Where I Lost and Found Myself: The Reinvention of Identity in Translation
Reiko Sakugawa
For anyone living between two languages, the challenge of expressing oneself in a non-native tongue is a familiar one.
Translation is not simply the substitution of words—it inevitably involves a loss of worldview, nuance, and emotional
texture embedded in language.
This project explores how, through design, we can move beyond merely preserving original meaning. I propose that the
very "loss" experienced in translation can become a catalyst for self-reflection, renewed understanding of others, and
the rediscovery of identity. Rather than seeing loss as absence, I treat it as a generative space—one that holds
fragments of self waiting to be reinterpreted and reclaimed.
01:The Fragments of Me Slipping Away
This piece presents a juxtaposition of a personal journal entry originally written in my native Japanese and its English translation produced by Google Translate. The English version has been carefully reviewed, with portions where meaning or nuance was lost rendered as empty spaces. From these losses, fragments of my feelings, humor, and personality—pieces of myself—begin to emerge. Fragmented, gathered, and reframed, they move toward being rediscovered as parts of my identity.
01:The Fragments of Me Slipping Away
01:The Fragments of Me Slipping Away
01:The Fragments of Me Slipping Away
02:Thesis Book
Where I Lost and Found Myself:The Reinvention of Identity in Translation
02:Thesis Book
Where I Lost and Found Myself:The Reinvention of Identity in Translation