Swet Columns
June 23, 2020
Toda Natsuko Talks About Her Life
If you watch English-language movies in Japan, you have probably seen the name Natsuko Toda in the subtitling credits. She is at the pinnacle of her profession. You may have wondered about the foundations of this pinnacle if, reading some of her subtitles, like me, you occasionally suffer a mental snort of disapproval at her Japanese renderings of English. Ms.... more
May 4, 2020
Word Wise: Number Puzzles
By Richard Medhurst
This column often looks at cases where the same concept is expressed differently in Japanese and English. This is a particular issue when it comes to terms related to numbers. For starters, the numerical system in Japan of counting by ten thousands (万, 億, 兆) can trip up the unwary. One pitfall is not noticing a... more
January 30, 2020
Word Wise: All in the Mind 意識
By Richard Medhurst
The mind is a mystery. It’s hard to draw a firm line between the domains of knowledge, emotion, and opinion. This uncertainty is reflected in language, including the Japanese word 意識, which covers a range of situations related to the mind. The English “conscious” is a good starting point for considering this term. If an accident victim... more
October 7, 2019
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... more
July 26, 2019
Word Wise: According to Habit
By Richard Medhurst
While it is handy to have default translations for terms, a little variety can refresh both writer and reader. The phrase によると is common in Japanese and commonly rendered by translators as “according to” in English.
With a company or public figure, it may be possible to use “stated” or “announced,” when the context is clear or easily checked,... more
June 27, 2019
EVENT REPORT: Brainstorming for SWET’s 40th Anniversary
On the evening of Wednesday, June 19, six SWET members gathered in Jinbōchō, Tokyo, for a brainstorming session about plans for celebrating SWET’s upcoming 40th anniversary. To start off with, we discussed the proposed date: SWET’s inaugural meeting was held on November 15, 1980, and in 2020, the 15th falls on Sunday. We agreed that mid-November 2020 sounded optimal,... more