Pre-editing the source language may be the most important part of the PCDA translation process.

Keep it simple stupid: Separating content from kazari

Signage in Japan tends to use a lot of flowery language, or "kazari", and give too much extra information.

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It is important to separate "content" from "kazari". Content is just what the sign should say, nothing more, nothing less. "Kazari" includes titles and expressions of politeness such as please or thank you. These will be added to the sign later in the "act" part of the process.

WORDS OR SYMBOLS? THE ROLE OF ICONS

A picture is worth 1000 words, especially on a sign.

Pictures can be arrows,

There are many universal design systems for symbols.

1. ISO symbols (International Organization for Standardization) has 4000 symbols, but cost money.

2. 1974 50 AIGA symbols were designed for transportation. They are free to use

3. Thenounproject Lots of symbols free to use but you need to register.

4. ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

Some signage design websites let you design and print out signage for free!

http://www.mysafetylabels.com/custom-warning-labels

EASY JAPANESE

It may be useful to look at Easy Japanese for hints on simplifying content. Easy Japanese (EJ) is an intermediary language for use with people with limited Japanese ability. EJ suggests these useful rules for the content of your sign:

1. One sentence = one thought
2. One sentence = less than 24 characters
3. Proper names = write in romaji

However, easy Japanese uses the same rules for all readers. Higosign, on the other hand, recommends that the Japanese text be edited differently for translation into different target languages. For example, "Japanese for Chinese" should use as many Chinese characters and as little Katakana as possible. On the other hand in "Japanese for English" katakana is not as much of a problem, although it can cause difficulties.

Next, here are some guidelines for editing Japanese for different languages.

(ア) Japanese for English or other European languages
(イ) Japanese for Chinese
(ウ) Japanese for Korean