Swet Columns

A Quick Read for Self-Editing Tips and Tricks

Reviewed by Jennifer O’Donnell

The 10% Solution: Self-editing for the Modern Writer. By Ken Rand. 108 pages. ISBN. 978-1933846743

I can’t remember how I learned about The 10% Solution: Self-editing for the Modern Writer by Ken Rand, but since discovering it six years ago, it’s been my number one recommended book for translators. At 90 pages this is a tiny book with its cheap... more

A “Cook’s Tour” of Some Translation-Related Conferences in 2022

By Judy Wakabayashi

Here are some notes on several workshops and conferences I’ve attended over the past months (mostly online, and just those sessions I attended). The choice is inevitably biased toward my personal research interests and constrained by time zone differences. I hope some aspects might be of interest to other SWET members even if they are not involved in... more

Japan Style Sheet Website 2022 Updates

SWET’s companion site, home of the online version of the Japan Style Sheet, is a reference site for not only editors but translators and writers dealing with style questions relating to Japanese words in English text. Launched in 2018 with the publication of the JSS third edition, its four sections have recently been updated: the downloadable PDF of the JSS... more

英文中の All Caps (全大文字表記) の問題

日本では英文書式について正式に学ぶ機会があまりないためか、日本人クライアントと英語圏の翻訳者・編集者とのあいだで、書式をめぐっての問題が起こります。その中の一つが、All Caps、つまり、Tanaka を TANAKA というふうに、すべてを大文字にする表記法です。... more

All Caps: A Practical Guide

In English, text in “all caps” (or “full caps”) typically signifies either extreme emphasis (“shouting”) or the presence of an acronym. There are a few other traditional uses—notably in the styling of government forms, legal contracts, and road signs, though the use of all caps on road signs and contracts has come under scrutiny.

One reason for... more

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