Mixed Message?

今月再任が決定したばかりの国際原子力機関(IAEA)天野之弥事務局長が福島2周年にあたり声明を出していました。3月11日はインドで講演をしたのか、講演スピーチであろうものも公開されています。この2つを見ていきたいと思います。

Fukushima Daiichi:Two Years On

今回の声明のようなプレスリリースはきっちりとした礼儀正しい英語を学ぶのに最適です。別に日常生活や、同僚との会話にまで、きっちりとした英語を使えとはいいませんが、対外的には我々も普通にきっちりとした言葉遣いになりますよね。新人社会人あたりだとまだまだきちんとした言葉遣いができていないことが多いことを考えると、こういうのは意識して学んでいくしかないんですよね。

特に会社で対外的に英語を使うさいにはきちんとした英語でコミュニケーションできるようになりたいものです。まずはTOEICの英語をしっかり使いこなせるようになろうと書かせてもらっているのもそのような理由からです。ある程度言い方は決まっているので、慣れてしまいたいです。

Statement on Second Anniversary of Fukushima Accidentを少し丁寧にみてみます。以前のプレスリリースでthorough reviewという表現をみましたが今回はWe have thoroughly reviewed the IAEA safety standardsのように使われていました。

8 March 2013 | Vienna, Austria
Statement on Second Anniversary of Fukushima Accident
by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

Two years have passed since disaster struck Japan. The Great East Japan Earthquake and the enormous tsunami of March 11, 2011 devastated large areas of land, caused great loss of human life, and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. I was deeply saddened by this tragedy in my homeland. But I was also inspired by the courage and resilience of the Japanese people, including the brave workers at Fukushima Daiichi.

The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to give priority to supporting Japan's efforts to recover from the nuclear accident. We are also helping to ensure that the world learns from those events so that we can make nuclear energy as safe as humanly possible.

*********

We have thoroughly reviewed the IAEA safety standards and ways to improve them.

The worst elements of the accident are behind us and we are now in the post-accident phase.

We must maintain the momentum of constant improvement. I pledge that the IAEA will continue to work vigorously to help Member States to ensure nuclear safety.


無生物主語なんて書くと堅苦しくなりますが、災害などが起きたことを伝える際には、disasterやearthquakeを主語にして書けるようになった方が英語っぽくなりそうですね。日本語からの発想だとThere was disaster in Japanなんて書いてしまいやすいんです。

Two years have passed since disaster struck Japan.

The Great East Japan Earthquake (…) devastated large areas of land,
caused great loss of human life,
and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

次に、感想を伝える表現と現在や今後の取り組みを伝える表現をみていきます。

I was deeply saddened by this tragedy in my homeland. But I was also inspired by the courage and resilience of the Japanese people, including the brave workers at Fukushima Daiichi.

We are also helping to ensure that the world learns from those events so that we can make nuclear energy as safe as humanly possible.

I pledge that the IAEA will continue to work vigorously to help Member States to ensure nuclear safety.

「～するように取組んでまいります」「引き続き～に取組んでまいります」なんて表現は結構使いがってがいいと思うんですが、ここではWe are also helping to ensure that …やI pledge that the IAEA will continue to work vigorously to …のように表現されています。I pledge thatを付けると一層かしこまった雰囲気がでますので、通常の状況では英辞郎の例文のようになくてもいいかもしれません。

（英辞郎）
We will spare no effort to ensure a fun and safe trip.
《レ》楽しい、そして安全な旅をしていただくためにあらゆる努力を致します。◆会社説明◆売り込み

I'll continue to work hard to give our team a chance to win the Pacific League pennant."
パ・リーグ優勝のチャンスをチームにもたらせるよう引き続き頑張る」◆【出典】Catch a Wave, 2012年5月11日号◆【出版社】株式会社浜島書店

I will continue to work hard and persevere.'
忍耐強く頑張るつもりです」◆【出典】Hiragana Times, 1999年11月号

3月8日のものは書き言葉でしたが、3月11日にインドで出されたものは講演原稿のようです。安全性に慎重に配慮していることを一番に書いていたのとは違い、こちらの方は原発を推進していきますというトーンになっています。

11 March 2013 | Mumbai, India
Indian Nuclear Society
IAEA Perspectives on Future of Nuclear Energy
by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to address the Indian Nuclear Society once again.

When I last spoke to you, in January 2011, the nuclear world looked somewhat different from today. There was still talk of a global nuclear renaissance. Dozens of countries were thinking about introducing nuclear power. Many of the 30 or so existing users planned to build additional plants.

Then came the Fukushima Daiichi accident, two years ago today. It caused profound public anxiety and damaged confidence in nuclear power. Some people predicted that nuclear power would go into decline.

However, the evidence suggests that this will not be the case.

Some European countries announced plans to move away from nuclear power. But, globally, nuclear power looks set to continue to grow steadily, although more slowly than we expected before the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

There are 437 operating nuclear power reactors in the world today. The latest IAEA projections, which are based on what Member States tell us, suggest that number could increase by 80 or 90 in the next 20 years. It could even double.

At the moment, there are 66 new reactors under construction. Seven of them are in India. I understand your country plans continued expansion in the coming decades. Other major users of nuclear power such as China and Russia also have significant expansion plans.

A number of countries have taken the decision to introduce nuclear power, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Poland, Turkey and Vietnam. The United Arab Emirates has started building a nuclear power plant, the first new country to do so for 27 years. I visited the site in January and was impressed by the progress being made.

インドは原発政策を推し進めようとしているためなのでしょうか、こんなにまでトーンが変わってしまうのかと少し驚いてしまいました。