さめざめと (Samezameto)
English title: “Sorrowfully”
Written and directed by Yuiko Itano ’23 (Doshisha Women’s’ College of Liberal Arts, Kyoto, Japan)
Year: July 2020
Translated by JPN 350 Fall 2020 Cohort: Ayumi Beeler ’23, Quinn Bulkeley ‘ 21, Sarah Ducharme ’21, Yena Li’ 21, Caitlin Ong ’21, Eika Overton ‘ 23, Ray Ren ‘ 21, Kerry Walker ’21 (All Smith)
Video Origin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH0_og6APyk
About the video (the gist of the video)
Above all, Samezameto tells the story of grief. Yukari’s grandfather dies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and her family is unable to congregate for a traditional funeral. In an attempt to give her grandfather a proper send-off, Yukari’s family comes together for an online funeral procession. The short film follows Yukari as she tries to come to terms with the loss of her grandfather while navigating the awkward relationships with her relatives.
Intended audience
In the process of translating Samezameto, we always had our intended audience in mind: an international audience of English speakers. Therefore, one of our goals was to create a translation also for English learners, not only people with American-English or British-English as their first language. When choosing phrases and words, we made an effort to select more universal expressions and create a narrative that was accessible to a wider audience of English speakers.
Read more: JPN350 Fall 2020 cohort summarized their experiences in translating a short film “Samezameto” in regards to the following perspectives (Clik to read).
- Challenges when translating the video clip, solutions, and the rationales
- Where the most creativity was applied
- How getting more information from the creators influenced the translation process? How did you reflect on her comments when revising your draft?
- Advice for students who are interested in translating videos
- Overall experience and thoughts on translation
