TUFS student won the top prize in the interpretation category of the Chuken Speech Contest.

November 19, 2024

At the Chuken Speech Contest (hosted by the Japan Chinese Proficiency Test Association) held at Mejiro University on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, Yuka Kihara, a fourth-year student at the School of Language and Culture Studies, won the top prize in the interpretation category. In the interpretation category, contestants must interpret Japanese and Chinese sentences read out by the presenter.

Comment from Ms. Kihara

From a young age, I was blessed with a language environment where I could use both Chinese and Japanese, and I have been studying both languages with the single-minded goal of mastering them. Even after entering university, I have been actively involved in business translation lectures and language-related activities, and have acquired a number of qualifications. The Chinese Proficiency Test speech contest is held in Kansai every year, so I had heard of it before but had never had the chance to take part. However, this year I happened to hear that it would be held in Tokyo, and that was the spark that lit my fire.

There were three categories in this contest, and you had to pass the preliminary round in each category to be able to enter the final. I decided to enter the most difficult category, the interpreting category, without hesitation, as I wanted to test my skills in my field of expertise. Because I had mainly been involved in translation up until now, interpreting on the spot was a big challenge for me, and it was a challenge like no other.

On the day of the event, in addition to the large number of people involved in Sino-Japanese relations who came to watch, the recitation and speech sections had already been announced, so I found myself waiting impatiently for my turn. All the other contestants were very skilled and gave excellent interpretations. When it was my turn, I tried to concentrate on my own performance, despite being nervous, and to convey the whole story in my own words, rather than trying to catch every single word.

To be honest, I didn't expect to win this award, and I feel that it has been a great help to my own personal growth. I think that Chinese is an irreplaceable part of my life, and I think that it is a subject that I will continue to study throughout my life.