Tony Atkinson
Tony Atkinson is a freelance Japanese-English translator working mainly in the areas of science, medicine, and drug development. He has recently translated The Winding Road to Discovering iPS Cells: The Life of Shinya Yamanaka. He also teaches Japanese-English scientific and medical translation in the MAJIT course at the University of Queensland, and presents workshops on pharmaceutical translation and English scientific writing to clients in Japan.
Sessions
Workshop 2: Incorporating Cultural References into Science Communications from Japan
The Hisaki Mission, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, the Tomo-e Gozen Project, and the Fugaku Supercomputer. These are all significant scientific contributions from Japan, but how can we quickly and accurately convey the cultural references in these names and concepts to global audiences? In this workshop, participants will explore ways of incorporating Japanese cultural references into scientific communications to add color and interest to their stories. The techniques and topics covered in this workshop will be accessible and useful for science communicators who are native speakers of either Japanese or English.
The workshop will begin with a 15-minute presentation of helpful strategies for explaining Japanese cultural references in science communications. This will be followed by a 45-minute interactive session in which participants share their ideas on the homework topics (see Google Doc link below) and tackle other topics raised by the facilitator. Zoom’s Chat and Whiteboard functions will be used throughout the workshop.
Key takeaway: After completing this workshop, participants will be able to use a range of strategies to explain Japanese cultural references in science communications.