Please contact the administrator for corrections, suggested changes, and additions.
To see just a list of the topics (with links to each section), see this page: https://japanharvest.org/style-guide-topics/
Tip: to search this content, simply use the Find/Search functionality of your browser. Typically you can press Ctrl-F (Windows) or Cmd-F (Mac) to summon it.
Abbreviations (Names and Titles)
Use abbreviations sparingly. If an abbreviation will be used, always use the full name or title the first time, followed by the abbreviation in brackets/parentheses.
e.g., Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA)
1. Given names. Do not use abbreviations unless the person himself wrote his name in that fashion.
2. Civil or military titles. Spell out with the surname alone.
e.g., General Eisenhower
However, if you use the person’s full name and title you may abbreviate the title.
e.g., Sen. Bill Frist
3. Abbreviated titles. Always use the standard form for the English being used.
e.g., Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. (AmE)
e.g., Mr, Mrs, Ms, and Dr (BrE)
4. Initials of given names. The trend is towards reduced punctuation. Unspaced, unpunctuated initials.
e.g., JRR Tolkien.
5. Countries, states, territories, months, and days of the week. In text, always spell out in full.
Punctuation:- Never punctuated:
• SI units, e.g., kg, cm
• Compass points. e.g., NW, SE, NSW, etc.
• Chemical symbols
• Symbols for currencies, e.g., A$, S$, US$
2. May or may not be punctuated (depending on regional variations).
Japan Harvest favors either AmE or traditional BrE style.
• AmE style. Periods/stops for any kind of abbreviation.
• Traditional BrE style. Stops/periods with abbreviations but not contractions (see contractions).
• Two other variations:
Stops for short forms with any lower case letters in them (including contractions):
e.g. GATT UK Mr. Rev. Mgr. incl. a.s.a.p.
(This is a reasonable compromise between 1. and 2. For International English.) Stops for short forms consisting entirely of lower case letters:
3. Stopped abbreviations. Those at the end of a sentence need no further stop.
e.g. Remember to acknowledge all contributors—the producer, director, writer, cameramen, etc.
Abbreviations (Scripture References)
1. In text, spell out references to whole books or whole chapters of the Bible.
e. g. The opening chapters of Ephesians . . .
Genesis records the creation of the world in the first two chapters.
2. Scripture references should always include a Scripture version in the first reference in the article. It may be omitted in further references if all the references come from the same version. If they differ, then each Scripture reference must include the Scripture version. Abbreviate the Scripture version in references (use the abbreviations as in biblegateway.com).
3. Biblical references may be abbreviated when enclosed in parentheses/brackets. We normally use abbreviations from The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, as follows:
4. The abbreviation for verse is v. and for verses, vv.
5. Use Arabic numerals for all references. If the reference begins a sentence, however, spell out the number.
e.g. . . . in 1 John . . .
First John 3:16 says . . .
Apostrophe
Apostrophe
An apostrophe is used: a. To show possession Following a noun: an apostrophe plus an s. e.g. The book’s cover. But—following a noun that ends in s: an apostrophe only. e.g. The puppies’ tails. Exception—personal names that end in s add an apostrophe and an s. (But—Japan Harvest adds only an apostrophe to the names Jesus and Moses.) e.g. Jones’s; Keats’s; Jesus’; Moses’ Note: Possessive pronouns—including “its”—already show belonging, so do not need an apostrophe. (“It’s”—it is—indicates omission.) b. To show omission e.g. the ’70s, don’t, can’t, I’ll, it’s. c. To form a plural with lowercase letters (but not numerals or uppercase letters) e.g. x’s and y’s, but 3s and PhDs. d. (Rarely) In a proper geographic name e.g. Pikes Peak, but Martha's Vineyard. With only a few exceptions in the US and Australia, "apostrophes suggesting possession or association are not to be used within the body of a proper geographic name"¹. Perhaps more commonly used in Canada and Britain, the apostrophe usage debate continues to rage. Check an official map or article for proper spelling. ¹Principles, Policies, and Procedures for Domestic Geographic Names, p. 41Brackets (AmE)/Square brackets (BrE) — [ ]
(for Brackets (BrE), see Parentheses) a. Brackets/square brackets enclose editorial insertions, corrections, explanations, or comments.e.g. She [Ayako Miura] died in 1999, after a remarkable career.
b. Brackets/square brackets may also enclose the phonetic transcript of a word.e.g. He attributed the light to the phenomenon called gegenschein [ga-gen-shin].
Capitalization
See Capitalization (Word List) below for capitalization or non-capitalization of specific terms. Titles and Titles of office-
- Japan Harvest uses sentence case for article titles. Therefore only the first word and proper nouns have initial capitals.
- Titles that immediately precede a personal name, such as civil, military, religious, and professional titles, are capitalized. They are not generally capitalized if they come after a person's name or if there is a “the” before the title. (see http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/capitalization-of-job-titles.html).
e.g. General McArthur, Reverend Sasaki
Note: with titles that are abbreviations or contractions, AmE and BrE follow different rules. See sections on abbreviations and contractions.
e.g. Mr./Mrs. (AmE), Mr/Mrs (BrE)
3. Titles used after a personal name, alone, or in place of a name should be in lower case, with rare exceptions. (Japanese status- or position-identifying suffixes should be treated as separate, capitalized words. See Romanization of Japanese terms > Names, Personal – suffixes)
e.g. the emperor; the president; Mr. Koizumi, the former prime minister; Sasaki-san, Sasaki Sensei.
4. Titles in institutions other than church and state are not regularly capitalized.
e.g. the president of JEMA, the managing editor of Japan Harvest, chairman of the board
Kinship names1. A kinship name is in lowercase when it is not followed by a given name.
e.g. his father, my brothers and sisters, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Jan/Aunty Jan (BrE), Ford is my mother’s maiden name, Ask Dad to give you a bite of his.
2. Capitalize a kinship name in direct address or when you substitute the term for a personal name.
e.g. Don’t go near the water, Son. Did you sell your house yet, Auntie? Cheryl and Cindy are his youngest aunts.
Political divisionsCapitalize words designating political divisions of the world, a country, state, city, and similar entities when they follow the name or when they are an accepted or official part of the name.
e.g. Roman Empire, but the empire; Washington State, but the state of Washington
Organizations- Capitalize names of organizations and institutions when they are set out in full. Don’t capitalize the small function words linking the words (prepositions, articles, conjunctions) unless they are at the beginning.
e.g. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Korean Missionary Association in Japan
2. Don’t capitalize words denoting political or organizational systems or offices unless they are part of a proper noun
e.g. democracy, party, mission
Geographical Locations or Proper Names- Geographical names and designations are capitalized whenever they appear in full. Special buildings and public structures are also capitalized when they are written in full. Small functional, linking words are not capitalized.
e.g. Snowy Mountains, Chiba Ken, Tokyo Tower, Statue of Liberty, Aomori Prefecture, Tohoku Prefecture
2. Compass directions are capitalized when abbreviated, but lower case when written in full.
e.g. S, SW, SSW; south, southwest, south-southwest.
3. Unique historical events and periods are capitalized if they are the standard designation.
e.g. the Bronze Age; the Reformation; an industrial revolution, but the Industrial Revolution; a gold rush, but the California Gold Rush of 1849.
Holidays/Seasons- The four seasons are lowercase unless they are personified.
e.g. We welcomed the arrival of spring; Then Winter—with her icy blasts—subsided.
2. Capitalize the names of religious holidays and seasons.
3. Capitalize secular holidays and other specially designated days.
Religious Terms- Proper nouns and titles: Capitalize if used as a proper noun or title. Don’t capitalize if used generically (other gods).
e.g. God, Adonai, the Savior.
Note: The word gospel is to be rendered lowercased in all contexts and for all uses except when used as an actual title.
e.g.
gospel music gospel revival gospel tent the gospel writer the gospel of Christ the true gospel the gospel of salvation to preach the gospel John's gospel gospel of John The Gospel According to Peanuts the Gospels the four gospels the Synoptic Gospels
2. Divine pronouns: Japan Harvest prefers as a general practice not to capitalize divine pronouns, but will allow writers to capitalize divine pronouns if that is their personal conviction. However, our editors retain the right to edit for consistency and context. (For an extensive discussion on both the history of divine pronoun capitalization in English and on current considerations relating to that practice, see The Christian Writer's Manual of Style. Neither Hebrew nor Greek distinguishes between capital and lowercase letters the way English does, so a particular position cannot be supported from the biblical languages.)
Note: Most publishers of copyrighted Bible translations in English will not grant permission to quote if the deity-pronoun style is to be changed. If deity pronouns must be capitalized in a Bible quote, current possible copyrighted options are the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New King James Version (NKJV).
3. Specific places in Scripture are normally capitalized, however, heaven, hell, and, hades are to be in lower case.
4. For guidance in the standard capitalization of religious terms, Japan Harvest editors will refer to The Little Style Guide to Great Christian Writing and Publishing and The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, which each give long lists of religious terms.
ListsList items are initial-capped (oreilly.com)
TitlesCapitalization of titles of publications and creative works varies from publication to publication. Japan Harvest will capitalize all the nouns and adjectives.
Capitalization (Word List)
For religious terms, our primary reference is The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, 4th edition (Hudson). For quick reference to terms that seem to come up repeatedly, see below. To suggest terms to add to this list, contact the japanharvest.org website administrator. email gospel (Gospel only when referring to one of the four Gospels or "the Gospels" as a group) internet (CMOS, 2017; AP Stylebook, 2016) websiteColon
a. Use to introduce a list or draw attention to information that follows. e.g. Education options missionary parents have in Japan include: public school, home school, and international school. Use lowercase even when a complete sentence follows the colon. Exception: When introducing a formal quotation, slogan, or motto, capitalize after the colon. b. Use to precede block quotations (which usually are introduced by full sentences).In his book Cross-cultural Servanthood, Duane Elmer interviewed the local people where missionaries were serving:
I asked many of them one question: What could missionaries do to more effectively minister the gospel of Christ in your culture? Many said that they valued the missionary presence and love they felt from them. But many said, with hesitation but conviction, “Missionaries could more effectively minister the gospel of Christ if they did not think they were so superior to us” . . . Superiority cloaked in the desire to serve is still superiority. It’s not our words that count, but the perceptions of the local people who watch our lives and sense our attitudes.
c. Use between numbers in time. (AmE only—see section on time) d. Use chapter and verse in Scripture references. e.g. 3:15 p.m. (US) and Matthew 5:13.Comma
a. Use when listing items in text, when separating clauses, or when it is necessary to express a short pause in a sentence. b. Use pairs of commas (or dashes) in mid-sentence, if desired, in place of parentheses/round brackets. c. Use between the last two items in a list of three or more items to minimize misreading. (Known as the serial comma, Harvard comma, or Oxford comma.) Watch out for mismatched items, which can create confusion even with the serial comma. e.g. In her travels she went to Yokohama, Kyoto, and Nara. d. Use after the date in US-style dates. e.g. March 21, 1970. e. Use to separate a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence by commas between the words and the quotation marks prior to the quotation, and at the end of the quotation (within quotation marks). e.g. “Meet me at the station,” she ordered. He shouted back, “I’m not going to meet you anywhere.” Exceptions: Do not set off with commas if a quotation is • woven into the syntax of a sentence,e.g. If you don't watch for non-verbal cues, you won't recognize when a spoken “Yes” means “No.”
• or the entire quotation is used as though it were a noun, e.g. Carey had high expectations for his missionary career, adopting “expect great things of God, attempt great things for God” as his motto.f. Use for numbers greater than 999, but with no spaces within the number.
e.g. 1,200 and 1,200,000.
g. If already in use, use semicolons to separate items. e.g. In her travels she visited Japanese castles in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara; she ate sushi in Sendai; and skied in Hokkaido. h. Unnecessary after e.g., but used before e.g. if in running text. e.g. She liked most Japanese food, e.g. sushi and noodles. i. Commas are unnecessary before etc. unless the sentence might otherwise be misconstrued. j. Positioning of commas with respect to closing quotation marks. (AmE) Periods are always placed inside quotation marks (even if a quotation is only a portion of the sentence). e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof.” e.g. The survey response said, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in our mailbox.” (BrE) Full stops are placed outside inverted commas unless a quotation stands by itself as a full sentence. e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof”. e.g. The survey response stated, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in the post.”Contractions
1. Contractions are shortened forms of single words from which the middle is omitted, e. g. Mr., Dr., as opposed to those in which the end is omitted, e.g. Prof., Rev. Commonwealth style tends not to use a full stop when letters are omitted from the middle of a word, e.g. Mr and Dr 2. Contractions are also telescoped phrases such as don’t, I’ll, there’s we’ve. In all such cases, the apostrophe marks the place where a letter or letters have been omitted.Dash/rule: En dash (BrE: En rule) –, and Em dash (BrE: En rule) —
a. Use an en dash (not a hyphen) to indicate inclusive or continuing numbers, as in dates, page references or Scripture references.e.g. pp. 23–46
1970–73
January–May 1994
Acts 2:35–40
b. Use an em dash (—) to separate a string of words. Used either in pairs, or singly. Use sparingly.i. In pairs they mark off a parenthesis in the middle of a sentence. Some British authorities use a spaced en dash in this situation, but not all. Hence Japan Harvest will use an unspaced em dash.
e.g. After that—and in concert with that—he wants peace and prosperity for Rome.
ii. A single em dash is used like a colon.
e.g. A display of aggression quite wasted on Pompey—which Milo knew, but did from force of habit.
iii. Used to denote an abrupt break in thought that affects sentence structure.
e.g. “He hasn’t marched? He—which legion?”
c. Use a 2-em dash (no space on either side) to indicate missing letters in a word.e.g. Melody P——k voted no.
d. Use a 3-em dash (with space on each side) to indicate that a whole word has been omitted. In British style, a spaced two-em is used in this situation.e.g. The ship left ——— in May.
e. Note: an en dash is longer than the hyphen that you find on most keyboards. On Mac OS, an en dash is easily created using Option-hyphen; an em dash by using Option-Shift-hyphen. On Microsoft Word's default settings, in both Windows and Macintosh versions, an em dash symbol, which is not always a true em dash from the font, is automatically produced by Autocorrect when two unspaced hyphens are entered between words ("word--word"). An en dash, which again is not always a true en dash from the font, is automatically produced when one or two hyphens surrounded by spaces are entered: ("word — word") or ("word -- word")Dates and times
1. Write out the month to avoid confusion due to several different ways of writing dates across the world.
e.g. 30 September 2012 or September 30, 2012
2. Usually the full year is given (1980s).
3. When indicated a span of years, an en dash connects the numbers. In four-digit dates, the last two digits are repeated except within the first decade of the century. When dates span the turn of a century all four digits should be repeated.
e.g. 2013–14, 2001–2, 1998–2004.
4. A slash or solidus is used to indicate a period that doesn’t coincide exactly with one calendar year.
e.g. 2010/11
5. For denoting morning or evening: AM/PM or a.m./p.m. should be used. British English often uses “am/pm” with no punctuation, but for this publication periods will be used.
6. Never use st, nd, rd, or th after figures in dates.
7. Within one article use a consistent form for dates. One of the following is suitable:
- October 14, 1999
- Japan Times, 12 October 2000.
- The third of June 1956.
- June 9 (never June 9th).
8. Spell out times within text, however you may use digits to express an exact time.
e.g.
Our youth group meets at eight-thirty.
The train departs at 7:36.
9. 30 minutes past the hour is written “half past”.
e.g. 7:30 = half past seven
10. 15 minutes before the hour or after the hour is written “quarter to” or “quarter past”.
11. American English uses a colon between hour and minutes. British/Commonwealth English uses a full stop.
e.g. 7:30 p.m. (US) 7.30 p.m. (B/C)
Ellipsis dots (BrE: Ellipsis points) — . . .
An ellipsis consists of a series of three dots, with single spaces before, between, and after the dots.e.g. She dashed to the shop . . . later she stopped by the library.
a. Use when one or more words have been left out within a quotation (but not at the beginning). b. Use to indicate a break in thought, daydreaming, or hesitation.(But use an em dash to indicate an external interruption of speech or thought.)
e.g. If he had only come sooner . . . if only . . . then perhaps everything would have been different. I–that is, we – yes, we wish he had come sooner.
c. Use for a pause in dialogue. d. Punctuation on either side of the three ellipsis dots can be used it if makes the meaning clearer. e. Four dots indicate the material is omitted at the end of a sentence as in the example in f.e.g. I wondered, was he the hapless dupe he made out to be? . . . He seemed far too clever for that.
f. If the resumed quotation constitutes a fresh sentence, begin the new section with a capital letter.e.g. He wanted no more of it. . . . But having said that . . .
A whole line of ellipsis points can be used to indicate the omission of a line or lines of verse from a poem, or where whole paragraphs have been omitted from a prose text.Exclamation point/mark — !
a. Use sparsely, mostly in reported speech. Never use double or triple. b. Use to mark an emphatic or sarcastic comment. c. If an exclamation point and an ellipsis are both required after a statement, the exclamation point precedes the ellipsis. e.g. It’s on! . . . See you there. d. Treat it like a period/full-stop in quotation marks. If it isn’t part of the quoted material it goes outside e.g. The traitor betrayed everyone, including his “friends”!Hyphenation
1. Use cautiously. US English uses hyphens less frequently than British English, and Canadian and Australian English usage is somewhere in-between.
2. Most compound words do not require a hyphen. When in doubt, look it up. A copy of an up-to-date dictionary will be very useful. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition (suggested by Goss and Goss) for US writers. Macquarie for Australian writers, Oxford for UK writers.
3. Use hyphens to separate letter sequences that distract the reader from construing the word correctly. g. co-workers.
4. A word or phrase used as an adjective is often hyphenated, but it may not be hyphenated when used as a noun.
Italics
(Note: italicize punctuation following italicized words, with the exception of brackets.)
1. To emphasize a particular word in its context. Use sparingly, not for whole sentences.
e.g. That’s not a rhetorical question.
2. To draw attention to an unusual word or one being used in an unusual way.
3. To indicate internal dialogue in contrast to verbal discourse.
e.g. We headed upstairs. It’s so hot up here, I thought to myself.
4. To highlight key terms or words that are the focus of discussion. Usually italicized on first appearance only. e.g. The word freedom means different things to different people.
5. To highlight foreign words (including Japanese) which appear occasionally and aren’t used commonly in English. (If a word is familiar to most readers and listed in Merriam-Webster's, do not use italics, but take note of the Romanization page in our Style Guide). If used repeatedly throughout an article, a term may be italicized only on its first occurrence. (CMOS 7.49)
Note: If used in a context with a less familiar term, either both or neither should be italicized, for internal consistency. (CMOS 7.52)
e.g. Closer inspection revealed that some of the revisions were quite minor, for example replacing a word in hiragana with kanji or changing the punctuation.
OR: Closer inspection revealed that some of the revisions were quite minor, for example replacing a word in hiragana with kanji or changing the punctuation.
6. With titles of books/compositions/publications, and official legal names (legislative acts and statutes, court cases, etc.).
Note: Titles of individual programs not in continuing series are set in non-italicized type and enclosed in quotation marks. (See Names (associations, committees, conferences, seminars, etc.), 2.)
7. For special vehicle names.
e.g. Challenger.
8. To set off single letters against accompanying words.
e.g. “Mind your ps and qs.”
Lists
No period/full stop after list items unless one item forms a complete sentence. (If so, use periods for all items within that list, even fragments.)
e.g.
1. Buy eggs.
2. Pizza.
3. Find a good rental agent.
Names (associations, committees, conferences, seminars, etc.)
1. A permanent, on-going group, conference, seminar, etc. (Use an English translation of the Japanese name, but preference goes to the accepted romaji version of the name if there is one. The Japanese name may be included if necessary for reference.)
Capitalization should be according to the organization's preference. Do not use italics. If in running text, and the precedes the name, even when part of the name, the is lowercase (CMOS 8.69).
2. A one-time conference, seminar, etc. Same as #1.
Names (Japanese people)
Japanese names can be written either in Japanese style (family name first) or in Western style, depending on the preference of the author. But how they are written needs to be consistent throughout the article.
Numbers in Text
General rules
- Spell out numbers under 10 (unless the same object appears in a sentence with an object 10 or over—see #2)
Currency
- Follow general number rules for currency, regards using numerals or spelling out.
Dates and times
- Write out the month to avoid confusion due to several different ways of writing dates across the world.
Parentheses (BrE: Brackets)
Parentheses (singular: parenthesis) and brackets (BrE: square brackets) are used to separate words or characters from the main text. Brackets/square brackets [ ]; braces { }; and slashes/slash brackets/diagonal brackets serve a similar function. See each term for its specific usage. a. Use parentheses, like commas and dashes, to set off amplifying, explanatory, or digressive elements. Use commas, however, if the two parts are closely related. b. Use to enclose optional additions to a word, when the author wants to allow for alternative interpretations or applications of a statement.e.g. Students will take their additional subject(s) in their own time.
c. Use to enclose numbers or enumerative letters in a list. If they are in continuous text it’s usual to put parentheses on either side: (i), (ii) etc., but when they stand at the margin in a list the second parenthesis alone is enough.e.g. Education options missionary parents may choose in Japan include (1) public school, (2) home school, and (3) private international school.
e.g. 1) public school 2) home school 3) private international school d. Use to enclose a whole sentence which forms a parenthesis within a paragraph. e. Use to enclose expressions such as "that is," "namely," "e.g.," "i.e.," and the element introduced in parentheses if the break in thought is greater than that signaled by a comma.e.g. Bones from several animals (e.g. a dog, a cat, a squirrel, a pigeon) were found in the grave.
f. Place ending punctuation outside a closing parenthesis if the word or phrase in the parentheses interrupts or is interjected into a sentence. e.g. A consistent form should be followed (do not punctuate by ear). g. When a question mark or an exclamation point is part of the parenthetical matter, place the question mark or exclamation point inside the closing parenthesis. e.g. I asked for some medicine (or something to help my pain!). When quoting scripture, place the period/full-stop after the parentheses containing the reference unless it is a block quotation. (See Quotation marks)e.g. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).
Period (BrE: Full-stop)
a. Use in vertical listings of numerals or letters: e.g. 1. 2. 3. Do not use periods in combination with parentheses/round brackets. See Parentheses (BrE: Round brackets) b. With in-text references Place the period after the reference. e.g. “For Luther the most radical thing one could do was to learn the basics of the faith with the simple trust of a little child” (p. 27). e.g. The shortest verse in English Bibles is "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). c. With closing quotation marks. (AmE) Periods are always placed inside quotation marks (even if a quotation is only a portion of the sentence). e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof.” e.g. The survey response said, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in our mailbox.” (BrE) Full stops are placed outside inverted commas unless a quotation stands by itself as a full sentence. e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof”. e.g. The survey response stated, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in the post.” d. Place periods after initials and abbreviations. (AmE), e.g.: Mrs. Susan C. Smith * Exceptions: SI units eg kg, g; compass points eg NW; chemical symbols; currency symbols e. (BrE) Use full stops after abbreviations but not contractions (CanE–suspensions). e.g. Rev., incl., a.s.a.p., Mr, Mrs f. Lists. No period/full stop after list items unless one item forms a complete sentence. (If so, use periods for all items within that list, even fragments.) e.g. 1. Buy eggs. 2. Pizza. 3. Find a good rental agent.Question mark (?)
a. Used to pose a question or to express an editorial doubt.e.g. The Smiths came to Japan first in 1950? by boat.
When did you first come to Japan?
b. Place the question mark inside quotation marks, parentheses, or brackets when it is part of the quoted or parenthetical material. (As above.) c. Place it outside quotation marks when quoted material isn’t a question.e.g. When did you first hear “konnichiwa”?
d. Indirect and rhetorical questions do not need a question mark.e.g. Gary asked if he could go to the writing conference.
Quotation marks (“ ”)
a. Direct quotations must reproduce exactly the wording, spelling, and punctuation of the original, with one exception: It is acceptable to change the initial letter of the quotation to a capital or lowercase letter to fit the syntax of the text. b. The author is responsible to check every quotation against the original for accuracy. c. In general we will avoid having quotes longer than six lines or about 50 words. Set quotations over six lines in block quotes. There is no need for quotation marks in block quotes. Smaller quotations go within the text. Quotations within the block quotation should be enclosed in double quotation marks. (See “Quotations, Block” for block quotation guidelines.) d. Reference citations for block quotes always sit outside of the last punctuation mark in the quote and there is no full stop after the citation. e.g. “Anything of value is going to cost you something.” (Shaughnessy 1993, p. 10) e. If the quotation, either run into or set off from the text, is used as part of the author’s sentence, it begins with a lowercase letter, even though the original is a complete sentence and begins with a capital letter. e.g. The Gospel of John begins with the assertion that “in the beginning was the Word.” f. Direct conversation, whether run into or set off from the text, should always be enclosed in double quotation marks. e.g. Travis protested, “I simply do not like the taste of tofu in food!” He had just finished eating a small bowl of tofu chili. “Ugh! Tofu has no taste, in my opinion.” g. Double quotation marks should also be used with words or phrases that are coined or invented expressions, express irony, are slang or are otherwise worthy of distinguishing. h. Do not use single quotation marks at all unless including a quotation within a quotation that appears within the body of the text. e.g. Katie said, “Stop saying, ‘I told you so!’ it is driving me crazy.” i. Scripture used in block quotations must be followed by the reference in parentheses (round brackets). j. Titles of articles, chapters, and other shorter works are set in roman and enclosed in quotation marks. (The Chicago Manual of Style) k. When quoted in text or listed in a bibliography, titles of books, journals, plays, and other freestanding works are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and other shorter works are set in roman and enclosed in quotation marks. l. Position of quotation marks relative to commas and periods. (AmE) Periods are always placed inside quotation marks (even if a quotation is only a portion of the sentence). e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof.” e.g. The survey response said, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in our mailbox.” (BrE) Full stops are placed outside inverted commas unless a quotation stands by itself as a full sentence. e.g. The dog barked, “Woof, woof”. e.g. The survey response stated, “We always look forward to getting Japan Harvest in the post.” Note: In some Commonwealth publications single quotations are used, however often double quotation marks are used just as in US English. Therefore Japan Harvest will uniformly use double quotation marks.Quotations, Block
A block quotation is a longer quotation of more than six typeset lines or about fifty words set off from the text. It is indented and often one point smaller than the body text.
Referencing
General rules
- The author is responsible to provide references for material that is quoted or referred to in the text. Japan Harvest bases our referencing on the Chicago Manual of Style to standardize citations. See the Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide for specific guidance. Please be aware that our house style is slightly different in some instances.
- Number endnotes consecutively from beginning to end of article.
- References should be linked to the text by superscript numbers in-text. These numbers generally follow a quotation, are at the end of a sentence, or clause. They should be placed after any punctuation except for the dash.
e.g. They cover basic,1 intermediate,2 and advanced Japanese grammar,3 with entries listed in alphabetical order (the advanced volume has an index for all three volumes).
e.g. Recent studies have shown that we can actually interfere with the emotional process during what is known as the “emotional generation timeline.”3
- Japan Harvest is not an academic or theological publication. Therefore referencing is kept to a minimum. We reference quotations, historical concepts and facts that aren’t widely known, facts based on another writer’s original research, references to published documents and controversial statements. See here for further information: https://www.researchtoaction.org/2018/08/referencing-sources-making-it-work-for-non-academic-audiences/
Source examples
Books and magazines
- Harold G. Henderson, An Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Poems and Poets from Basho to Shiki (Doubleday Anchor Books, 1958), 124.
- L. Clauson, “Religious Imagery in Dylan’s Later Songs,” Poetry and Christianity 16 (Summer 2001), 110.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Possessed (Signet Classics, 1962), 224.
- Clauson, “Religious Imagery in Dylan’s Later Songs,” 112.
- Abe Yoshio 阿部善雄, and Kaneko Hideo 金子英生, 最後の「日本人」 : 朝河貫一の生涯 [The last 'Japanese': Life of Kan'ichi Asakawa] (Iwanami Shoten, 1983), 55.
- Nakamura Satoshi 中村敏, 揺れ動く時代におけるキリスト者の使命：日本はどこへ行き、私たちはどこに立つのか？ [Christians’ calling in an age that is being shaken up: Where is Japan heading, and where do we stand?] (Inochi no kotoba sha, 2016), 112-113.
Internet
English website: Author if available, “Article/page title,” Website title, URL (date published or accessed).
Note that our placement of the date follows Turabian, not Chicago, because putting a period immediately after a URL will break the link.
- “E. Stanley Jones Quotes,” QuotesLyfe, https://www.quoteslyfe.com/quote/When-prayer-fades-out-power-fades-out-537597 (accessed May 16, 2023).
- Greg Morse, “Marriage Is Not the Mission,” desiringGod, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/marriage-is-not-the-mission (April 17, 2017).
- “Champions Program,” Champions Education Association, https://champ.org.tw/?page_id=793 (accessed July 17, 2023).
- Shawn L. Stanford, “A Meeting of the Minds: Creation of the Arizona Constitution,” Web-based article taken from the Introduction to Liberty and Justice: The Writing of the Arizona State Constitution, http//:www.azconst.gov (Phoenix: Published for the Arizona Constitutional Preservation Administration by the State of Arizona Archives Trust Fund Board, Arizona Archives and Records Foundation, 1998).
Japanese website: Author in romaji and kanji if available, Article/page title, Website title in English with “Japanese website” included in round brackets after title if not obvious, URL (date published or when accessed).
- 北海道三笠高等学校, Japanese Wikipedia, https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/北海道三笠高等学校 (accessed June 24, 2018).
- “Over 40% of Japanese high school students sleep in class” 授業中の居眠り、日本の高校生は4割超で最多, Nihon Kanzen Shinbun (Japanese website), https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASDG0704E_X00C10A4000000 (April 7, 2010).
E-reader
For a Kindle, iPad or other electronic version, list the author, title, publisher data, the device version, and the major sections (chapter, section, and paragraph number; abbreviate if titles are long).
- Roger J. Davies and Osamu Ikeno, The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture, (Tuttle Publishing, 2002), Kindle DX version, Chapter __, Section __, para. __.
- Davies and Ikeno, The Japanese Mind, Chapter __, Section __, para. __.
Scripture References
- When quoting Scripture, place the period after the parentheses containing the reference. If the quotation ends in a question or exclamation point, place it with the text and place a period after the last parenthesis.
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1 NIV 1984).
“When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21 NIV). - If an author uses the same Bible version for all the quotes in an article, only cite the first one. If more than one version is used, each Scripture quotation must reference the Bible version.
For abbreviations of Bible books, see Abbreviations (Scripture References).
Romanization of Japanese terms
Japan Harvest uses rōmaji according to its own simplified version of the modified Hepburn system. In compiling this style guide we’ve consulted the Japan Style Sheet published by the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (Tokyo, Japan) 2018, 3rd edition, and the Wikipedia style guide for Japan-related articles in English: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Japan-related_articles
1. Apostrophes and hyphens
Apostrophe: Japan Harvest avoids the use of an apostrophe to indicate separate Japanese syllables.
e.g. Shinetsu, not Shin'etsu (信越); shinyō, not shin'yō (信用)
Hyphen: use sparingly
e.g. Meiji jidai-shi (or jidaishi) no shinkenkyu
e.g. Shinjuku-ku (or Shinjukuku) no meisho."
2. Macrons
Proper nouns
Macrons over long vowels are helpful to show correct pronunciation when using rōmaji (see below—Vowels, long). However, with romanized spellings of Japanese proper nouns, Japan Harvest defers to their preferred English renderings as displayed on official municipality, university, or publisher’s websites, etc.
Many municipality names are found on travel websites, however, a municipality page's spelling takes priority. In many cases you can just search for an official city, university, or publisher’s website, etc. and immediately determine what they have decided the spelling of their name is in romaji. This spelling may or may not indicate the presence of a long vowel.
For example, see the following site for Oita.
https://www.oishiimati-oita.jp/en/
For a few additional examples, do not use a macron with: Kodansha, Doshisha University, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Kyushu, Honshu, Hokkaido, Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands, Iwo Jima, etc.
Other words
Japanese terms should be romanized according to common usage in English language. Japan Harvest uses the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary as our reference. If a word with long vowels is not in the MWD, then we render it according to the following:
Katakana — for loanwords with long vowels [indicated by 長音符 chōonpu (ー)] use macrons with all five vowels (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō).
Hiragana — see the below romanization guide. For detailed discussion and examples, see the Wikipedia article on Hepburn Romanization under Long Vowels. The chart below summarizes key guidance from the Wikipedia article:
Romanization guide for long vowel sounds (when to use a macron and when to use double consonants)
| Vowel sound | a + a | i + i | u + u | e + e | e + i | o + o | o + u |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For a simple long vowel | お婆さん おばあさん obāsan | 美味しい おいしい oishii | 数学 すうがく sūgaku | お姉さん おねえさん onēsan | 学生 がくせい gakusei | 氷 こおり kōri | 学校 がっこう gakkō |
| For a verb in plain form | 食う くう kuu | 迷う まよう mayou | |||||
| When there is a word-border | 湖 みずうみ mizuumi | 濡れ縁 ぬれえん nureen | 小躍り こおどり koodori | 子馬 こうま kouma | |||
| With a long vowel + word border | 憂鬱 ゆううつ yūutsu |
3. Names
Japanese spellings
When both Japanese script (kanji/kana) and romaji pronunciation is included in the text, write according to the following example: Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san)
Note: In running text, do not italicize proper nouns, even when using transliterations.
Suffixes
Hyphens are used to set off honorific suffixes in personal names. e.g. Shimada-san, Kaori-chan, Tarō-kun
For status- or position-identifying suffixes, treat the term as a separate, capitalized word. e.g. Kawasaki Buchō, Tanaka Sensei, Amano Senpai
4. Other hiragana/katakana characters
Particles は, へ, and を: write wa, e, and o respectively.
Sokuon ("chiisai tsu") っ: written as t before ch (i.e., こっち kotchi, not kocchi).
Titles, transliterated: Particles such as (but not limited to) wa (は), e (へ), o (を), ga (が), and yo (よ) should not be capitalized (i.e., Otoko wa Tsurai yo, not Otoko wa tsurai yo nor Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo).
N, (syllabic) ん
When romanizing the syllabic ん, either n or m before b, m, or p is acceptable. Respect accepted variants. Using n is more consistent with dictionary practice.
We spell クリスチャン新聞 as Christian Shimbun as a convention in Japan Harvest.
Japan Harvest avoids the use of an apostrophe to denote a syllabic n when it could be confused with na, ni, nu, ne, or no. (See Apostrophe earlier on this page.)
Semicolon — ;
a. Use sparingly. b. Use for a more important break in sentence flow than one marked by a comma. Use between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction.e.g. My uncle is going skiing in Hokkaido; I wish I could take holidays and go too.
c. Use for complex sentences with commas already in use.e.g. In her travels she visited Japanese castles in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara; she ate sushi in Sendai; and skied in Hokkaido.
d. Use for emphasis.e.g. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
e. Use to separate references (particularly Bible references) when they contain internal punctuation.
e.g. Luke 1:1-5; 3:15; 5:12, 14, 16.
f. Always place outside quotations marks and parentheses/round brackets.e.g. Luther once called the book of James “the epistle of straw”; however, he wrote a brilliant commentary on it.
Slash/Forward slash/Solidus — /
a. Indicates alternatives. e.g. They will sponsor road/rail transport for the teams. Everyone can bring his/her own friend/s. c. Can be used to indicate a time period (but an en dash is preferred). e.g. We’ll be away June/July. She was in Japan 1985/86. (Preferred: She was in Japan 1985–86). d. Designates line breaks when poetry or text from songs is written as text. e.g. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. / He makes me lie down in green pastures. / He leads me beside quiet waters. e. Separates the numbers in a date, as in 3/11/2012. f. Separates segments in an Internet address.Street names and addresses
In most cases numbers in addresses are written in digits.
2-1 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo 101-0062