Swet Columns
April 7, 2023
ChatGTP Chatter: A Literary Translator Meets the Terminator
By Charles De Wolf
Human beings have opinions and principles; they have preferences and tastes. Depending on their personalities, they may choose to make bold assertions or to err on the side of caution. Such is seen in all our endeavors, including, of course, those linguistic and literary. When a new translation of a renowned work appears, some critics will heap... more
January 9, 2023
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
October 9, 2022
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
September 7, 2022
Word Wise: 暗殺について
朝倉和子著
安倍元総理が銃撃で亡くなり、ひと月がたった。この驚愕のニュースについて、日本のメディアが「暗殺」と言わないことに若干の雑音があったが、議論にはならなかった。自分だったら「殺害」または「銃撃」と呼び、やはり「暗殺」はなじまな... more
September 6, 2022
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
September 4, 2022
Editing in Japan: Three Perspectives
by Damon Shulenberger
The June 25, 2005 SWET on Saturdays featured three veteran editors of English in Japan presenting the perspectives of freelance editing, editing of translations, and book editing to 23 working and aspiring editors. The presentations by Phil Ouellet, Lynne E. Riggs, and Ginny Tapley included stories from their experiences, general advice about editing in Japan, and specific pointers... more