On Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 8:33 PM Linda Munich <l.k.mus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello fellow folders, > Can anyone recommend a Japanese translation app for translating directions > in model books? > Machine translation of Japanese is (still) unfortunately pretty rough. That said, Google's translation app (available for phones) has both a "live" and photo-based mode that can be pretty helpful for looking up individual characters or phrases. Be aware that Japanese uses no spaces between words, and relies on inflected word endings and particles for lots of details, which can make it challenging to decide what chunks of text to look up; and it can be written either horizontally (read left to right) or vertically (read right to left) which, if you're really unfamiliar with the language, can make it a bit visually confusing. Most modern origami books are written with horizontal text, read left to right, but some older stuff (notably Yoshizawa's books, but some older Kasahara titles, too) has the text written vertically. The spacing between lines will always give you a visual clue as to which way to read the text (more space between lines than between individual characters.) I am not remotely adult-literate, but can chunk my way through text if needed, so don't hesitate to ask here if you have any specific questions! Anne
