The fifth sense of taste umami UMAMI
a.k.a umami
Hello. I'll share an anecdote from a recent phone conversation with a friend.
After the call, I was shocked (?) I received it. *I've summarized the actual conversation.
Me: I have corona and I don't really feel the taste. I don't like any sweet or salty flavors.
A friend: So what about Umami?
Me: What's that? Isn't that what Rengoku from Demon Slayer is shouting?
Friend:... that's ridiculous!!
Me: hahaha what is umami?
An acquaintance: I don't think anyone is Pimp.. Go look for it.
That's how I found out about Umami through a search. *Personally, I was very shocked.
Umami is an official flavor added to the 4 types of traditional flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, and salty).
In Korean, it's called umami, and the official expression is registered as UMAMI (UMAMI).
It is said that there are five types of taste learned in middle and high school biology classes these days, including umami. I also asked my middle school science teacher friend if they really learn that way, and it was true 😲 However, when explaining taste, they said they still compare it to the three primary colors (RGB) of light and explain it with the nuance that flavors can have various combinations. Aside from anything else, I was personally surprised that umami was included as an official flavor, and the fact that it contains umami is commonly used in Japanese was also surprising. Did you know the identity of the Japanese word umami?
Localization vs. Nationalization
Umami was officially recognized in 1985 when it was recognized as the fifth basic flavor at the International Symposium (International Food and Seasoning Association). Umami is a Japanese expression that combines the delicious umai Umai (delicious) and the flavor mi (taste). It started when we succeeded in extracting the MSG (glutamic acid) flavor we are familiar with from kelp. MSG itself does not have any flavor, but it is said that it has a unique umami flavor when cooked as food.
Research was conducted to formalize umami as a fifth taste, starting with Dr. Kikunae Ikeda from Japan, who became famous for MSG. I have published thousands of papers to define umami, and by working hard to promote and spread umami around the world, I can think that the result was the fifth sense of taste.
What is unusual is that the products/services of companies that usually expand overseas localizedThere is a strong tendency to focus on, but Japan uses various methods chrysanthemumWe are devoting more resources to It's not difficult to find examples of Japan's national-level nationalization since ancient times, such as the part where Dokdo is formalized as Takeshima, and the part where the Sea of Japan is named Japan Sea instead of East Sea.
A lot of resources are invested until it is recognized overseas for nationalization rather than localization. It takes a long time and requires a lot of mental and physical resources. Not only is support needed at the national level, but national consensus must also be formed. Without a reasonable amount of confidence and persistent effort, nationalization is likely to fail.
However, if you look at the national characteristics of Japan, on the other hand, there is something that makes sense. Most of the examples that can be found as examples of localization in Japan often result in nationalization. I think Umami can also be seen as an example of national painting.
However, nationalization is not limited to Japan. Even if you look at Korea, they are investing a lot of resources externally into nationalization with the K brand, which began as a Korean wave craze. Public opinion prevails that Korea is currently doing well in the fields of entertainment, Korean food, webtoons, and web novels, but I think we need to have a good balance between localization and nationalization if we don't want to be left alone.
Umami seen with AI translation
How does artificial intelligence translation, which is commonly used around the world without entry barriers, express umami (umami)? I asked Google Translate, Papago, DeepL, and ChatGPT in the original languages of Japanese and English how to translate them into Korean, respectively.
Japanese is delicious ▶ Korean
Google Translate & Papago screen prickThis is the translation of Google Translate and Papago, which are the traditional powerhouses. Google Translate expresses umami, which is the pronunciation of Japanese as the original textI did,
Papago takes the results of a working dictionary and defines it in advance along with the sourceIt shows.
DeepL & ChatGPT screenThis is a translation of the emerging powerhouse DeepL and Chat GPT. DeepL is a Japanese pronunciation similar to Google TranslateShow me, Chat GPT is short for tasteI will.
If you look at the overall AI translation results, it seems that the Japanese word umami (umami) itself is accepted and shown as a proper noun.
If so, what kind of results will I get if I type it in English?
English Umami ▶ Korean
Google Translate & Papago screen prick I was impressed when I asked Google Translate for the Korean translation of umamiIt tells me Since umami is listed in English, which is the official language of the world, the results seem to be different from when asking Umami in Japanese.
rather In Papago, the Korean pronunciation of umami is umamiIt shows
*The world of artificial intelligence translation with various variables.. 😅
DeepL & ChatGPT screen Delicious in DeepL translationExpected by the expression (?) It shows the results as I did.
Furthermore, you can refer to the section listed along with other alternatives (suggest other expressions).
ChatGPT expresses umami as umamiBut at the same time, I will further explain the strengths of GPT through explanations. And then I recommend the translation of deep flavorI will do it.
In your opinion, which translator's expression do you like the most?
still There is no 100% correct answer to the translation genre due to various ideas, What is certain
The translation that can inspire me is the best translation, the translation that is the answerI think this is it.
Our Studio team is excellent at providing answers and inspiration to you.
If you have any questions, ask the team.
👇 Ask the letterwork team for a more sensible localization translation rather than nationalization.
I hope it was helpful to those who didn't know Umami. We'll meet in the next post~
*This content has been transferred from Gicon Studio to Letterworks.
