Abstract
This study compares the English scripts of the two speeches given by Empress Michiko at the
1998 and 2002 congresses of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) with
their original Japanese scripts, by focusing on translation shifts. The analysis suggests that the
translation shifts observed in the two ST–TT pairs can be classified into three categories
according to the possible factors that a translator can be conscious of in the communicative
situation: (1) audience-conscious shifts, (2) style-conscious shifts, and (3) message-conscious
shifts. Both speeches offer a positive evaluation of IBBY for its work in connecting children with
books; however, each speech has a different focus. While the 1998 speech describes the
significance of childhood reading, the 2002 speech congratulates IBBY on its 50th anniversary.
The analysis suggests that the translation shifts altered the two speeches to emphasize their
individual focus.
