The translator’s duties, which this and other experiences have taught me, are often myriad and mutually exclusive.

But, only after we explained to them – much to their surprise – the potential for misunderstanding that would have resulted from a direct translation. In the end, we were proud of our solution and our client was pleased, too. In grand Japanese fashion, a meeting was called (which lasted several hours) to discuss exactly how to tackle the translation. The company in question used the Japanese “Hashire!” to impart a feeling of “never stopping” - A far cry from the “Get the hell out of here!” connotations of the English equivalent. This is exactly the situation I faced at my PR agency some time ago. Slap it in huge letters on your financial report, and your shareholders might think you’re urging them to “Bail out now!” because your company is in trouble. The command form “Run!” in English sounds panicky and serious. For the average foreigner caught in an earthquake or being chased by Godzilla, this direct translation is perfectly acceptable.īut what if you are a large Japanese company featuring this word as catch copy on the annual financial report sent to your shareholders, and you need it translated into English? The simple, direct translation might then begin to indicate something completely unintended.

For the uninformed, that’s the command form of “Run!” in Japanese.

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