Swet Columns
March 16, 2015
EVENT REPORT - SWET Shop Talk: Translation Quandaries
February 18, 2015 (Wednesday), Books on Japan Library, Jinbocho
Ten people gathered around the large table at the Books on Japan Library in Jinbocho for the February SWET Shop Talk, some with sandwich/onigiri and drink in hand as we introduced ourselves. Four present were completely new to SWET, though had clearly been involved in “wordsmithing” work for years in... more
March 16, 2015
EVENT REPORT - Walk ’n Write in Kyoto: A SWET Event with Rebecca Otowa
March 1, 2015, Kyoto
Excited to be part of a walking, writing, and sharing event led by Rebecca Otowa, author of At Home in Japan and My Awesome Japan Adventure, I was one of the eight people who gathered in the rain on March 1 in the shadow of the beautiful gate of Heian Shrine. Although we had prepared... more
August 1, 2014
SWET’s Presence at IJET-25 in Tokyo
On June 21-22, 2014, the Japan Association of Translators (JAT) held its 25th annual International Japanese-English Translators’ Conference (IJET) at Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan. A total of 560 people registered—the most in IJET’s history. The SWET Steering Committee thought it the perfect opportunity to advertise our organization to fellow wordsmiths who had gathered from Europe, Australasia, and the... more
July 23, 2014
A Sugar-Coated Guide to Grammar
Reviewed by Susan Schmidt (April 15, 2007)
Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, by June Casagrande. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. 212 pages. Paperback. ISBN-13 798-0143036838; ISBN-10 0143036831. $14.00.
Subtitled A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite, this slim volume promises to be a treat for the word maven: a sugar-coated guide to grammar and usage that will entertain while it informs.... more
July 21, 2014
A Grammar Book with Personality and Pizzazz
Reviewed by Jay Revelle It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences, by June Casagrande. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2010. 207 pages. ISBN: 978-1-58008-740-7.
“Great writing isn’t born, it’s built—sentence by sentence.” Thus begins grammar maven June Casagrande’s wonderfully witty and practical writer’s guide to the good writing of that most basic structural element: the sentence. After... more
April 7, 2014
A Delectable Assortment: Translators Showcase Advice, Writing Skills
By Rachael Ragalye
Translator Perspectives (Hon’yakusha no mesen). Tokyo: Japan Association of Translators, 2013. 97 pages. ISBN 978-4-906408-09-2.
Of all the things I expected to see in a volume titled Translator Perspectives, advice about what makes for a good udon noodle shop was not one of them. In his essay Oishii kake-udon o mezashite, Kunieda Shirō tells us that the true test... more