... 卒業証書を授与し、専門士(○○課程)と称する

English translation: Technical Associate

21:07 May 26, 2017
Japanese to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Certificates, Diplomas, Licenses, CVs
Japanese term or phrase: ... 卒業証書を授与し、専門士(○○課程)と称する
I am translating the graduation certificate of a professional training college (専門学校).

It is well known among those familiar with the subject that 専門士 was traditionally translated as "Technical Associate" but it was changed to "Diploma" because "Diploma" is a more widely-recognized term overseas (Japan Government says). Nowadays, the term "Technical Associate", it seems, is not used for any academic title in Japan.

Now, as far as I have researched, everybody is copying and pasting that [専門士(○○課程)] should be translated as:
- Diploma (Post secondary Course (○○))
or
- Diploma in ○○
but it doesn't make sense to me, because diploma refers to the document (the paper) and 専門士 is the title that a person is being granted by receiving it. In many situations (like in my case) you may have to differentiate between these two.

I researched more and learned that 専門士 simply does not have an equivalent in English. So, the most reasonable translation I found was this:
... award this Certificate and grant him/her the title of Senmonshi (Diploma in XX)

But now, consider the reason why "Technical Associate" was abolished. So, do you think that Senmonshi is more familiar to the world?

Since the term "Technical Associate" is in disuse, I thought about this:
... award this Certificate and grant him/her the title of Technical Associate with a Diploma in XX
but maybe it is too daring. Maybe the advantage of Senmonshi is that it does not lead to misunderstandings.

So what do you think? Do you think I should bring the term "Technical Associate" back to life?, or just stick to Senmonshi to avoid any misunderstandings and still keep the difference between the document and the title being granted?, or do you have another candidate?

Looking forward to your feedback. Thank you.
Marcel Gomez
Peru
Local time: 12:47
English translation:Technical Associate
Explanation:
Personally, I think "technical associate" is vastly superior to "senmonshi".
Is there any clue in the diploma about the type of qualification you could use in the translation?
Selected response from:

David Patrick
Ireland
Grading comment
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4...award this graduation certificate, conferring the diploma (in xxx)
Port City
2 +3Technical Associate
David Patrick


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Technical Associate


Explanation:
Personally, I think "technical associate" is vastly superior to "senmonshi".
Is there any clue in the diploma about the type of qualification you could use in the translation?

David Patrick
Ireland
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Patrick Hideo Kirby
6 mins
  -> Thank you!

agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
2 days 11 hrs
  -> Thank you!

agree  DPurohit (X)
23 days
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
...award this graduation certificate, conferring the diploma (in xxx)


Explanation:
Maybe you can change the sentence to something like the one below to solve your problem; once the institution confers the student the diploma, he becomes a "diploma holder", which is a "title".
... award this graduation certificate, conferring the diploma (in xxx)


Port City
New Zealand
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AnitaByrnes
21 hrs
  -> Thank you!

agree  Angela Howell: Agree with "diploma holder".
3 days 9 hrs
  -> Thank you!

agree  Chrisso (X): "Diploma holder"
5 days
  -> Thank you!

agree  Marc Brunet: a good solution, but why be scared of using 'diplomate' ? Several dictionaries list and define it as a person 'holding a diploma', Over 300k Google hits... (the 350K hits apply to the English term, the 3M hit figure applies to both En. and Fr).
8 days
  -> Thanks for your suggestion, but doesn't "diplomate" sound like holding a more professional diploma like orthodontics diploma for dentist? The Google hits may include the word when used in French as well.
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