19th Japan Days

Jakub Zajfert at XIX Days of Japan

October 21-22, 2025, University of Warsaw

One of the favorite Lecturers of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Technology, repeatedly appearing in the "top 3" of the best lecturers in the student survey, Mr. Jakub Zajfert, M.Sc. An expert on Japanese culture, passionate about theater, martial arts and Japanese grammar, he will be a speaker at Warsaw University during the 19th Japan Days.

Japan in translation: theory, practice and challenges

Abstract: "The problem of cultural differences in translation on examples of selected texts: A comparison of selected excerpts from the translation of J.K. Rowling's books into Japanese and Polish."

One of the important aspects to which increasing attention is being paid in translation is the importance of cultural differences in the translation process and how they affect readers' reception of the target text. The main purpose of this presentation is to address this issue by analyzing the translation of the "Harry Potter" book series by J. K. Rowling into Polish by Andrzej Polkowski and Japanese by Yuko Matsuoka. The comparison conducted will be carried out with special attention to the phenomena of exoticization and domestication, based on the theory of Professor Laurence Venuti.

This will include an analysis of translations of titles and proper names such as "Hogwarts," which in the Polish version becomes "Hogwarts" and in the Japanese version takes the name "ホグワーツ"[hoguwaatsu]. The analysis of the anagram "Tom Marvolo Riddle" to form the phrase "I am Lord Voldemort" also seems very interesting. In this presentation, the author will analyze how the translators of the Japanese and Polish versions approach the issue.

Finally, sentences that are a bit more firmly rooted in English culture will be analyzed, as well as phraseologisms, which are one of the most difficult elements to translate, and many times, due to cultural differences between Japan and England, matching appropriate phraseological compounds can be a bit more difficult than in Polish.

This analysis will help draw attention to the commonalities and differences in the approaches of translators from the two cultural circles under discussion, which young students of the art of translation may find very useful in their future careers.

Jakub Zajfert, MA

Lecturer in Japanese Culture at the Cultural Studies Department of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. For many years he has been teaching Japanese history and culture as well as Japanese language classes for students of the Department of Information Management and the Department of Computer Science. In his classes, students learn about landmark events and phenomena in Japan's history, discover its surprising diversity, and explore contemporary customs.

Jakub Zajfert's research interests focus on linguistics, particularly descriptive grammar of Japanese and pragmatics. As a result, he combines a cultural studies perspective with the precision of linguistic analysis in his teaching work.

Outside of academia, he practices traditional archery and is involved in historical reenactments; more recently, he has also been exploring the world of programming.

He is a member of the recruitment jury for the Awaji Island Summer School, created in cooperation between PJAIT and Japan's oldest recruitment company, PASONA Group. In 2024, he also served on the academic jury for a project related to EXPO Osaka 2025. Thanks to his involvement, PJAIT successfully passed the first stage of recruiting volunteers for the exhibition taking place in Osaka from April to October 2025, with four students making up the university's representation.

Graduated with a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from PJAIT, followed by a second degree from the University of Warsaw. Valued by students for his friendliness, openness and willingness to talk - he has been ranked high in surveys for the best lecturer for years.