Comments on Eight Ways to Say You Reading - Rachel Nozaki

Cathy Hirano mentioned that the English writing style is more linear, with statements supported by logical explanations, whereas the Japanese style is more circular, with more subtleties behind the words. There was something in one of the previous articles we read that mentioned how there is a stereotype that Japanese is imprecise or vague. I didn't even know that was a common stereotype until reading that article, but when Hirano was comparing the Japanese and English texts of My Friends, I now understand that it can be perceived that it requires more energy for readers to read between the lines for Japanese much more than English. Growing up between both Japanese and American cultures, I relate to Hirano's perspective of how challenging it is to explain a whole cultural concept in a few words. Her example of "juku" and the connotations behind going to juku has much more cultural significance than simply saying "cram school."
Furthermore, one of the first things you notice when reading Japanese is that we rarely see the words "I" or "you" and it is up to the reader to interpret using context clues. Therefore, as Hirano states, when we do use "you" in a sentence, it usually has some sort of additive factor to establishing the characters' tone or relationship. I don't necessarily think her translations are spot-on in terms of conveying those nuances. Still, she does successfully convey similar tones without overly describing or making the sentences unnatural.