Swet Columns

June 30, 2025

Making Sense of “Mao Suit” and “China Dress” Nomenclature

By Mark Schreiber 

Both in day-to-day conversation and in writing, we often need to bridge the gaps between the way we express things in our own language and the way speakers of other languages say what are essentially same things. I was reminded of this when the English-language news services and television networks described North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as... more

November 7, 2024

The History of SWET

The late 1970s were years of growth and ferment in English-language book and periodical publishing in Japan. Book publishers Charles E. Tuttle, Inc., John Weatherhill, Kodansha International, and the University of Tokyo Press released dozens of new volumes in English annually. Japan Echo, the Japan Interpreter, and Japan Quarterly published high-quality Japanese journalism and writing in English translation. Four daily... more

May 31, 2014

SWET Style Sheet

SWET Style Sheet and Submission Guidelines These guidelines are intended for articles published in SWET online and print publications (revised May 2025).

MATTERS OF STYLE In general, follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (CMS18). For spelling and hyphenation, follow Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition or Webster’s... more

July 2, 2025

Translator Tuesdays Reports

These quick reports (beginning with August 2024) of the hour-long online meetups held starting in March on the first Tuesday of each month are contributed by Daniel Morales, moderator, following the close of each session. The reports appear with the most recent at the top. See Upcoming Events on the SWET website top page for the topics of upcoming meetups.

July 1 Translator... more

June 26, 2025

From the Trenches: Monk or Priest?

SWET member and Zen priest Jiho Sargent wrote about the difference between monk and priest in her commentary on a series of translations done for our “Over Their Shoulders” feature on the theme of Buddhism, persuasively arguing that we should use “priest” when referring to Buddhist clerics. The background she provides for making the distinction deserves quoting at length here.... more