Wordcraft: English Writing, Editing, and Translation in Japan

In 1991, SWET published its second book: Wordcraft: English Writing, Editing, and Translation in Japan, an anthology of articles of enduring value originally published in the Newsletter.

Contents

Professionalism

This series of five essays addresses aspects of professionalism, particularly in a Japanese context, among writers, editors, translators, and those in allied professions. These opinion pieces were contributed to the Newsletter by (in order of appearance) Lynne Riggs, Suzanne Trumbull, Mark Schreiber, Fred Uleman, and again Mark Schreiber.

  • What it Means to Be a Professional
  • What Makes a Translator Professional?
  • Avoiding the Sensei Syndrome
  • All You Need Is Love
  • Professionalism Is a Service

Problems and Solutions

The Logomagus

The Logomagus (a.k.a. Suzanne Trumbull) writes on the use and abuse of the English tongue. Each article focuses on a particular problem, illustrated with examples from the public prints both in Japan and overseas.

  • Who's on First? ("Untethered words and floating phrases)
  • Keeping Count (Disagreement in number)
  • Gilding the Lily (Redundancy)
  • Getting it Write Wright Right (misspelling, typos, etc.)
  • The Balancing Act (Parallel construction)
  • Laying it on the Line (transitive and intransitive verbs)
  • Garbled Grammar
  • Who(m) Did that Bell Toll For? (who and whom)
  • A Word to the Wise (principle where it should be principal, etc.)
  • The Less Said, the Worse (less and fewer)
  • The Mystery of the Misplaced Apostrophe (It's, Its)
Rough Words

"Rough Words," A Newsletter column by Jiho Sargent, comments wryly on the garbled English generated by native speakers of Japanese or by native speakers of English working in Japan who through overexposure to "Janglish" have become desensitized to the nuances of their own language.

The Publishing Hexpert

Writing collectively as the Publishing Hexpert (PH), experienced professionals in the fields represented by SWET members answer specific questions sent to the Newsletter. Many of the answers, particularly to questions regarding typography, are the work of Becky Davis.

Over Their Shoulders

In the series "Over Their Shoulders," several translators render into English short Japanese passages typical of various genres of writing to illustrate how different people come up with different right answers to the same problem. Each set of translations is prefaced by a short introduction giving information on the original Japanese text and, in random order, the names of the translators. The Japanese text, input for the book by Susan Murata and Fred Uleman, will be found at the end of each set of translations.

While other translators may wish to read the passage in Japanese and study the translators' comments on how they arrived at their versions of the text, even reading the translations alone is an object lesson in how different ways of working and perceptions of the target reader yield different finished products.

Topics:

  • Social Commentary
  • Electronics
  • Short Fiction
  • Religion and Politics
  • Finance
  • New-Product Announcement
  • Urban Architecture
  • Humor

Resources

The Book Mavin
  • English Language Dictionaries
  • Speller/Dividers
  • Translation References
  • Style, Usage, and Grammar
  • Design, Typography, and Production
Bibliotheca Nipponica

Wordcraft is available for free to all SWET members and for ¥1,000 to non-members. Postage for overseas orders is ¥1,600 for both members and non-members. To order, please contact us via this Web form. To order, please contact us via this Web form.

In Japan, remittances may be made by post office deposit (yubin furikomi), the least expensive way to remit money. The account number is SWET no Kai 00100-8-42202. The necessary forms are available at all Japanese post offices (please write your name and address in English, not Japanese). To send yen cash, please use the post office's cash envelope and mail to SWET, 1-16 Kita Iwaoka, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-0007. All remittances to SWET Tokyo must be made in yen. Yen checks are not accepted.

In North America, remittances should be made to SWET, c/o Stone Bridge Press, P.O. Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707 USA. US dollar checks drawn on a US bank should be made payable to the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (SWET). Interested persons in other countries should either write to the Japan address and submit payment in yen or write to the US address and submit payment in US dollars.

Wordcraft copyright by Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators, 1990.