Services
- Are you afraid of being told to turn your LaTeX paper into a Word file?
- Do you need to translate from Chinese to English?
- Do you have English text that has been translated from Chinese and want it checked?
- Do you have layout for Chinese text that has been translated from English that needs to be checked?
- Do you need layout done?
If you want help in any of these areas, let’s get in touch!
Portfolio
Studio (Craft Ontario) 18, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2023–2024)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2023
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press)
- Credits
- On masthead (page 4)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
Studio (Craft Ontario) 18, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2023)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2023
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press)
- Credits
- On masthead (page 4)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
Studio (Craft Ontario) 17, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2022–2023)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2023
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press)
- Credits
- On masthead
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
Studio (Craft Ontario) 17, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2022)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2023
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press)
- Credits
- On masthead
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
Studio (Craft Ontario) 16, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2021)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2021
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Scope
- 7 articles (out of 12) and contributor biographies
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press)
- Credits
- On masthead (page 4)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
These were the articles I edited:
- “Portfolio: SugaCayne Designs” (page 58)
- “Focus Point: Tosca Terán” by Scott Coish (pages 10–15)
- “Portfolio: Pavitra Wickramasinghe” (page 54)
- “Portfolio: Wally Dion” (page 63)
- “Celebrating the Crafts: Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts Artistic Achievement Award” by Lera Kotsyuba (pages 20–26)
- “Inquiries: Michelle Jacques: An Interview with the Head of Exhibitions and Collections & Chief Curator at Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Sask.” (page 68)
- “The Pursuit of an Unknown Tomorrow” (pages 29–30)
Studio (Craft Ontario) 15, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2020–2021)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2020
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Scope
- All articles except the two poems
- Style
- CP (Canadian Press) with Chicago citations
- Credits
- On masthead (page 4)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
I copy edited the Fall/Winter 2020–2021 issue of Studio magazine except the two poems. This was the first time I edited in CP style.
Studio (Craft Ontario) 14, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2019–2020)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2019
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Scope
- 3 articles (out of 14)
- Style
- Modified Chicago
- Credits
- On masthead (page 10)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
I copy edited about a fifth of the articles in the Fall/Winter 2019–2020 issue of Studio magazine. The material required a relatively heavier edit and some terminology research.
These were the articles I edited:
- “For the Love of Colour” by Leah Gravells (pages 43–45)
- “Under the Radar: Megan Samms” by Lera Kotsyuba (page 52)
- “Colour and Context” by Jennifer Poulin (pages 18–22)
Studio (Craft Ontario) 13, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2018–19)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Year
- 2018
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Scope
- 9 articles (out of 19)
- Style
- Modified Chicago
- Credits
- On masthead (page 8)
- To read it
- You can buy this issue from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
I copy edited about half of the articles in the Fall/Winter 2018–19 issue of Studio magazine. The edit involved Chicago-style citations, a reference style that I was not familiar with.
These were the articles I edited:
- “Fait main / Hand Made” by Bruno Andrus (pages 72–74)
- “I’m DONE Defining Craft” by Mary Callahan Baumstark (pages 50–53)
- “Under the Radar: Jake Whillans” by the editors of Studio (pages 70–71)
- “1968” by Paul Epp (page 11)
- “Charged Agency: Craft and the Souvenirs of War” by Julia Krueger and Heather Smith (pages 46–49)
- “Mentor and Metalsmith: The Silver Art of Arthur Brecken and Wesley Harris — Review” by Bettina Matzkuhn (pages 77–78)
- “Heinemann’s Clay Continuum” by Heidi McKenzie (pages 18–23)
- “Craft + Technology in the work of Iris van Herpen and Philip Beesley” by Marie O’Mahony (pages 34–39)
- “Arts of Seeing” by Michael Prokopow (pages 62–65)
Active Voice / Voix active (Editors Canada) 37 (Sept. 2017)
- Work done
- Proofreading
- Language
- Canadian English
- Medium
- Trade magazine
- Year
- 2017
- Publisher
- Editors Canada
- Pages
- 16
- Scope
- Everything in English
- Style
- Modified Chicago
- Credits
- On masthead (page 2)
- To read it
- You can download this issue from the publisher
I proofread the English portion of the September 2017 issue of Active Voice (about half of the content). This was the last print issue published by Editors Canada before the publication went online-only.
Living with Viola
- Work done
- Cantonese language review
- Language
- Romanized Cantonese
- Genre
- Graphic novel
- Year
- 2021
- Publisher
- Annick Press
- Scope
- Romanized Cantonese
- Style
- No style requirements
- Credits
- Copyright page
- To read it
- You can buy it from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
This was a project in which I reviewed the romanized Cantonese (yue-latn) in a graphic novel.
Although there were no official style requirements, the author was aiming for the language of second-generation Cantonese speakers.
Age 16
- Work done
- Proofreading
- Language
- Cantonese
- Chinese
- Genre
- Graphic novel
- Year
- 2023
- Publisher
- Annick Press
- Scope
- Chinese characters
- Style
- No style requirements
- To read it
- You can buy it from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
This was a small project in which I reviewed the Chinese characters in a graphic novel. It’s essentially proofreading, but only for part of the book.
Because Cantonese is relatively low-status, to maintain suspension of disbelief, the project actually involved two languages, Cantonese (yue-hant) and Hong Kong Chinese (zh-hk).
Crash Landing
- Work done
- Glossary editing
- Language
- Romanized Cantonese
- Genre
- YA fiction
- Year
- 2023
- Publisher
- Annick Press
- Scope
- 32 terms
- Style
- No style requirements
- To read it
- You can buy it from the publisher or check if your library has a copy
This was a very small project in which I reviewed a glossary of Cantonese terms and suggested changes to how the terms should be transcribed. It’s essentially style sheet development, but only for a small part of their style sheet.
There was no style requirement so what I aimed for was internal consistency.
This was in some sense a bilingual project. The source language was Cantonese in Chinese characters (yue-hant); the target language was romanized Cantonese (yue-latn) in the context of Canadian English.
Craft Ontario 2018 Stewardship Report
- Work done
- Proofreading
- Language
- Canadian English
- Genre
- Annual report
- Year
- 2019
- Publisher
- Craft Ontario
- Scope
- All 24 typeset pages
- Style
- No style requirements
- To read it
- You can read the report online
This was the editorial portion of an annual report.
BoldFace (blog)
- Work done
- Copy editing
- Language
- Canadian English
- Medium
- Blog
- Year
- 2016–present
- Publisher
- Editors Toronto
- Scope
- 14 articles as of March 2020
- Style
- Modified Chicago
- To read it
- You can read the articles I copy edited online
BoldFace is the official blog of Editors Toronto (the Toronto chapter of Editors Canada). A team consisting of the chapter’s members takes care of the copy editing, and as of March 2020 I have copy edited 14 articles.
BoldFace, 2015 Print edition
- Work done
- Publication design
- Language
- Canadian English
- Medium
- Zine
- Year
- 2015
- Publisher
- Editors Toronto
- Pages
- 8
- Scope
- Design, layout and final PDF
- Style
- Modified Chicago
Editors Toronto (the Toronto chapter of Editors Canada) produced BoldFace: The official blog of Editors Toronto, 2015 Print Edition for the Word on the Street Toronto Festival in the fall of 2015. It featured selected blog posts in a zine-like format so that people who wouldn’t normally read the blog could have a chance to get a taste of it.
The design had to follow Editors Canada’s then-new branding guidelines and Editors Toronto’s style sheet, and I had to keep it at eight pages; but other than these two requirements I was free to design it any way I wanted.
Cadmium January 2014
- Work done
- Publication design
- Language
- English
- Medium
- Zine
- Year
- 2014
- Publisher
- OCAD Student Union
- Pages
- 16
- Scope
- Editorial management, copywriting (fiction and nonfiction), interviewing, design, layout, imposition and binding
- Style
- No style requirements
- Credits
- In Editor’s Note (page 2)
Cadmium was the official zine published by the OCAD Student Union (the student union of OCAD University in Toronto, Canada). The student union would select a different editor to produce each issue.
One of the challenges I faced was that previous episodes of the “continuing story” feature did not present a consistent universe, so I had to find and analyze previous episodes. Once I figured out what characters were in the story and what geography could make sense I was able to create the new episode that I needed.
Personal projects
Index to How to Draw Almost Every Animal by Chika Miyata
- Work done
- Indexing
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2019
- Scope
- Entire book
- To read it
- download it here
Problem
I bought a copy of Chika Miyata’s How to Draw Almost Every Animal when I attended DesignThinkers Toronto 2018, but quickly realized it was almost impossible to find any animal when I needed a reference: While the book has a table of contents, it’s not in alphabetical or any other logical order.
Solution
Because the book has no index either, I decided to create my own. The index would have the same size as a regular page in the book so that it would be practical to glue it to the book, between the last page and the inside book cover.
Since only the names of animals were being indexed, the indexing itself was straightforward. I wrote the index directly in InDesign, without using any special software.
Results
Although I have omitted some cross references to keep the final product to two pages, this simple index has allowed me to either quickly find the animal I need or quickly determine that what I need is not covered by the book.
Cantonese translation of Ukrainian national anthem
- Work done
- Translation
- Music typesetting
- Language
- French into Hong Kong Chinese (FR > ZH-HK)
- Year
- 2022
- To read it
- download it here
- In collaboration with
- Esther Ng (critique, editing and chords)
Problem
After looking up the lyrics of the Ukrainian national anthem, I felt the need to find a translation into a language I speak so that I can have a deeper connection to the lyrics.
After finding a number of different English versions and no existing Chinese version that can be sung in Cantonese, I decided to attempt a Cantonese translation.
(For lyrics, this usually means translating into a regional form of written Chinese so that the result makes phonetic sense in Cantonese. This does not usually mean translating into actual Cantonese.)
Cantonese is a tonal language, so phrases will create micro-melodies, or tonal contours. In Cantonese songs, if you fit words with the wrong tonal contour into the music, the words will sound wrong, so words are not only chosen for their meanings but also their tonal values, and sometimes the “correct” words cannot be used because their tone contours cannot be fit into the music.
Solution
I based my translation on the French translation on Wikipedia because I do not understand Ukrainian. I had also read some background information provided by the Toronto Ukrainian Genealogy Group.
As I normally do when translating lyrics into Cantonese, at various points in the process, I tried singing finished parts of my translation to different recordings to check that the words I chose could indeed fit into different variations of the actual melody.
Drafts were also critiqued and edited by a musician friend, who provided invaluable feedback.
Results
This is still a work in progress, with measures 14–15 currently being the major sticking point.
Hi!
My name is Ambrose and I’m a copy editor, graphic designer and visual artist based in Toronto, Canada. I am a 1.5-generation Hongkonger-Canadian and I read and write Hong Kong Chinese and also speak Cantonese natively.
I studied computer science and inclusive design so I’m fairly familiar with markup languages, including HTML and LaTeX. (If your paper is LaTeX I won’t ask you for a Word file. I’ve worked on LaTeX papers myself and know first-hand how converting LaTeX to Word then back can sometimes destroy your file!)
I also have experience in graphic design, a few craft-based practices (mainly studio ceramics, plus some printmaking and bookbinding) and IT (programming and system administration).
If your text involves Christian terms in Chinese, I have translated Christian content from Chinese to English and vice versa, and have a reasonable knowledge of both Catholic and Protestant terminologies.
How to reach me
- Email:
- ambrose.li@protonmail.com
- Instagram:
- @ambrose.li
Toronto is in Canada’s “Eastern” time zone, which is currently 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT−5).
© 2020–2024 Ambrose Li
Designed and coded by Ambrose Li.
First published .
Last updated .
Cover art for the following are used with permission:
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 18, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2023–2024)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 18, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2023)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 17, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2022–2023)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 17, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2022)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 16, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2021)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 15, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2020–2021)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 14, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2019–2020)
- Studio (Craft Ontario) 13, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2018–19)
- Active Voice / Voix active (Editors Canada) 37 (Sept. 2017)
- Living with Viola
- Age 16
- Crash Landing
- Craft Ontario 2018 Stewardship Report
Special thanks to:
We #StandWithUkraine Portrait Studio Pop-up and Anita Kin
Sara Kitaoji
Colophon
Typeset in Lato, a typeface designed by Łukasz Dziedzic of tyPoland, Poland. Some icons typeset in Open Iconic, an icon set designed by P.J. Onori, Dave Johnson and Ryan Teuscher of Waybury, United States.
Webfonts delivered with Brick, an open-source webfont service designed by Alfred Xing, Canada.
Accessibility statement
This site has been tested for keyboard navigation and with the TalkBack screen reader on Android, although this site is not currently required to comply with WCAG AA in Ontario.
Colour contrast on this site is currently not compliant with WCAG Level AA; this will eventually be mitigated but please read my thoughts on problems with the colour contrast rules.