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> 「オリンピック **に向けて** …」

Is this phrase interchangeable with 向かって？

> 「オリンピック **に向かって** …」

What's the difference?
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question
word-choice usage word-usage
「五輪に向けて」か「五輪に向かって」か。。。
I know that オリンピックに向けて is the better choice, but it's hard to explain why...

実用日本語表現辞典 explicitly explains this usage
([link](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%90%91%E3%81%91%E3%81%A6)):

> ### 向けて
>
>
> 「向ける」の連用形。「～に向けて」などと言う場合、後に動詞が続かなくても、「～」を目的や目標と定め、そこに至るために種々の施策を行うことを表すことが多い。

When the target is an intangible event such as オリンピック, 納品日 and 発表, you will
hear ～に向けて more often, while ～に向かって would not be entirely wrong. (向ける is
[usually transitive](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/214895/meaning/m0u/). I'm
not sure, but maybe something like 気持ちを/意識を is omitted?)

But when the target is a physical place or a tangible object, whichever is
fine.

>   * 大阪に向けて飛び立つ ／ 大阪に向かって飛び立つ
>   * 的に向けて銃を撃つ ／ 的に向かって銃を撃つ
>
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Generally speaking, there's difference between 向ける (> 向けて) and 向かう (> 向かって),
where the former is transitive "head something for"/"have something face to
(somewhere)" and the latter is intransitive "head yourself for"/"face to
(somewhere)".

But you can use them with abstract goal (i.e. not actual place). In this case,
they have a little more nuances:

_A_ **に向けて** _V_ depicts you set something to the direction of _A_ , but
yourself isn't necessarily facing to the same direction. Imagine a locomotive;
you work hard shoveling coal into the boiler, but you're not the one runs. The
train runs and brings you to the destination.

_A_ **に向かって** _V_ , however, always implies your body "moves". You have to
make yourself "go forward" by _V_ -ing in order to reach the goal.

Thus, _A_ に向かって _V_ requires something directly leads to _A_ as _V_ , while
_A_ に向けて _V_ accepts any activity helpful to _A_.

> ○ 会議に向けて休息をとる
>
> × 会議に向かって休息をとる (resting helps you, but doesn't take you to conference)

* * *

> オリンピックに向けて走る  
>  _runs (as preparation) for the Olympic games_
>
> オリンピックに向かって走る  
>  (sounds rhetoric) _runs "towards" (in order to get qualification of?) the
> Olympics_
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answer
As a follow-up answer to this question,

I found the following research paper from 東京が国語大学 (TUFS) which goes into great
detail about the differences in usage for 「に向けて」,「に向かって」and「を目指して」:

<http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/20982/1/jlc031003.pdf>

If someone could put this info into digest form in English, that would be
great.
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