Profession: Japanese-English Technical Translator and Interpreter
John F. Bukacek is a technical translator specializing in Japanese-English translation, with concentration in chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.
His clients include a wide range of North American, Japanese, and European high-tech companies, law firms, and consulting firms. He translates patent and trademark documents, scientific and technical papers, reports, manuals, catalogs, brochures, and web sites. He is certified by The Translators and Interpreters Guild and by the American Translators Association for Japanese-English Translation. He also does consecutive interpretation in Japanese and English for business and technical meetings.
Bukacek has worked as a translator for the past 36 years – part-time for 5 years in Japan and full-time for over 30 years in the United States. In Japan, he worked for Berlitz as a teacher and translator of Japanese and German into English, and for International Business Communications in the Kansai area of Japan as a translator.
John received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences from St. John’s College in 1976. He started learning Japanese informally at age 10, and studied Japanese more formally at George Washington University and at the University of Illinois. He studied Japanese intensively in Japan at the Kyoto International Foreign Language Center, under the guidance of Yamaguchi Osamu. During his 5-year stay in Japan, he also studied Japanese archery (kyudo), calligraphy (shodo), and tea ceremony (sado).
Bukacek was the founding President of the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association, a post he served in for 22 years. Bukacek was also the founding Administrator of the Japanese Language Division of the American Translators Association. He served as Administrator of that Division from 1987 to 1993. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Translators Association from 1988 to 1991. He has also served on the following committees of the American Translators Association: Terminology, Accreditation, Ethics, Publicity, and Special Projects. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Division of Polymer Chemistry of ACS, and an affiliate member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Bukacek serves on the Board of Governors and on the Board of Directors of the Japan America Society of Chicago, and as Secretary of the Japan America Society of Chicago.
JOHN F. BUKACEK – PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
“Certification of Translators and Certification of Translations – Part II” (a paper presented at a meeting of the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association, February 2, 2013).
“Certification of Translators and Certification of Translations – Part I” (a paper presented at the Twenty-Third Chicago Conference on Translation and Interpretation, May 5, 2012).
“Marketing and Business Promotion for Translators and Interpreters” (a paper presented to the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association, October 27, 2007).
“Manyo & The Wind” (Translation of 27 Classical Japanese Poems from the Manyoshu, with Translator’s Notes, for an exhibition of Paintings and Ceramics, Chicago, June, 2006).
“To Err is Human – Improving Your Revision Work” (a paper presented to the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association on behalf of Brian Mossop, March 25, 2006).
“Current Issues in Biomedical Translation – Part II” (with Doug Havens, Josephine Howe, and Steve Sherman), at the Sixteenth International Japanese English Translation Conference, Chicago, Illinois June, 2005.
“Current Issues in Biomedical Translation – Part I” (with Doug Havens, Josephine Howe, and Steve Sherman), at the Fifteenth International Japanese English Translation Conference, Yokohama, Japan, May, 2004.
“General Review of Online Dictionaries and Glossaries” (ATA Chronicle, January, 2003).
“The Seven Keys to Success as a Language Professional” (a paper presented to the Fourteenth Chicago Conference on Translation and Interpretation, May 4, 2002).
“Introduction to Translation” (in Getting Started: A Newcomer’s Guide to Translation and Interpretation, American Translators Association, 2001).
An Introduction to the Professions of Translation and Interpretation, Chapter 1, p. 1-9, American Translators Association, Japanese Language Division, November, 1999.
“Establishing National Translation and Interpretation Standards,” The CHICATA News, Fall, 1998, p 4.
“Japanese-English Glossary of Patent Terminology,” (Patent Translation Handbook,
American Translators Association, Japanese Language Division, March, 1997).
“Zen in the Art of Consulting: Using Translation to Monitor Technology and Business Developments in Japan” (Independent Consultant’s Briefing – July, 1995).
“Machine Translation: Key Technology for the Information Age?” (ATA Chronicle – September and October, 1993).
“Machine Translation: Boon or Boondoggle?” (ATA Chronicle – February, 1993).
“No somos máquinas: ¿Cómo traducen las máquinas?” (Idiomanía, Buenos Aires, August 1993). Translation of the above article into Spanish. (Translated by Mariana Harriague).
“Japanese-English Translation in the United States” (a paper presented at the Third International Japanese English Translation Conference, Fuji Yoshida, Japan, May, 1992.
“Japanese Chemical Terminology: Problems in Translation” (a paper presented at the American Translators Association Conference – 1992).
“The Translation Industry” (a panel presentation at the Second International Japanese-English Translation Conference – San Francisco, 1991).
“The Role of Translation in the Dissemination of Japanese Technical Literature” (with Carl Kay) A paper delivered at the 3rd International Conference on Japanese Information Science, Technology and Commerce, in Nancy, France – 1991.
“Standards in Technical Translation” (The CHICATA News – 1991)
“Japanese-English Translation in the United States: A Translator’s Perspective” (Directory of Japanese Technical Resources in the United States – 1990).
“Using Translation to Do Business in Japan” (Venture Japan – 1989).
“The Psychology of Japanese Translators” (with Donald Philippi) (The Journal of Japanese Technical Translation – 1988).
“Review of the Inter Press Dictionary of Science and Engineering” (ATA Chronicle, 1987)