Reading a German book with my friend
On the 1st of March my friend Hidechen and I got together in a seminer room to read "A Diary of a Young Girl" in German. It lasted only one hour because the seminar room fee is expensive.
Hidechen, a graduate of Osaka University, now works for Osaka Metropolitan Office is my former classmate at Goethe-Insitute.
First of all we read the book aloud in German and translate into Japanese. Then we correct mistakes each other. That's quite a good excercise for me to brush up on German.
Wow, one hour passed so fast! We were able to read and translate only 3 pages.
After the meeting we had lunch at a coffee shop near Umeda Station.
I bought him lunch because he had given me mandarine oranges the last time I saw him.
I just wanted to show him my gratitude.
Next meeting is undecided. Because Hidechen hinted that there's a possibility of personnel transfer at the end of March. After all I am a pensioner and he is a salaried man. I can not force him to hold the meeting.
But I was motivated by the meeting with him to read more about the story. In fact I read the book to the end. Now I'm translating every day out of my own volition. In the end I will buy the book in Japanese translation. Then I want to compare it with my own translation.
Last not but least I'd like to quote a remark by a lecturer at Lancaster University.
"Don't underestimate the importance of translation. Once you have earned a certain level of proficiency and can say quite a bit, fairly accurately, it is typical to feel a slowing down in progress.
Translation is such an important excercise for helping you get over a certain plateau that you will reach as a language learner. Translation excercise don't allow you to paraphrase and force the learner on to the next level."
Well, translating into Japanese is quite a toilsome job. So, it's going to be an uphill batlle. But I'm going to make it by the end of 2015, because I have lots of time.
Hidechen, a graduate of Osaka University, now works for Osaka Metropolitan Office is my former classmate at Goethe-Insitute.
First of all we read the book aloud in German and translate into Japanese. Then we correct mistakes each other. That's quite a good excercise for me to brush up on German.
Wow, one hour passed so fast! We were able to read and translate only 3 pages.
After the meeting we had lunch at a coffee shop near Umeda Station.
I bought him lunch because he had given me mandarine oranges the last time I saw him.
I just wanted to show him my gratitude.
Next meeting is undecided. Because Hidechen hinted that there's a possibility of personnel transfer at the end of March. After all I am a pensioner and he is a salaried man. I can not force him to hold the meeting.
But I was motivated by the meeting with him to read more about the story. In fact I read the book to the end. Now I'm translating every day out of my own volition. In the end I will buy the book in Japanese translation. Then I want to compare it with my own translation.
Last not but least I'd like to quote a remark by a lecturer at Lancaster University.
"Don't underestimate the importance of translation. Once you have earned a certain level of proficiency and can say quite a bit, fairly accurately, it is typical to feel a slowing down in progress.
Translation is such an important excercise for helping you get over a certain plateau that you will reach as a language learner. Translation excercise don't allow you to paraphrase and force the learner on to the next level."
Well, translating into Japanese is quite a toilsome job. So, it's going to be an uphill batlle. But I'm going to make it by the end of 2015, because I have lots of time.
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