The following is a translation of the previous post.
“Last February, I gave this speech at the YAMASA Speech Contest. Of course, I was nervous but I think it was a really good experience.
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“‘No matter where you live…’
“Like a pillow, I’m lying on the bed. The winter air is as cold as ice, and the heater is on. Like a mountain, the laundry is piled up, and the chair cannot be seen. Music is playing loudly on the computer, annoying the neighbor. The volume should probably be turned down. Actually, I have to write and turn in a speech before Wednesday, and I’m worried.
“For just one day I’d like to be an author, but this is impossible. Speeches are hard, and for some reason I can’t decide on a theme. Also, although I’ve studied for 10 months, I can’t really think in Japanese. Japanese is a difficult language–this I know–but unfortunately I haven’t improved as expected. It’s my fault. I probably talked too much in English, read too many newspapers written in English, and generally been not so serious. Also, I think it’s hard to make Japanese friends. For example, I would often go to Starbucks. But who wants to talk to strangers at Starbucks? No one, it seems, because it looks too much like nanpa!* Nevertheless, although I didn’t make too many Japanese friends, and although I didn’t study very hard, I learned quite a bit.
“Although different languages, comparing English and Japanese, I was surprised how similar they are. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc., are all common grammatical constructs. In other words, human languages resemble each other. Just as languages are similar, I think human lifestyles are also similar. Coming to Japan and experiencing it with the eyes of a tourist, of course reality cannot be seen. Furthermore, in the United States, Japan has a strange image. It is said that Japanese people eat sushi everyday, watch anime on TV everyday, and can’t think for themselves. But is this reality? When I first traveled to Japan, I thought the Japanese lifestyle and culture was completely different from the U.S. But through the experience of living here, I came to clearly understand that the Japanese lifestyle is normal. For example, Japanese people don’t eat sushi everyday, they buy food at the grocery store. Anime is not something special to watch everyday. Work, paying rent, and worrying about coworkers, friends, and family. Isn’t this a normal lifestyle? In other words, hidden behind the curtain of culture is the true nature of humanity.
“Like a pillow, I’m lying on the bed. The winter air is as cold as ice, the heater is on, and this month’s electricity bill will probably be expensive. Like a mountain, the laundry is piled up, and the chair cannot be seen. The computer is softly playing music. And, unintentionally, I finished writing my speech!”
*nanpa = picking up girls
Analysis: never translate your own stuff. It’s painful. I was surprised how difficult it was to make the English flow smoothly. I tried to remain faithful to the original grammar; the awkwardness definitely shows itself in the text above. Is this how I sound to Japanese people? When writing the original text, all the rules of flow, paragraph linking, and logic that I unintentionally use when writing English seemed to be completely inaccessible. For what reason? I expected that flow and logic would transcend grammar, but only after translating am I able to recognize the faults in my own text. Same brain, same meaning, but completely different perceptions of correctness. Perhaps I need to learn an entire system of rules attuned to Japanese grammar. Or perhaps I simply need to reach a point of comfort with the language where I can concentrate more on style and less on grammar.
