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Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Content description VCJAC026

Japanese: 7–10 Sequence / Levels 9 and 10 / Communicating / Translating
Content description
Translate familiar social and community texts, such as emails, chat room posts, public signs and notices, from Japanese into English and vice versa, considering the role of culture when transferring meaning from one language to another
Elaborations
  1. creating glossaries to explain concepts encountered in Japanese social texts and interactions that reflect cultural values or experiences, for example, よろしくおねがいします。いらっしゃいませ。ただいま。おかえりなさい。
  2. explaining why some terms cannot be used interchangeably in Japanese as they can in English, for example, すみません/ごめんなさい。ください/おねがいします。こんにちは/もしもし。
  3. examining literal translations of everyday social interactions in Japanese and identifying culturally significant concepts, for example, sayingごちそうさま。 after meals, orすみません。 in a restaurant, or terms used for apologising or excusing
  4. evaluating the effectiveness of electronic translators, for example, by comparing back-translations of short texts or formulaic phrases, identifying instances of non-equivalence and noticing the potential pitfalls of literal translation
  5. using print, electronic and online dictionaries effectively by taking context into account when interpreting the meaning of words or phrases, for example, ただいま、おかえり、ねます (go to bed), あし (foot/leg)
  6. considering differences between Japanese and English language used to describe people, for example, 目(め)がほそい。はながたかい 。
  7. finding and using Japanese equivalents for conversation fillers such as ‘um’ and ‘yes’, for example, ええとあのうはいうん
  8. translating texts such as public signs, notices or advertisements from Japanese into English and vice versa, comparing elements such as levels of politeness or degree of directness, for example, ましょう form in Japanese, ‘Keep clean (きれいにしましょう)’ translates into ‘Do not litter’ in English
Code
VCJAC026
ScOT catalogue terms
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