著者

灘光 洋子 浅井 亜紀子 小柳 志津 ナダミツ ヨウコ アサイ アキコ コヤナギ シズ Yoko Nadamitsu Akiko Asai Shizu Koyanagi

雑誌

異文化コミュニケーション論集 = Intercultural communication review

巻号頁・発行日

vol.12, pp.67-84, 2014

著者

灘光 洋子

出版者

日本コミュニケーション学会

雑誌

ヒューマン・コミュニケーション研究 (ISSN:09137041)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.35, pp.77-91, 2007-03-31 (Released:2017-11-30)

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This paper focuses on the historical contributions of the Dutch-Japanese translators in the Edo era (they later served as English-Japanese translators as English took over from Dutch as a dominant foreign language) and their marginal position as communication mediators. Translation was a profession carried down from father to son in designated families. They were low-ranking government officials in Nagasaki. This was the only place open for trade with outside world for nearly 230 years while Japan was largely closed off. Although their status was low, as communication mediators they were privileged in having access to the most up-to-date knowledge and technology, and exposure to the alternative values of the West. There were, however, both positive and negative sides being at the cultural border : They could acquire the latest information so that some could develop and extend themselves in different fields, such as medicine, linguistics, and second language education. Without those translators, Western medicine could not have been studied widely by the Japanese medical doctors those days. Their accumulated knowledge of Dutch language, and the dictionaries they compiled undoubtedly smoothed the introduction of English. On the other hand, as mediators, their status was quite subordinate. They had no decision-making power and they seemed to have identity problems. As they worked closely with foreigners, it may easily be imagined that their personal ties with members of another cultural group might not always correspond to their assigned obligations and duties. There were also occasions when their group identity was perceived to be ambivalent, leading other fellow Japanese not to trust them. Although these translators were ignored by history, their contributions are worth reevaluating. The marginality inherent in the role of a mediator between two cultural groups merits special attention.