役割 and 担当: A function, assigned work, and the person in charge
Compare a moderator’s or forest’s function with assigned venue guidance and the new person in charge. Read the target of each role or responsibility.
The functions of a moderator and a forest
役割 means a role. 「司会者は話し合いを進める役割を担う。」 presents guiding the discussion as the moderator’s role.
「森は多くの生き物を支える役割も果たしている。」 says forests also play a role in supporting many living things. This function does not turn a forest into a person intentionally taking a job.
Guidance work and the person in charge
担当 can refer to responsibility or the person in charge. 「会場の案内は私が担当します。」 assigns venue guidance to the speaker: 案内 is the work and 私 is the person responsible.
「新しい担当から挨拶の手紙が届いた。」 says a greeting letter arrived from the new person in charge. 新しい担当 identifies the sender, not the completion of the venue guidance.
Read the function or the responsible person
The 役割 examples concern guiding a discussion and supporting living things. The 担当 examples concern an assigned task and the person responsible for it.
Read the surrounding words to identify what is assigned or who is being referred to. A functional role does not always describe employment, and receipt of a greeting letter does not complete the guidance work.
Do 森の役割 and 新しい担当 refer respectively to a forest’s function and the new person in charge?
Show the answer and why
Yes. The forest’s 役割 is its function of supporting living things. 新しい担当 identifies the person who sent the greeting letter. Distinguish the functional target from the person responsible for assigned work.