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.

 

December 2
In December, a small group of us discussed our favorite translations of the year, which ranged from literary works and games to exhibits at museums. The work of several SWET members came up in conversation: Jim Rion’s work on Uketsu’s Strange Houses, Richard Medhurst’s The Essential Akutagawa, and the Center for Intercultural Communication’s work on The Anatomy of Tategu: The Work of Traditional Japanese Joinery Revealed and Plants and Crafts in the Cycles of Life for the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum in Kobe. We also reflected on lessons learned: eternal battles with editors (who can make critical fixes or be inscrutable with communication), getting buy in from the development team (which can be as important and satisfying as the creative work in video games), and being careful what you bid for translation work (so you don’t end up with work you don’t actually want to do). We’re ready to relax over the holidays and enjoy a fresh start in 2026.

November 4
We discussed the role of professional organizations in translation. Obviously we are biased toward SWET, which has managed to maintain a stable level of paying members over four and a half decades while remaining open to non-member participation. JAT and ATA also came to mind as groups that support the industry, and many agreed that particularly younger and mid-career professionals can benefit greatly from the energy and networking opportunities these groups provide. They also offer fulfilling ways to volunteer and give back to the world of translation by creating opportunities for others to learn and connect, through presentations and organizing events. Adjacent to translation are groups such as Editors Canada, ACES: The Society for Editing, and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) as are academic groups such as the Pre-Modern Japanese Studies listserve and other professional organizations such as the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP). The highlight of all these groups is ultimately connection through words, and we are stimulated and reassured by surrounding ourselves with other like-minded wordsmiths who are eager to share the craft.

August 5
In August, we had a few stalwart veterans at Translator Tuesdays calling in from Nagano and Osaka. The core topic was how to manage work-life balance as a translator, and this can vary greatly depending on whether a translator is in-house or freelance, works in a company office or a home office, or does self-chosen long-term projects or responds to sporadic agency or client requests. In-house translators may be required to come into the office, but they can also leave their work at the office at nights and on weekends, while freelancers are usually at the mercy of whatever deadlines their clients may set. Freelance translators can schedule trips, social events, hobbies, or health-related activities in among the deadlines. Some, who work at home, skillfully punctuate stints of translation with housework, cooking, and errands. In-house translators, on the other hand, don't always have such flexibility. However, freelancers live with the uncertainty of where work will come from, one job to the next, and we wondered whether some sort of "Uber" for translators might be helpful to connect those in need of work with projects that are available. No matter where translators are working, being able to have a firm "shut down" time at the end of the day can be a way to protect personal time. We also talked about a few other interesting topics, notably the need for young translators to improve their writing. Honing expository writing skills in the target language is an underappreciated requirement of translation, and it can be difficult to find the right opportunities and collaborators to get vital feedback.

July 1
Translator Tuesday in July was on the first of the month, which always makes it feel sooner than it actually is. This month we talked about revision. This is a hot topic since many companies are using MTPE (machine translation post editing) as a way to save money, but all participants noted they avoid this kind of work because the editing is often more like re-translation, which takes just as much time as a first-pass translation. True revision is something different. Printing out material and changing venues, such as working in a café, is a strategy we discussed. Giving yourself a different atmosphere in which to experience the material and taking some time to let the writing air out can help to minimize the drag of the original Japanese syntax. These strategies can help the flaws in your target-language writing become more apparent. We also discussed translating as a team, as having multiple sets of eyes on a text can make the revisions easier. Listening to your work being read out loud can also show more clearly where revision is necessary. One of the points often needing revision is repetition of words or content, something for which there is more tolerance in Japanese. In English, such tolerance can vary based on the subject matter. For material that is more technical, certain terms may need to be repeated, but for more general content or for more abstract writing, often a repeated Japanese term can be expressed in various ways in English to avoid overuse.

June 3
In June we had a smaller contingent at Translator Tuesday but a rather wide ranging and interesting conversation! We started by talking about mentorship opportunities, including JAT's eJuku which helps support early-career translators, the Japanese Visualmedia Translation Academy, and Women in Localization. Sometimes the most important thing beginner translators need is content to work on, and these all provide those materials. This is especially true given that many translators don't always have the luxury of choosing the content they work on. We also talked terminology. Translators can actually charge for glossary creation work on top of the translation itself, as the terms play a critical role in getting a translation right. And if you go into a project uncertain of the subject matter's terminology, having the right support team—a trusted mentor, a friend who is an expert, or a group you can go to with questions—is critical infrastructure to put in place before starting. We touched lightly on MemoQ, a CAT tool that seems to be moving to a web-based format like many others, and then ended by discussing the difference between editing in literary translation and light novel translation, often with the former allowing for a more substantive editing process and the latter focusing on speed.

May 6

Our conversation about translation rates at Translator Tuesday in May was one of our most in-depth and focused conversations to date! We had translators from a range of different genres, and that was the first thing we addressed: rates vary widely by genre, with PR, patents, and medical generally the highest paying; followed by academic translations and general information; and sadly literary and manga translation at the bottom. Rates also vary by the way they are counted, including source character count, target word, or by “page,” which usually refers to the standard 400-character genko yōshi unit for general translation or the literal page for manga/light novel translation. It can take time for translators to get used to these different systems. (See also the article on the SWET website, “What’s in a Page.”) Knowing how to have a conversation about rates is critical and involves knowing about your client. Are they from a Japanese business or a foreign business? Can you have an honest conversation with them without surprising them with the request for a raise? Are they familiar with all the work that goes into a translation or do they need to be educated? That work is incumbent on us translators, and can sometimes involve adding an additional “research” or “editing” line item to a bill to convince clients to pay for the all the services that go into the best translations. Unfortunately, sometimes rates can be limited; limited by agency rules, or by governmental regulations requiring a bid, which ultimately can lead to being undercut by agencies. Rates can also be independent of the volume of a text; if you have two 500-character projects, but one only takes 30 minutes and the other takes two hours, then the first project is clearly superior. And there are frequently projects of personal interest for which we are glad to volunteer our time or take a much lower rate. While Japan has been in a low rate environment since the bubble burst, that might be gradually changing with the uptick in pay hikes. If you haven’t asked for a raise recently, now might be the time to do so, although many a translator will admit that the best way to ask for a higher rate is to find a new client.

April 1, 2025

We had a very successful Translator Tuesday this month with 14 participants discussing the role of AI in translation. Admittedly, we ended up not digging too deeply into the ethical issues, which are "extremely unclear at the moment," according to one member with a lot of experience using the platforms. What we can say is that the veteran SWET members present did seem equipped to negotiate the apparent (and sometimes mistaken) authority with which AI presents itself. In the hands of less experienced users, the occasionally unreliable responses the chat bot provides might go undetected. For translators outside of Japan especially, an AI chat bot can provide place to test and develop ideas. When used to produce translation and not just as a reference, however, the LLMs do tend to “get to the point at the sacrifice of style." For something like literary translation, much is lost without creative and tasteful attention to style. 

Ultimately, translation is a human activity, and translators should take pride in their skills and proactively seek out collaborators to go on improving those skills and the background knowledge and sensitivity that is vital to the craft. SWET is a valuable in this respect because of its role in creating opportunities for wordsmiths to connect. It is incumbent upon us to make these moments and to highlight the benefit of human translation.

The meeting ended as Tom Gally posted a PDF of slides listing prompts useful for translation using "current reasoning models" of AI software. He subsequently posted a followup message to SWET-L detailing his work with LLMs and lively discussion ensued. Plans are in the works for another opportunity to discuss the ethical and other issues of AI.

March 11, 2025

In March we were worried whether our topic of "visual aspects of Japanese" would carry us for a whole hour, but we needn't have: A core group of SWET stalwarts had an excellent conversation on a range of topics. I brought up visual poet Saihate Tahi, whose work presents Japanese in many shapes and sizes, not all that different from some of the marketing material shared that shaped kanji into a mountain range to draw in tourists. Others noted the use of "x" (multiplication mark, but in this usage in Japanese meaning the sum of two things producing something greater than either one) and "+α," which is a regular feature of business communication but doesn't get used as is in English. The key, one member noted, is "to get down what they (the client/the artist/the writer) want to get across." And then to communicate that using the tools that English provides. It can do this without repetition (sometimes a feature of Japanese) in an equally poetic, forceful, and effective way, depending on the circumstances. We also discussed a number of books (many related to birds), and the increasingly extreme weather. Join us next month for more casual conversation!

December 3, 2024

Translation can be a surprisingly exhausting profession. Many translators work without consecutive days off, and deadlines are often the determining factor in when and how a translator works. This month we talked about the daily rhythms of translation, and these topics came up. There are benefits of being freelance, however. Some of us have leisurely mornings with meditation and coffee before we attack a text. Others prefer to start with related tasks such as email before an energizing meal that prepares us for the day. Freelancers also have the ability to break up the day with domestic chores, whereas those of us working in-house or more directly with a client are bound by specific hours to a location (but we also get weekends off). All of us agreed that winding down after a long day is important, whether with reading (which also helps us "replenish" our stock of natural English) or with podcasts; getting away from the screen is important. So be cautious when you say "Have a good weekend!" or "Enjoy your holiday” to a translator; a freelance wordsmith may not really have "weekends" or even "holidays"!
 

November 5, 2024

Translation becomes a skill many of us determinedly pursue without thinking too much about how to describe it, so finding writing that articulates its spirit and craft can be inspiring. In November we talked about the writers who inspire us, from the "Legends of Localization" who write on the translation of famous video games into English (and Japanese) to Yoko Hasegawa's legendary textbook, The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation. A full list of the texts we discussed is below, and most are focused on Japanese. There are a few that include other languages such as books from Umberto Eco who discusses Italian and Joan Boase-Beier who writes on German. Hasegawa's text above addresses translation in both directions, into English and into Japanese, but many are focused on one target language, in our case English. In addition to translation specific texts, we also discussed how important it is to keep your English sharp by reading well-written English texts as well as style guides such as Dreyer's English. Also critical is developing familiarity with 予備知識 (yobi chishiki, background knowledge) to inform translations; sometimes this just requires a translator to spend time in Japan or with material in Japanese.

Translation and Style, Jean Boase-Beier
Making Sense of Japanese, Jay Rubin
Dreyer's English, Benjamin Dreyer
Mouse or Rat? Translation as Negotiation, Umberto Eco
Japanese-English Translation: An Advanced Guide, Judy Wakabayashi
The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation, Yoko Hasegawa
Legends of Localization, various
J-En Translations, Jennifer O'Donnell
Translation Studies, Susan Bassnett

October 1, 2024

This was one of our best attended sessions to date. We had nine participants sharing various "spooky" stories of translations gone wrong. This includes everything from simple mistranslations of "false friends," misspellings in subtitles (fortunately spotted in the wild, not our own work), and the dreaded not being paid by a client. But some of the horror stories were more complex, such as clients who ask for too many edits or a translator who leaves comments that are too extensive. As Charles De Wolf put it, "A translator's got to learn his or her limitations." Overconfidence in a topic or not examining source material closely enough before accepting a job can also cause unwanted horror. There's also the subtle horror of the ticking of the clock as the promised arrival of work gets closer and closer, only to pass by without any actual work, despite having already blocked off the time in your calendar. Doubling up of work is an equal but opposite horror story: Sometimes an editing job can quickly turn into a re-translation if the original was not up to snuff. To avoid future horror, we also learned that translators should offer their prayers to St. Jerome, the patron saint of translators. Our U.K. representatives at Translator Tuesday have been very consistent, so there may be potential for U.K. SWET events, both virtual and in person.

September 3, 2024

Translator Tuesday for September 2024 was a great success. We discussed how we track translations, and whether it's even necessary to track some types of translation. From the most general perspective, we all agreed that you must know the volume of a translation request, whether it's counted in Japanese characters or 400-character pages, a method of counting that is perhaps used increasingly less frequently. Daniel Morales mentioned being inspired by a translator who is extremely detailed about tracking every aspect of translation, from source character and target word to time spent on each client. But it seems difficult to put into practice and maintain. Richard Sadowsky noted that he tracks "concentration time," the amount of time spent focused on a translation task, with the help of Tyme, an app that has many features and has moved to a subscription model online (https://www.tyme-app.com/en/). This allows him to confirm his more intuitive calculation of whether projects are long or short. Lynne Riggs made the important comment that not all translation can be done quickly, and that nonfiction/academic translation is a creative endeavor that takes time, not only in the translation process, but also in editing and checking. If possible, it can also be good to outsource this tracking process to someone else, if there are management resources available. Knowing what service you're offering and how much time that takes can also offer translators flexibility, for example if a client is more or less willing to allow for the use of machine translation aids. We also discussed some recently popular Japanese television shows that new translator Alyssa Cantrell has been watching, including the recently popular "Extremely Inappropriate!" and the shows of Bakarhythm, such as "Rebooting" and "Fictitious OL Diary."

August 6, 2024 

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Translator Tuesday yesterday, which centered around building and maintaining a client base from a rural location! Richard Sadowsky submitted some thoughts via email that we used to start the conversation: Face-to-face networking is critical and personal introductions generate a lot of work, making it important for those in the countryside to stay in touch. Jimmy Rion and I brought the other side of this coin, noting how you can build a presence online, through many different platforms, allowing potential clients to "get to know you" before you even meet. When pressed by Martie Jelinek, however, Jim and I both admitted that it can be difficult to pin down exactly how to "be yourself" online. My best recommendation is to try to have fun and inform people. We also talked about whether the transition from 様 salutations to さん salutations could potentially be a result of getting to know someone in person. Any thoughts?

Already looking forward to our September meeting where we'll center the conversation around how translators track their work.

(As posted on SWET Facebook; links are to FB pages)