Customer Reviews

Japan Style Sheet: The SWET Guide for Writers, Editors, and Translators

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was working as a translator, I used the Japan Style Sheet: The SWET Guide for Writers, Editors, and Translators when I encountered tricky problems, or wanted to look up things like units of measure, and so forth.

CONTENT
--------------
-romanization systems
-long vowels
-long vowels on the internet
-n or m: shinbun or shimbun
-apostrophes
-hyphens
-italics
-personal names
-place names
-capitalization
-plurals
-loanwords
-note, bibliography, and index styles
-appendices (lots of stuff that is pretty helpful)

PROS
--------------
+ clear and concise explanations
+ addresses issues that actually come up
+ usually provides suggestions descriptive of actual practice, rather than prescriptive

CONS
--------------
- not comprehensive, so it doesn't stand alone--I hope someday a more comprehensive guide does get published, especially one that considers issues specific to different industries (popular publications, technical writing, etc.)


SUMMARY
--------------
It's not essential to own, but it certainly does not hurt to read at least once, especially if you are just getting started in translating. I'm glad I purchased it.

This is indeed the authoritative guide for anyone who works with Japan-related material. It is really well-typeset according to the Western standard, but also has a bit of Japanese flavor, as the weird choice of fonts and the marginally-acceptable use of "wordsmith" on the back cover can attest. Read this short book before you work on any Japan-related material: it is certainly worth the while; at least you will avoid a lot of cultural errors. They should have a little book like this for every country and every language.