自分では作れませんが、読むのが好きです。そしてそれを英訳してみるのも結構好きです。実際にお客様やミーティングの相手側の方々の中には文学的な表現を話に盛り込む方も時にはいらっしゃいます。それをその場で即興で訳すというのも、通訳者にとってはスリリングで闘志が湧く挑戦ではあります。
岡野大嗣（だいじ）作
もういやだ死にたい。そしてほとぼりが冷めたあたりで生き返りたい。
この感覚、誰にでも経験ありますよね？私も通訳環境が極端に悪いときなどは、ときどき本当にこのように思いますね。
これを私なりに簡潔に訳してみますと
I can't take it any more. Let me die and come back to life when the worst is over.
英語のネイティブの方が訳したらまた違った感じになるのかもしれませんね。でも通訳中は文を練ったりする時間はありませんから、「その場で思いつく限り」の最善を尽くすことが大切です。一瞬で訳せ、かつ原文の持つ雰囲気を壊さずにとりあえず意味を伝えられたら合格と言えるのではないでしょうか。
Tanka (短歌), meaning "short poems", is a kind of a longer version of haiku with 31 syllables compared to 17 of haiku. While there are several rules in composing a haiku, such as the inclusion of a season word (季語), tanka has none. This lack of rules gives tanka poets the freedom to write however they want. Modern tanka poets are particularly good at composing "out of the box" tanka poems. I really enjoy reading and sometimes "quickly" translating those modern tanka poems.
I will give you a flavour of what a modern tanka sounds like. This realistic tanka was written by Daiji Okano, a young Japanese tanka poet.
もういやだ死にたい。そしてほとぼりが冷めたあたりで生き返りたい。
My quick translation is:
I can't take it any more. Let me die and come back to life when the worst is over.
Isn't it funny and so realistic? Everybody must have been in a situation like this many times.
When interpreting, someone may use a literary expression and my job is to translate it on the spot while maintaining the flavour of the expression. Although it is challenging, I find it quite rewarding when I manage to deliver a good enough rendition.
So, for me reading and trying to translate tanka poems is a good practice. I will try to introduce some more in my future posts. Watch this space!
