Dams. Certainly not the most glamorous subject, but still quite the feat of engineering! This project saw me volunteer translate on Wikipedia an article about Chiya Dam in Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
Lakeside perspective of the dam
Who Gives a Dam?
Dams are a new area of translating for me, and this article was rather enjoyable to put together. While not full of historical references to the same extent as my article on Azuki ware, the article’s wording was instead replaced with technical terminology about dam structures, lake classifications, and other related jargon. Located on the outskirts of Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, this dam certainly isn’t a slouch in stature, which is why I was surprised to find this article in desperate need of an English translation from its much more fully-fledged Japanese article cousin.
Terminology and English Equivalents
While this article did have its fair share of technical terminology, I was glad to find that all words had an official English definition, sparing me the exercise of having to conjure my own name for certain words. Especially for more technically-oriented projects, it is best to exhaust every possible means to ensure the technical term you are translating has a pre-existing official English counterpart. While this goes without saying, this is why glossaries like the CJKI glossary are so useful. In the future, I intend to make full use of these glossaries when possible to streamline my workflow in translating and performing other Japanese to English language services.
Formatting Experience
This article has a few elements where its formatting is unique, using list elements and annotated photographs to describe the dam. While I did not entirely copy the formatting of the Japanese article, I did my best to replicate its style. While each document software is unique in its formatting, I still found the experience quite meaningful and applicable in future projects both on and off Wikipedia moving forward, as the process of being able to learn is, in my opinion, the most important skill to possess in this line of work.
Thoughts Moving Forward
I quite enjoyed this article! Again, while not particularly long, the content itself I believe is still informative and comprehensive about this dam’s history, operating specifications, and function. I intend to continue improving my translating efficiency moving forward by fully leveraging my CAT tool and its functionalities (memories, glossaries, shortcuts, etc.) moving forward.