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その時点で

English translation: At that point in time

18:00 Jan 4, 2024
Japanese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Japanese term or phrase: その時点で
Dear ProZ members,

could you help me understand what その時点で means in the following sentence?

Context: a girl yearns to become a comic artist but feels she's not special enough. She sends one of her works to a famous publisher expecting nothing, but gets instead called by an editor who offers her to create a comic together. She still feels she's not "special" enough to make it and would like to refuse, but her friend encourages her saying that her comics are quite good and that...

編集者から声がかかったということは、その時点で特別なんだ。
(Being called by an editor was special at that moment.)

My guess is that it's quite rare for an editor to call a young person with no experience with a job offer, so that thing itself is already special considering the premise (it wouldn't have been special if there was a known artist involved).

However, if I take その時点で as "at that point in time" I'd guess that the speaker is talking about a past event and that the girl has meanwhile become a famous artist, but that's not the case. The call only happened the past day, so I don't really know.

What do you think about?

Thank you so much!
Riccardo91
Italy
English translation:At that point in time
Explanation:
In the sentence you provided, the phrase "その時点で" (sono jiten de) indeed translates to "at that point in time" or "at that moment." This phrase is often used to emphasize the condition or situation of something at a specific time.

Given the context you've described, the sentence "編集者から声がかかったということは、その時点で特別なんだ" translates to "The fact that you were approached by an editor is special at that point." Here, "その時点で" (at that point) refers to the time when the editor contacted the girl.

The statement implies that the act of being contacted by an editor, especially given her lack of experience and recognition, is in itself an indication of her being special or having notable talent at that specific time. It doesn't necessarily imply that she has become a famous artist since then. Instead, it highlights the significance of the editor's interest in her work at that particular moment, which is a rare and noteworthy event for someone in her position.

So, your initial understanding aligns well with the use of "その時点で" in this context. It's about recognizing the importance and uniqueness of the situation as it happened, rather than implying a change in status since then.
Selected response from:

Andy Hoang
Vietnam
Local time: 03:00
Grading comment
Thank you so much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3already
Yuki Okada
5At that point in time
Andy Hoang
5means that
Marc Desreumaux
5From the moment that
Eduardo L Confortin


  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
At that point in time


Explanation:
In the sentence you provided, the phrase "その時点で" (sono jiten de) indeed translates to "at that point in time" or "at that moment." This phrase is often used to emphasize the condition or situation of something at a specific time.

Given the context you've described, the sentence "編集者から声がかかったということは、その時点で特別なんだ" translates to "The fact that you were approached by an editor is special at that point." Here, "その時点で" (at that point) refers to the time when the editor contacted the girl.

The statement implies that the act of being contacted by an editor, especially given her lack of experience and recognition, is in itself an indication of her being special or having notable talent at that specific time. It doesn't necessarily imply that she has become a famous artist since then. Instead, it highlights the significance of the editor's interest in her work at that particular moment, which is a rare and noteworthy event for someone in her position.

So, your initial understanding aligns well with the use of "その時点で" in this context. It's about recognizing the importance and uniqueness of the situation as it happened, rather than implying a change in status since then.

Andy Hoang
Vietnam
Local time: 03:00
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in VietnameseVietnamese
Grading comment
Thank you so much!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
already


Explanation:
It literally means at the moment as you say. However, other points in time that the speaker is comparing against are in the future. So it means at the moment, without waiting for further development in the future.

"Being called by the editor is already a good indicator that he thinks you are special."

Yuki Okada
Canada
Local time: 13:00
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Gibney
8 hrs
agree  Misae Lucasey
21 hrs
agree  Port City
1 day 14 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
means that


Explanation:
It's more about the significance of that point in time than the timeline itself. Read it closer to "in this situation"/"under these conditions" than to "at that point in time".
i.e. "The fact that an editor called/approached you (already) means you're special."

Example sentence(s):
  • 翻訳の仕事を頼まれた時点で自分が翻訳者として認められてる。Being given translation jobs means you're a translator.
  • 入学試験の結果が出た時点で浪人生になるとわかった。(I/She/He) knew they'd have a lull year when the college entrance test results came out.
Marc Desreumaux
Japan
Local time: 05:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
From the moment that


Explanation:
I believe this would be a very natural and clear translation for "その時点で", which should also work in many different types of contexts as well. The translation for the whole sentence would look something like:
"From the moment the editor calls you, it means you're special."

Eduardo L Confortin
Brazil
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
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