翻訳の質問

This is pretty cool site, I'll probably help out with answering stuff if I can in the future... when I'm not busy asking my own questions... Anyway, I'm a Japanese major in college taking some high level classes that are really over my head... I've been assigned to read and report on 50 pages of a non-fiction book, I chose 日本の教育 by 輝久堀尾 I've read the 50 pages but don't really understand what I read >_< here are some examples of stuff I'm having trouble with. I'll take a stab at each of them.

改革時の国際関係と改革が参照した欧米の近・現代の教育
I just have no idea what is modifying what here, and 参照 as "refer" just doesn't seem to fit. "Foreign relations during reforms and Modern education in the west that referred to reforms"

戦前・戦後の関係は、単純な断絶でもなければ、連続でもない。
"The relation between prewar and postwar doesn't simply end, nor does it continue"?

戦後改革をどうとらえるか
"How do (we) perceive the postwar reforms"? Dictionary gives a lot of words for とらえる perceive or grasp seem to fit the best.

価値選択
value+elect=?

That's all just from the first page too >_< I'll probably just go to the TA office tomorrow for help, any help is appreciated though.

Welcome. It's good to see some more advanced learners here. (Not to take anything away from the beginners, of course... but it's good to get some more stimulating questions every once in a while.)

Anyway, let me take a hack at each of your questions:

arnquist said:

改革時の国際関係と改革が参照した欧米の近・現代の教育
I just have no idea what is modifying what here, and 参照 as "refer" just doesn't seem to fit. "Foreign relations during reforms and Modern education in the west that refered to reforms"

Click to expand...

Note that it's 改革が参照した. It's not education in the west that's doing the "referring" (or whatever word you're going to use.)

Lacking better context, my guess is that it's saying the reform movement (and those active in it) made reference to modern education in the West, in the sense that they saw it as a model which Japan should learn from, or take after.

arnquist said:

戦前・戦後の関係は、単純な断絶でもなければ、連続でもない。
"The relation between prewar and postwar doesn't simply end, nor does it continue"?

Click to expand...

Again, more context would help. Without it, I can only guess that they're probably talking about education, saying that dividing it into prewar/postwar periods (for purposes of analysis) is not exactly a clean and simple breaking point, but neither can one say that it just made a smooth continuation/transition.

arnquist said:

戦後改革をどうとらえるか
"How do (we) perceive the postwar reforms"? Dictionary gives a lot of words for とらえる perceive or grasp seem to fit the best.

Click to expand...

"Perceive" works I guess. "View", "interpret", or even "take".... Lots of possibilities.

arnquist said:

価値選択
value+elect=?

Click to expand...

I'm not even going to try to "translate" this without more context, but "elect" for 選択? Usually 選択 is closer to "choice"...

arnquist said:

That's all just from the first page too >_< I'll probably just go to the TA office tomorrow for help, any help is appreciated though.

Click to expand...

If your TA is anything like I was (when I was a TA), he should love getting these kind of questions. Feel free to post more here, too -- we'd probably be able to help you more if you gave the whole passage (or more of it, at least) rather than just the bits and pieces you have questions about.

Thanks jt. I would give more context, I know it would help, but the sentences are really long, lemme show you.

三○年前にまとめた論文は、その当時の現代日本の教育をどう考えたらいいか、という初発の問題意識をもちながら、そのためにもヨーロッパ近代に研究の必要を感じ、したがって「現代教育の思想と構造」では、ヨーロッパ近代の教育の理念と現実とがどう関係しあった構造になっているかということと、同時に、近代教育なるものの理念が近代の教育にそのままがつながっているのではないということ、すなわちヨーロッパ近代・現代という二段階論といいますか、その歴史と構造を明らかにする課題にとりくんだわけです。
I think I actually understand most of this now that I've typed it out and read it a few times. The gist of it is basically he feels it's nessessary to study modern European education to understand modern Japanese education. Couple words I wasn't sure about: 問題意識 is "awareness of the problem"? and 二段階論 is a "two stage arguement"?

私なりにまとめて話したいと考えて
Is なり here like こそ？

Anyway, TA offices should be open now, if I don't get thru all of it with them I'll keep posting here, sometimes just asking the question seems to help me figure it out. Thanks again. ^_^

arnquist said:

私なりにまとめて話したいと考えて
Is なり here like こそ?

Click to expand...

「なり」 and 「こそ」 are pretty different. What do you think this would mean if you had 「こそ」 in this sentence?

「私なりに」 is a somewhat self-deprecating statement; "I'll sum it up and present it as best I can."
「自分なりに頑張ったつもりです」
I feel like I gave it my best shot. (As best I could -- even if perhaps that wasn't good enough.)

I think you're pretty much on target with the other vocabulary items you mentioned. "Theory" also works for 「～論」

arnquist said:

Anyway, TA offices should be open now, if I don't get thru all of it with them I'll keep posting here, sometimes just asking the question seems to help me figure it out. Thanks again. ^_^

Click to expand...

No problem -- I know the feeling.

arnquist said:

価値選択
value+elect=?

Click to expand...

jt_ said:

I'm not even going to try to "translate" this without more context, but "elect" for 選択? Usually 選択 is closer to "choice"...

Click to expand...

Or possibly in this case, "decision". As in, a "value decision". In other words, making a choice whereby you have to go with one value over another. You can't go both ways, so.... Perhaps that kind of thing.