(2016-03-04, 10:37 am)FlameseeK Wrote: EDIT: There's also another sentence in particular that I couldn't understand in the same article. It goes like this:
柔道や剣道、空手や合気道など、日本に昔からある武道では、まず「礼に始まり礼に終わる」という考え方が大切だと考えられる。そして、この考え方は、武道がスポーツとして世界中で楽しまれるようになっても、変わっていない。
A literal translation based on what I know so far would be something like "Even if martial arts become a 'widespread source of joy around the world', this way of thinking won't change." I know that sentence sounds weird, but it's kind of a weird way to put it in English imo.
However, I think this sentence could also mean "Despite the fact that martial arts have become a 'widespread source of joy around the world', this way of thinking hasn't changed." So, which one is it?
The key is 変わっていない. The "not changing" is a continuing state, so "hasn't changed" is the correct interpretation. Another clue is そして ("furthermore") - he's continuing the previous thought, not starting a hypothetical.
It's not really a "despite", though. Japanese martial arts (and presumably the way of thinking) are old, and even as they have become widely practiced* around the world (and meanwhile a long time has passed between 昔 and now), this way of thinking remains unchanged.
*Your version is too flowery. Mine isn't flowery enough, but the point of the sentence is elsewhere so I'd err towards the less flowery (also, even though the original is a bit flowery, it's still a standard expression. Hard to translate it into English without losing either the floweriness or the standardness).
Edited: 2016-03-04, 12:30 pm