Hey guys,
I am in the process of choosing a dissertation topic for my MA in history and would like to focus on East Asia generally or Japan specifically.
Thing is, I do not speak Chinese, Japanese or any other language of this region. Thus I was wondering if the use of primary sources in translation (say from Japanese to English) would still be considered primary sources during the writing of a dissertation. I do not mean through a textbook, commentary or analysis but "plain" translation of a primary text.
Thanks in advance for any answer!
For a graduate degree, this really isn't acceptable. You will need to learn the languages if you want to be a historian of East Asia. Find out if your university offers classes in reading Japanese/Chinese/whatever you think you'll need. I went to a school with a combined MA/PhD and everyone had to read at least one foreign language. There were always summer classes offered in reading foreign languages for graduate students that needed them.
Using only translated sources would seriously limit your ability to do meaningful, historiographically significant research. It could also be an impediment to your admission to a doctoral program since they may favor students who already have some familiarity with the appropriate languages.