Japanese 597C/660 Problems and Methods of Translation
Writing About Japan in English
- Japan style sheet : the SWET guide for writers, editors, and translatorsCall Number: UMass PL635 .J36 1998Publication Date: 1998Small book, now dated, with clear cut advice for people writing in English about Japan.
Tools for Writing in English
- Chicago Manual of Style This link opens in a new windowThe widely-used citation and style guide for scholarly writing.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary & ThesaurusCheck your spelling and usage in Merriam-Webster.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowOnline version of the irreplaceable OED, for word definitions, usage, and etymologies.
Romanization
There are many types of romanization. Your Japanese language professor, your linguistics professor, your literature professor and you might all follow a standardized form of romanization that is different from one another. In Professor Seaman's class, she will expect you to use Modified Hepburn romanization. This is also the standard followed by the library. The Kenkyusha dictionary used to be the deciding form of Modified Hepburn until its most recent release when it started using kana instead of romaji :(
What does this mean? Tōkyō not Tookyoo or Toukyou. Shinbun not sinbun or sinnbun or shimbun.
To learn more about the many flavors of romaji, please read the Wikipedia article.
