from
NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161
Tel: (703) 487-4650
For more information on the directory or to ask that you or your
company be listed write Janet Geffner, Editor of the Directory, at
the address above.
NSF NACSIS Searches and Translations:
Holly Rushmeier received a notice that NSF is offering a service to
provide English translations of Japanese papers. The phone number to
call the National Center for Science Information Systems (between 1
and 4 pm Eastern Time) is (202)-357-7278, and their address is
NACSIS Operator
National Science Foudation
Rm 416A
1800 G St. NW
Washington, DC 20550
They will search some large Japanese databases for you and may provide
some translations on a time-available basis.
Becoming a Translator:
After some time as a full-time Japanese-English translator I realized
I was charging less I could get. Learning to be more of a
businessman, I found that by asking for a higher rate than I expected
to get (when I was busy anyway as professional J-E translators
generally are) I could often get it. Translators in the USA should
remember they can ask other translators what they charge or what they
hear other people are getting but they may not suggest that another
person raise their rates or keep their rates at a certain level. That
would be price-fixing, a violation of US federal law.
Purchasers of translations and translators alike will find that
articles colected in the 140 pages of "Translation in Technical
Communication" edited by Fred Klein and published by the Society for
Technical Communication (address below) worth reading. Several
articles discuss questions to ask and things to keep in mind when
looking for a translator.
Translators in Japan may contact the Japan Association of
Translators (JAT). Write to Ruth McCreery, JAT Membership Secretary,
3-206 Miyagaiya 25-2 Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220 JAPAN
The Society for Technical Communication, a large international
society of technical writers, is a good organization for a technical
translators to join. We need to produce technical documents which
look as if they were written originally in English. The STC quarterly
journal Technical Communication features articles on improving
technical documentation including instruction manual design, desk-top
publishing and how technical writers can best work together with
engineers to produce high quality documentation. Local STC chapters
in many areas. Dues are $75 per year.
Society for Technical Communication
901 N. Stuart St.
Arlington, VA 22203
Tel: (703) 522-4114 Fax: (703) 522-2075
************************************************************************
5. Japanese Language Typesetting companies
Ampac Graphics
"Specialists in automated phototypesetting of Asian languages".
XiangXiao Dong, Director of Operations
5713 Edsall Road
Alexandria, VA 22304
Tel: (703) 823-9773
Fax: (703) 823-1138
Telex: 9102402935
Japan Pacific Publications
Japanese phototypesetting and translation (especially
English -> Japanese)
419 Occidental Ave. S#509
PO Box 3092
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: (206) 622-7443
Chicago Multi-Lingua Graphics
Electronic typesetting of Japanese, Chinese, Thai and other
languages. Direct file transfer via IBM, Apple, Japanese
computers.
1014 Davis St.
Evanston, Ill. 60201
Tel: (800) 747-6047
Fax: (708) 864-3202
Modem: (708) 864-1825 (4hour BBS)
***********************************************************
6. Comments on the Machine Translation of Japanese
You may want to read a recent article on machine translation "The
Multilingual Edge" by Peter M. Benton, former chief scientist at
McGraw-Hill, on pp. 124 - 132 of the March 1991 BYTE. He is
a trifle optimistic.
For a more thorough examination of the prospects for machine
translation get a copy of "Report of a Symposium on Japanese to
English Machine Translation" held at the National Academy of Sciences
in Washington, DC on December 7, 1989.
Write: Office of Japan Affairs
Computer Science and Technology Board
National Research Council,
2101 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20418.
Another interesting report is "A Japanese View of Machine
Translation in Light of the Considerations and Recommendations
Reported by ALPAC, USA" published by the Japan Electronics Industry
Development Association (JIEDA) in July 1989. Write: JIEDA, Kikai
Shinko Kaikan 3-5-8 Shiba Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo-105, JAPAN
Fax in Japan 03-433-6350.
JIEDA was passing them out at the Machine Translation conference
in Washington, DC so they might send you one.
David Cowhig
Alexandria, VA
WA1LBP@N3DMC.SVR.MD.US
******************************************************************
7. Japanese Translation Resources
American Translators Association Japanese Language Division
Membership Directory
Ed. by John Bukacek, Division Administrator
Second Edition with specialty index, geographical index, fax
listing for individuals, and description of translator's equipment
(fax, modem, etc.)
Any of the 170 members of the Japanese Language Division may
request to be listed. If ATA accredited, this is usually listed in
the entry. Published August, 1989. Available for $15 from
Japanese Language Division Administrator John Bukacek,
10000 South Claremont, Chicago, Ill.
Tel: (312) 779-3009 FAX: (312) 779-9843
---
American Translators Association Translation Services Directory
Listing by language for European languages and Japanese.
Only those ATA members who have passed an ATA accreditation
examination are listed for their language.
Published by the American Translators Association about $25
109 Crofton Avenue
Ossining, NY
Tel: (914) 941-1500 FAX: (914) 941-1330
---
ATArashi
Japanese translators' newsletter
Information on translation profession and terminology
$36 annually six issues/yr
Published by Ron Granich FAX: (206) 621-1786 TEL: (206) 343-3965
E-mail: COMPUSERVE: 76662,351 or compuserve.com!76662.351
Write Ron Granich at Japan Communications
419 Occidental Ave. S, Suite 509
Seattle, WA 98104
---
NCATA Professional Services Directory 1989-1990
A guide to foreign language services provided by members of the
National Capital Area Chapter of the American Translators'
Association
Available from NCATA Tel: (703) 243-4743
PO Box 65200
Washington, DC 20035-5200
---
Translation in Technical Communication
An information kit from the Society for Technical Communication on
the translation field, choosing a translator, translation and
technical writing, multilingual word processing etc. 137 pages
with index. A collection of reprints selected by Fred Klein
published 1988. Available from:
Society for Technical Communication
901 N. Stuart St., Suite 304
Arlington, VA 22203
Tel: (703) 522-4114 Fax: (703) 522-2075
---
The Japan Technology Program (JTP) is in the Office of International
Technology Policy of the Technology Administration of the US
Department of Commerce. Our mandate is to provide US industry and
researchers with information on, and access to, scientific and
technical developments in Japan. Our current address is:
JTP
Room 4817 HCHB
14th and Constitution Ave.
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 202-377-1288
FAX: 202-377-4498
This Office works very closely with National Technical Information
Service (NTIS) from which a selection of Japanese technical
literature is available, including most of the reports mentioned
in this bulletin.
The phone number of the NTIS sales desk is 703-487-4650. I don't know
how you can get an NTIS catalog (you have to use order numbers for the
items you want to buy).
*******************************************************************
8. Reference Books and Resources for Translators
Bookstore:
Kinokuniya
10 West 49th St.
New York, NY
Los Angeles Kinokuniya store TEL: (213) 687-4480
Basic Technical Japanese written by Edward E.
Daub, R. Byron Bird, and Nobuo Inoue was published in
October 1990 by University of Wisconsin Press. The book will be
hard-bound cloth cover, 8.5" by 11" format, 664 pages, and
costs $35.00. It can be ordered by phone at (608)262-8782 or
by mail at
University of Wisconsin Press
114 North Murray Street
Madison, WI 53715-1199
"Basic Technical Japanese" is a good book for people who have had
a one-year course in Japanese.
Reference Books--
Kanji and Kana by Wolfgang Hadamitzsky and Mark Spahn
Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle
A Reference Grammar of Japanese by Samuel E. Martin
Publisher: Charles Tuttle (1988)
Corrected version of 1975 first edition and revised to make the work
more accesible to students. A very detailed discussion of Japanese
grammar and the why of wa, ga and mo. Useful to more advanced
students of Japanese. Not written just for linguists although you
will have to learn some special grammatical terms. Thousands of
sentence pattern examples in over 1000 pages plus index. My copy cost
$63.
Japanese-English Dictionary by Andrew N. Nelson
Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle
[Order directly from the publisher Charles E. Tuttle Company,
Rutland, Vt.] (Rutland is a small town, so that address if fine.
Ask for their nice catalog of Japan-related books)
Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary
ed. by Koh Masuda
Rikagaku Jiten [Dictionary of Physics and Chemistry] published by
Iwanami Shoten
More than just an S&T dictionary for physics and chemistry -- many
entries have 2 - 3 paragraph mini-encyclopedia style articles a term
and related S&T topics. Many cross references. You can look up terms
in English, French, German and Russian in the index at the back.
Iwanami publishes a similar dictionary for Biology, its Seibutsugaku
Jiten. Definitely five stars *****
For computer related Japanese-English translations an
excellent references are:
JOHO KAGAKU JITEN (Dictionary of Computer Science)
Ken Lunde (klunde@vms.macc.wisc.edu) reports that JOHO KAGAKU JITEN
published by Iwanami Shoten is an excellent reference for anyone
reading or translating Japanese computer science literature. Note
that this is a Japanese-Japanese dictionary with a long explanation
of the term and the English equivalent in parenthesis at the head of
the entry. The format resembles the RIKA KAGAKU JITEN which is more
than a dictionary almost a mini-encyclopedia and loved by many
Japanese-English technical translators. Ken Lunde says "One of the
main authors is Makoto Nagao (from the MT world in Japan). The price
is 7000 Yen, and its ISBN number is 4-00-080074-4. Kinokuniya in Los
Angeles (213)687-4480 has it in stock for $71.00 each". Mine hasn't
come in the mail yet but if it matches the Rikagaku Jiten and
Seibutsu Gaku Jiten in quality it is five stars *****.
Japanese-English Dictionary of Computer
Nichigai Associates, 1989 ISBN 4-8169-0830-7
Don't let the title put you off.
My copy cost 10,000 yen.
English language references in the subject area of the
translation are most important to help the translator understand the
topic and to mimic the writing style of the field. Some clients send
along photocopies of English-language articles in a related field
(sometimes by the author of the Japanese article). Access to a big
science library for searching related English language material is a
great help to the technical translator.
Jack Walraven of Pacific Translations in Victoria, BC CANADA in the
Spring/Summer 1989 issue of ATArashi told how he used the 900 databases
available through IQuest on COMPUSERVE to find articles and abstracts
which match certain keywords. Jack then downloads a few articles and
abstracts for reference in doing the translation. Jack Walraven
(COMPUSERVE 76466,432) finds fast searching for information on
databases enables him to meet deadlines that were impossible several
years ago.
Japanese language e-mail using MCI Mail, EasyPlex on
Compuserve or other networks enables a client in Japan to send you
work in electronic form for you to translate into English. As this
way of working becomes more popular fewer translators will ruin their
eyes trying to read third generation fax messages.
Ken Lunde of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has written and
continually updates his fine article the "Electronic Transfer of
Japanese" which explains how Japanese is encoded in the JIS codes,
discusses the latest IBM and Macintosh Japanese language hardware and
software, and the Japanese language JUNET (analogous to USENET)
newsgroups and mailing lists. Also known as JAPAN.INF. You can get a
copy of the current version of JAPAN.INF on the pub/JIS directory at
ucdavis.edu by anonymous FTP or by sending a request to Ken Lunde
at klunde@vms.macc.wisc.edu (internet) or at klunde@wiscmacc
(bitnet).