When News Travels East

Journalism and unique translation practices by Japanese media today

International news stories provided to the public basically rely on translation. Most of this translation is done not by translators, but by journalists with practically no training in translation. What happens when the norms of journalism and those of translation clash? In this book, the author, a trained conference interpreter and former international journalist, investigates translator decisions in the practice of Japanese news translation. Her extensive analysis of texts from six major Japanese newspapers and interviews with Japanese “journalators” focuses on direct quotations, where accuracy is a journalistic priority but can generate loss of communication impact if implemented rigidly. She argues that many shifts from accuracy can be explained as risk management strategies. When News Travels East provides invaluable insight from an insider about news translation in Japan and beyond and paves the way for further research in the field.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

"When News Travels East" was written by Kayo Matsushita.

Kayo Matsushita is associate professor of Interpreting and Translation Studies at Rikkyo University and board member of The Japan Association for Interpreting and Translation Studies.

Yes, "When News Travels East" is part of the "Translation, Interpreting and Mediation" series. It's book 1 in the series.

Translation, Interpreting and Mediation

Mission statement

Championing a broad and transversal approach to the study of translational phenomena, Translation, Interpreting and Mediation (TIME)  is a book series for monographs and edited volumes that explore translation as a pervasive social practice connecting spaces and collectivities through complex forms of resemiotization and mediation. The series transcends traditional notions of translation as the decoding and recoding of semantic invariants and embraces an expansive understanding of translational agency. It aims to provide a venue for theoretical and methodological innovations at the disciplinary frontiers where translation is pervasive and essential but seldom fully understood or acknowledged. The series welcomes different perspectives on translation, interpreting and mediation, interfacing with a variety of areas of study, including sociology, literature, linguistics, cognition, politics, law, history, communication, multimodality, ecology, technology, cultural production and digital humanities (among others). The series draws inspiration from the collective expertise of CETRA (Centre for Translation Studies), its institutional home at KU Leuven.

All volumes in the series are double peer reviewed.

For questions, please contact the series editors.

Series editors

Jack McMartin (KU Leuven)
Sara Ramos Pinto (University of Leeds)

Editorial board

Núria Codina Solà (KU Leuven)
Lieven D’hulst (KU Leuven)
Peter J. Freeth (London Metropolitan University)
Deborah Giustini (Hamad Bin Khalifa University)
Gabriel González Núñez (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)
Bei Hu (National University of Singapore)
Akiko Sakamoto (Kansai University)

Advisory board

Brian Baer (Kent State University)
Pieter Boulogne (KU Leuven)
Lynne Bowker (University of Laval)
Elke Brems (KU Leuven)
Leo Tak-hung Chan (Lingnan University, Hong Kong)
Antoon Cox (KU Leuven)
Michael Cronin (Trinity College Dublin)
Dilek Dizdar (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)
Yves Gambier (University of Turku)
Maud Gonne (University of Liège)
Arnt Lykke Jakobsen (Copenhagen Business School)
Haidee Kotze (Utrecht University)
Kaisa Koskinen (Tampere University)
Kobus Marais (University of the Free State)
Reine Meylaerts (KU Leuven)
Joss Moorkens (Dublin City University)
Jemina Napier (Heriot-Watt University)
Franz Pöchhacker (University of Vienna)
Hanna Risku (University of Vienna)
Diana Roig Sanz (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya)
Heidi Salaets (KU Leuven)
Christina Schäffner (Aston University)
Luc van Doorslaer (University of Tartu / KU Leuven)

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction1.1 Everywhere and Nowhere: Defining the Boundaries of News Translation
1.2 Scope and Purpose
1.3 Case and Framework

Chapter 2. What is News Translation?2.1 Journalism and Translation
2.1.1 Gatekeeping and Transediting
2.1.1.1 Gatekeeping
2.1.1.2 Transediting
2.1.2 Research by Insiders
2.1.3 Warwick’s “Translation in Global News” Project
2.1.4 News Translation Research in Japan
2.2 Journalism and Speech Events
2.2.1 Direct Quotations
2.2.2 Translation of Speech Events

Chapter 3. Japanese Journalism and Translation3.1 Historical Development
3.2 The Current Media Landscape
3.2.1 Newspapers
3.2.1.1 The Yomiuri Shimbun (読売新聞)
3.2.1.2 The Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞)
3.2.1.3 The Mainichi Shimbun (毎日新聞)
3.2.1.4 The Nikkei (日本経済新聞)
3.2.1.5 The Sankei Shimbun (産経新聞)
3.2.1.6 The Chunichi Shimbun (中日新聞)
3.2.2 Magazines
3.2.3 TV Broadcasting
3.2.4 Radio Broadcasting
3.2.5 Online Media
3.3 Japanese Journalators
3.3.1 Overview
3.3.2 Typical Profiles
3.4 The News Translation Process

Chapter 4. Risk Management in Translation4.1 What is Risk in Translation?
4.2 Pym’s Concept of Risk Management
4.2.1 Uncertainty and Translation
4.2.2 The Nature of Risk
4.2.3 Effort and Risk
4.2.4 Ethics and Risk
4.2.5 Translation Strategies as Risk Management
4.3 Particular Risks in News Translation

Chapter 5. Analyzing the Effect of Risks on Translation5.1 Methodologies in News Translation Research
5.2 Risk Analysis
5.2.1 Designing the Method
5.2.2 Categorizing the Risks
5.2.3 A Model for the Analysis of Risk in News Translation
5.2.3.1 Step One: Selecting the Target
5.2.3.2 Step Two: Identifying the Translation Strategies
5.2.3.3 Step Three: Analyzing the Strategy and Effort
5.2.3.4 Step Four: Identifying and Analyzing Risk Management

Chapter 6. Case Study: 2012 U.S. Presidential Election6.1 Difference in Quoting Obama and Trump
6.2 Targeted Speech Events
6.2.1 Victory Speech
6.2.2 Inaugural Address
6.2.3 Journalators’ Roles 9
6.3 Text Analysis
6.3.1 Types of Strategies
6.3.1.1 Omission
6.3.1.2 Addition
6.3.1.3 Substitution
6.3.1.4 Distribution of Omission, Addition, and Substitution
6.3.2 Qualitative Analysis
6.3.2.1 Omission as a Key Strategy
6.3.2.2 Examples of Addition
6.3.2.3 Examples of Substitution

Chapter 7. News Translation Practices in Various Genres7.1 Unethical and Non-Standard Practices
7.1.1 Comparing Interlingual and Intralingual Practices
7.1.2 Applying a New Concept
7.2 How Risk Affects the Translator’s Decision-Making Process
7.2.1 Journalator Profile: Keiichi Shirato
7.2.2 Accuracy in Translation
7.2.3 Time and Space Limitations
7.2.4 Effects of Risk
7.3 Preliminary Conclusion

Chapter 8. News Translation and the Changing Media Environment8.1 New Types of Risks and Coping Methods
8.1.1 Managing Risk in a Press Conference
8.1.2 Managing Risk through Double-Presentation
8.1.3 Managing Risk through Increased Visibility
8.2 News Translation Research in an Advanced Information Society

Afterword

AppendicesA. The White House Transcript of President Obama’s Remarks on Election Night delivered November 7, 2012
B. The White House Transcript of President Obama’s Inaugural Address delivered January 21, 2013

NotesReferencesIndex

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "When News Travels East" is 10.11116/9789461663047.