Swet Columns
July 4, 2017
Collect These Jewels
Reviewed by Anna Husson Isozaki
Translator Perspectives: Honyakusha no mesen 2015. Tokyo: Japan Association of Translators, 2015, 137 pages. ISBN 978-4-906408-11-5. Translator Perspectives: Honyakusha no mesen 2016. Tokyo: Japan Association of Translators, 2016, 59 pages. ISBN 978-4-906408-13-9.
“The essays are to inform and inspire both translators and translation clients. This is the work we do. This is why it is important. This is how... more
June 5, 2017
Word Wise: Deal With It
対応 Taiō
By Richard Medhurst Translators are constantly dealing with work assignments. Many of them contain the word 対応, which itself could be translated as “deal with” or “handle.” In this sense of an action with an object, 対応 also commonly becomes “respond” or “response.” The first suggestions seem in general to be an easier fit for ongoing situations, like “dealing with customers”... more
April 5, 2017
Word Wise: Baffling by Design
整備 Seibi
By Richard Medhurst
There’s a Japanese Wikipedia article on 整備文, a term devised by Canadian author Iain Arthy to refer to the obfuscatory language deployed by elites in his book Oeragata no Nihongojuku 『政・官・財（おえらがた）の日本語塾』(1996). It singles out words like 検討, 施設, and 等 for sapping readers’ will to understand. But the word he chose... more
February 3, 2017
Japan Writers Conference 2016 Remembered
We asked three people who attended the Japan Writers Conference, held October 27 and 28 at Tokushima University, on the island of Shikoku, to share their impressions and notes from the talks they attended. While by no means comprehensive—and we regret not including reporting on all the sessions—our three authors give us lively and diverse accounts of what they gained... more
January 31, 2017
Word Wise: Get a Grip
把握 Haaku
By Richard Medhurst
Some words look straightforward enough in the context of a Japanese sentence, but are not always easy to translate. Take 把握, consisting of two kanji meaning to “grip” or “grasp.” This latter word, “grasp,” is a common J-E dictionary entry for 把握 as it has the same connection with physically holding and mentally knowing, but it has... more
December 1, 2016
Word Wise: More You, But in a Good Way
らしい Rashii
By Richard Medhurst
When people advise “be yourself,” they certainly don’t want you to follow your worst instincts. The aim is to become more “you” in a good way, fulfilling the potential within you. There is a similar aspirational idea in 自分らしい in Japanese. You are “like yourself” in a positive manner. It is one of many らしい phrases where... more