News
Two SWET Members Win Japan-US Friendship Prize!
Congratulations to SWET members Janine Beichman (Tsukuba) and Matt Treyvaud (Chigasaki) on the awards for their recently published translations!
The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture announced winners selected by the jury for this year’s Japan-United States Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature and Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize on November 15, 2019.
Janine Beichman, who won the Friendship Commission Prize for Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets, Selected Poems 1972–1989 (Kurodahan Press, 2018) wrote:... more
Swet Columns
Word Wise: Typically Troublesome
By Richard Medhurst
What is the ultimate bugbear translation term? If there was a vote, 代表的 might well be in the running. Both it and synonymous variations of を代表する are scattered across Japanese texts at a rate that can vex translators who want to keep their writing fresh.
The way 代表的 covers a broad range of meaning from neutral description through to positive praise is one aspect that influences choice of the best English word. For example, a list of 代表的なアレルギー症状, would... more
Articles
EVENT REPORT: Press Trips and Language Tips for Travel Media
By Rob Goss
On March 20, 2019, twelve people, including five first-timers, attended the latest SWET Travel Writing Meetup in Tokyo at Book House Cafe, Jinbocho, for a presentation by photographer Phil Ono about the handling of style issues in place-name signage used around the country and a presentation by travel writer Rob Goss about press trips for travel writers and issues with translating and editing travel- and tourism-related Japanese into English. (Note: A report of Phil Ono’s part of the... more
SWET Spotlight
Howard Hibbett: Scholar, Translator, Editor
By Joel Cohn
Howard Hibbett's name was not familiar to the general public, but among Anglophone scholars and students of Japanese literature it was very much one to be reckoned with. His contributions touched us in a variety of ways; many of them extended our understanding of Japanese culture in new directions, and virtually all of his work—be it as a scholar, a translator, a critic, or an editor—was of the highest standard.
Probably he was... more
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