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Study on Discretionary Choices by Court Interpreters and Accurate Translation

Research Project

Project/Area Number 20K13038
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section Basic Section 02060:Linguistics-related
Research InstitutionNagoya University of Foreign Studies

Principal Investigator

Marszalenko Jakub Eryk  名古屋外国語大学, 世界教養学部, 講師 (30844302)

Project Period (FY) 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000)
Keywords法廷通訳 / 日英通訳 / 裁量的選択 / 等価性 / 通訳の正確性 / 敬語 / 人称代名詞 / 日英間通訳 / 正確性 / 法定通訳 / 刑事裁判 / 裁判傍聴
Outline of Research at the Start

「正確な訳出」とは何かという問いへの回答を探究するため、法廷通訳人はどのように訳出を行なっているかを、日本各地における要通訳刑事裁判を傍聴し、その際に取ったメモをもとに分析する。

本研究ではラスターおよびテイラー(Laster and Taylor, 1994)が導入した「裁量的選択」という概念を適用する。「裁量的選択」とは、通訳対象となる両言語における相違によって、通訳人はある程度、元の発言を調整(変更)し、または場合によって調整(変更)せざるを得ないという訳出の在り方を意味する。そういった調整を行わなければ、通訳の内容は理解不能になり、もしくは誤った解釈をされかねない。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to investigate how court interpreters in Japan working with English deal with difficulties and challenges in Japanese-English interpreting, which derive from differences between the two languages. The author of the study visited various district courts in Japan and observed interpreter-mediated criminal proceedings, where English was used. The number of courthouses visited reached 7, and 26 criminal trials in total were observed.

As a result, data on interpretation by different interpreters in different jurisdictions were collected. Major findings can be summarized as follows. Due to differences between the two languages, interpreters don't produce 'literal translation.' Rather, to render the proceedings accurately, they need to make linguistic "discretionary choices." One instance where such differences and the choices they led to was most visible, was the treatment of the Japanese honorific language, 'keigo.'

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究による学術的意義や社会的意義は、次の通りだと考える。まず、法廷通訳人は、しばしば「直訳」や「そのままの通訳」、もしくは「逐語的な通訳」を要求されることがあるが、「正確な通訳とは何か」について、議論を深める成果となった。すなわち、日本語と英語の違いによって、「直訳」は難しいのみならず、そういった通訳がかえって正確でなくなる恐れもあるため、望ましくないともいえよう。また、上記の分析結果を基に、通訳人のみならず、刑事裁判に関わる参与者(主に裁判官、検察官、弁護人)及び社会全般が、通訳翻訳作業における課題や困難、そしてその制約に対して理解を深めることができるであろう。

Report

(5 results)
  • 2023 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2022 Research-status Report
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (14 results)

All 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 Other

All Journal Article (3 results) (of which Peer Reviewed: 2 results,  Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (10 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 8 results,  Invited: 2 results) Remarks (1 results)

  • [Journal Article] Politeness Matters: What honorifics can tell us about accuracy in Japanese-English court interpreting2024

    • Author(s)
      Marszalenko Jakub Eryk
    • Journal Title

      Between Text, Meaning and Legal Languages: Linguistic Approaches to Legal Interpretation

      Volume: Vol.8 Pages: 91-116

    • DOI

      10.1515/9783110799651-007

    • ISBN
      9783110799651
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed
  • [Journal Article] "Looking for Clues in Most Unlikley Places: What the Media Discourse on Japan's Imperial Family Can Tell Us about Challenges in Japanese-English Court Interpreting"2023

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Journal Title

      名古屋外国語大学論集

      Volume: 第12号 Pages: 51-84

    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] "In search of accuracy in Japanese-English translation: Analysis of renditions by court interpreters in court proceedings in Japan"2021

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Journal Title

      "Annals of 'Dimitrie Cantemir' Christian University: Linguistics, Literature and Methodology of Teaching"

      Volume: Volume XXI, No. 1 Pages: 69-90

    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Presentation] "Me, Myself, and I: Challenges Posed by Japanese Forms of Address in Japanese-English Court Interpreting"2023

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Organizer
      AILA 20th World Congress (AILA: International Association of Applied Linguistics)
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "Court Interpreting in Japan: systemic issues, conflicting beliefs, and practical challenges"2023

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko(パネル一環としての個人発表)
    • Organizer
      The 17th International Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] 「日本における法廷通訳:その現状及び課題」2023

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Organizer
      筑波大学 創成法研究会
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] "Treatment of Japanese Personal Pronouns in English-Japanese Court Interpreting"2022

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Organizer
      British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Conference 2022: Innovation and Social Justice in Applied Linguistics
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "Different Languages, Different Worlds: How Society, History, and Culture Shape our Worldview and Impact the Art of Interpreting"2022

    • Author(s)
      Jakub E. Marszalenko
    • Organizer
      名古屋外国語大学 第16回学生通訳コンテスト: 「―人間が守られる社会のために―“Towards Mutual Understanding through Dialogue:Building a society that protects people”」
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] "Court Interpreters as Authors: Examination of Discretionary Choices by Court Interpreters in Criminal Trials in Japan"2021

    • Author(s)
      ヤコブ・マルシャレンコ(Jakub E. Marszalenko)
    • Organizer
      The 6th International CRILL Conference
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "Politeness on Trial: Honorifics in Japanese-English Rendition by Court Interpreters"2021

    • Author(s)
      ヤコブ・マルシャレンコ(Jakub E. Marszalenko)
    • Organizer
      International Symposium on Translation and Interpreting as Social Interaction: Affect, Behaviour and Cognition & the 7th CATIC Session
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "The Keigo Conundrum: Rendering Japanese honorific language in interpreter-mediated criminal court proceedings"2021

    • Author(s)
      ヤコブ・マルシャレンコ(Jakub E. Marszalenko)
    • Organizer
      5th ILLA General Conference: Language and Law in the Age of Migration
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "With All Due Respect: Japanese honorifics in the bilingual courtroom"2021

    • Author(s)
      ヤコブ・マルシャレンコ(Jakub E. Marszalenko)
    • Organizer
      7th IATIS Conference: The Cultural Ecology of Translation
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Differences between Japanese and English and their Implications on Interpreter-Mediated Criminal Proceedings in Japan2020

    • Author(s)
      ヤコブ・マルシャレンコ
    • Organizer
      2020 Seoul International Forum on Translation and Interpreting: Interface between Law and Language
    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Remarks] ResearchGate(個人プロフィル)

    • URL

      https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jakub-Marszalenko/research

    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report

URL: 

Published: 2020-04-28   Modified: 2025-01-30  

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