In the run-up to last year’s U.S. presidential election and last month’s トランプ大統領の就任 (Toranpu daitōryō no shūnin, President [Donald] Trump’s inauguration), the term 過激発言 (kageki hatsugen, radical remarks) began appearing more often in Japanese news headlines.

For English-to-Japanese interpreters, Trump’s return could also see the return of an issue many of them experienced during his first presidential term:  大統領の不適切な発言を直訳すべきか、それとも意訳して適切な日本語にするべきか？ (Daitōryō no futekisetsuna hatsugen o chokuyaku subekika, soretomo iyaku shite tekisetsuna Nihongo ni suru beki ka? Should [I] translate the president’s inappropriate remarks literally or rephrase them into the appropriate Japanese?)

Here, the word 直訳 (chokuyaku) suggests 原文に忠実に一語一語を訳すこと (genbun ni chūjitsu ni ichigo-ichigo o yakusu koto, to translate word for word while adhering to the original text), while 意訳 (iyaku) is understood as 原文にとらわれずに全体の意味やニュアンスを重視して訳すこと (genbun ni torawarezuni zentai no imi ya nyuansu o jūshi shite yakusu koto, to translate with a focus on overall meaning and nuance rather than the original text).