NAT: Translating Popular Science Texts from Japanese into English Part I

This is Part 1 of the two-part webinar series, where Tony Atkinson will present strategies for translating popular science texts from Japanese into English.

The topics to be covered will include the following:

Part 1 (23 April 2021)

-  Differences between popular science texts   and journal articles: characteristics of   popular science texts and sources of texts  for translation

-  Translation of technical terms and phrases: research tips, proper nouns, units of    measurement, loanwords, etc.

-  Translation of non-technical terms and phrases that occur frequently in science texts:   affixes, abstract nouns, change-related terms and phrases, representing scale, etc.

 - Grammar, style, and usage in English science writing: tense, abbreviations,   parentheses, dashes, etc.

Part 2 (7 May 2021)

-  Grammar, style, and usage in English science writing (continued): hedging, noun-based  vs. verb-based sentences, apposition, etc.

-  Translation of citations, quotations, titles, captions, and legends

-  Application of selected translation techniques to science texts

-  Potential sources of work in the science communication field

-  Useful online glossaries and information sources

-  Science communication on social media

-  References on scientific translation and popular science writing in English

Example translations will be drawn from various areas of science. Useful resources for translating scientific texts and writing scientific English will also be presented and discussed. This webinar will be presented in English, and source texts will be in Japanese.


Presenter  -  Tony Atkinson

Tony Atkinson is a freelance Japanese-English translator working mainly in the areas of medicine and drug development. However, he also enjoys translating science texts for the general reader. Several of his translations have been published online, covering areas as diverse as dark energy, emergent phenomena in physics, precision timekeeping with optical lattice clocks, seismic monitoring, and phytoplasmas. He has also recently translated The Winding Road to Discovering iPS Cells: The Life of Yamanaka Shinya (山中伸弥先生に、人生とｉＰＳ細胞について聞いてみた ), to be published in March 2021. 
Mr David Shield will be working as Moderator for this event.

Joining the online discussion

Please NOTE this is a live webinar and you must log in and register to attend at the date and time advised.  Registrants will be provided with an access link to join two days before the event.


Language-specific reminder

Please NOTE this is a language-specific meeting. The facilitator/moderator, audience and other participants may use LOTE (i.e. Japanese) at different stages of the discussion or the entire online meeting.

This is a LIVE EVENT and WILL be recorded

PD Logbook:
Level: Intermediate PD

Please  consult the NAATI Recertification Catalogue to allocate the relevant PD Points - downloadable from www.naati.com.au.   Some activities can be included under different categories, so please choose the most appropriate category for your recertification purposes.'

Certificates and recordings:

Certificates for PD purposes and copies of recordings (if available) may take approximately two (2) weeks to be released following the event.