Call for Content and Feedback
The Japanese Language Division (JLD) is revitalizing its blog and wants your help providing helpful content for members. We are looking for blog articles about new translation technologies and tools, tips and tricks for improving the quality of J < > E translations, reference materials, such as dictionaries or specialty Web sites and reviews of ATA conferences or educational events. Have a translation professional you particularly admire? We are also looking for interviews with translation and interpretation professionals. If you are interested in a topic, chances are we are too.
How to Submit
If you have an idea for an article that you think will be of interest to the JLD, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to submit ideas even if you do not want to write the article yourself.
To submit an idea for an article:
- Type “submission for blog” in the subject line.
- Send an e-mail to the JLD Blog Editorial Committee at jldblogspot@gmail.com
Your e-mail should also include your contact information (name, e-mail address, and title/position), title/topic of the article, a brief description of the content, and whether or not you would like to write the article. If you are writing the article, please submit a brief two- to three-line biography.
Submission Guidelines
We are looking for articles that will provide useful information for translation and interpretation professionals working in the J< >E field, articles addressing general translation or interpretation tools or techniques or articles about specialty fields, such as medical, legal, or automotive translation. General information or advice on the translation business, such as negotiation techniques, working with direct clients, working with translation providers, and on technical and professional writing could also be helpful.
Here are some useful guidelines for content.
Types of Articles
The type of material appropriate for division publications may include but is not limited to:
- Announcements and reviews of division activities, including conference educational presentations and social activities;
- Announcements and reviews of other activities and events relevant to the main focus of the division and general interests of all language professionals;
- Administrative announcements and discussion of division and ATA administrative decisions;
- Reviews of relevant dictionaries, books, movies, web resources, Internet groups;
- Member profiles and reports on member activity related to languages and language related professions;
- Interviews of members or other people of interest (often a good way in for people who don’t want to develop their own material but want to help, and also a good way to get ‘stars’ to be involved without having to write);
- Discussions related to the profession and business of translation and interpreting;
- Member-created glossaries or descriptions of available glossaries;
- Discussion of developments in or aspects of the languages (or subject areas) that are the main focus of the division;
- Excerpts from interchanges on the web relevant to the division’s focus (e.g., terminology discussions);
- News articles and editorials relating to division concerns;
- Entertaining and/or amusing material related to any of the above ; and
- Pictures/photographs illustrating articles or depicting members and article authors.
– excerpted from American Translation Association, Division Handbook, Revised Sept. 7, 2012
Articles should be clear and concise.
Keep in mind that successful blog articles provide users with information in an accessible format. If you have lot of information on a topic consider breaking it down into several related articles. On-going series would be great addition to the blog!
Articles can be written in either English or Japanese.
It might be helpful to have another person review your text before submitting it. The JLD Editorial Committee reserves the right to make minor changes to the punctuation and grammar of the articles to correct typos or add clarity. If the article is written in English or Japanese by a non-native speaker of that language, the JLD Editorial Committee reserves the right to edit and polish the article to make it more easily accessible to native readers of the language.
Articles can be informal in tone, but should be professional.
The JLD blog is a professional blog for translation and interpretation professionals. Articles must be professional, polite and civil. The content of articles, links to external web sites, photos, or other materials provided are solely the responsibility of the contributors. The JLD Editorial Committee reserves the right not to publish or to remove articles or comments it deems defamatory, obscene, proprietary, or libelous.
Include a link to your web site.
Feel free to add your contact information, a two- to three-line biography, and/or a link to your web site at the end of the article. You deserve credit for your hard work, but please no overt advertising or self-promotion. Keep in mind ATA division policy:
Personal advertisement of a member’s services, discussions that are inappropriate or irrelevant to the focus of the division, disparagement of the skills or business practices of specific other translators or agencies, ad hominem attacks, and all other violations of the principles of civil discourse are not permitted.
– excerpted from American Translation Association, Division Handbook, Revised Sept. 7, 2012
No information regarding rates or pricing can be included.
In keeping with ATA policy, no information regarding rates or pricing can be included in articles or comments on the JLD blog. See https://www.atanet.org/aboutus/governance_policystatement.php.
Referencing content from other sites or sources. Give credit where credit is due.
If you quote or use information from other sources, be sure to give credit to those sources. Before posting content from other sites, get permission to do so. The JLD Editorial Committee reserves the right to delete content, at any time, at its sole discretion, that it deems in violation of copyright law.
No personally identifying, confidential, privileged or proprietary information should be included in the article without the express written permission of individuals/entities concerned.
The purpose of the blog is the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and ideas among division members. Please help us maintain the highest level of discussion by avoiding personal attacks or disparaging remarks. The JLD Editorial Committee reserves the right to delete content, at any time, at its sole discretion, that it deems to violate the privacy of individuals, groups, or other entities.
Making Comments
We encourage comments from readers and contributors to keep the blog a place where professionals can have a lively exchange; however, we ask that you keep in mind the following guidelines:
- No anonymous comments. Please provide your user name with your comments.
- While we encourage people to provide links to their web sites, please no blatant advertisements or use of comments as spam.
- It is easy to forget that writers, people making comments, and readers are not faceless, nameless entities. Please do not post comments that contain personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, false statements of fact, or invasion of privacy, including vulgar language or offensive terms that target specific ethnic, gender or racial groups.
- Do not post comments that are unrelated to the topic or make unsupported accusations.
- Do not post comments if your Avatar is inappropriate for a professional audience.
Best Practices for Blog Posts
- Write in a personal tone.
- Use your professional and personal experiences to engage readers. If you have discovered something interesting in the course of your research or work, chances are our readers will find it interesting, too.
- Provide a title for each topic at the top and a by-line with a short biography and links to your web site at the bottom. The biography might include your language pairs, translation/interpretation history, areas of expertise, etc.
- If possible, provide one or more links to related sites where the reader can go for more information on the article’s topic.
- When linking to another web site, use descriptive words in the link text rather than “click here”.
- Please suggest keywords or tags for the post so that readers can find the post.
- If you post images, please make sure that you own the copyright for them, that the images are in the public domain or that you have a license to use them.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.
Japanese Language Division Editorial Committee
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