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It is probably a truism to say that the best quality of English to Chinese translations that electronic devices could provide is still far from the quality of professional human English to Chinese translators. However, companies like to use phrases such as “superior translation and accurate communication” or “flawless” in their advertisement. A simple way to find out about their quality, as many have suggested, is to feed a sentence to any such devices, and let it translate just across a few languages that they claims to be capable of, and let it translate it back to the original language, and you’ll see the difference.
Sometimes, the Chinese to English translator faces a funny reality—they are required to translate the translation back. For instance, the original text is the Chinese introduction of a new product launched in English-speaking countries, and we need to translate this introduction back into English. In this process, the rule of thumb is to search and read the original introduction in English first. In doing this, we can grasp the general features of the new product and get to know the key words and phrases in its description. With a click, we can achieve accurate and professional translation without spending too much time pondering what expressions to use.
In Chinese to English translation, should “计算机技术” be translated as “computer technology” or “computer techniques”? Should “增强现实技术” be translated as “augmented reality technology” or “augmented reality techniques”? This is tricky in Chinese to English translation, because both “technology” and “technique” share the same Chinese translation equivalent, i.e., “技术”, though technique could be translated as “技巧”, or “skill”, in certain circumstances. If we search these English phrases in major search engines, such as Google, we can find all of them being used. They may seem interchangeable; however, it is necessary and desirable to capture the fine distinction between the two English words: technology is more general, and most often a collection of certain techniques. For a certain technique, it is probably safer to search for its full and proper translation equivalent in Chinese to ensure that its accuracy and reliability. Usually search engines do a good job leading us to some relevant and important websites which uses such terms in context. This tip works for all important proper nouns.
Mandarin used in Mainland China is different from Taiwanese Mandarin in some minor ways. One distinction between the two lies in the translation of people’s names. For instance, in English to Chinese translation, Hillary is translated into “希拉里” in Mainland Mandarin and “希拉蕊” or “希拉莉” in Taiwanese Mandarin. Although these translation equivalents are all phonology-based, i.e., similar to the original English name in pronunciation, the two employed in Taiwan capture the feminine characteristic of the name, as “蕊” and “莉” are commonly used (given) names for female. In translation of other names, Taiwanese translation does not necessarily provide more information than its mainland counterpart; rather, they are just different slightly. In English to Chinese translation, we should communicate with our client first to make sure which version of Mandarin is required. We all understand the importance of people’s names (imagine you are the one mentioned in the original text), so it is a must for us to offer the correct translation of these names.
In capturing the surprisingly fast emergence of something, Chinese and English languages possess different metaphors based on their respective culture. In Chinese, it could be expressed in “如雨后春笋般涌现” （emerge as bamboo shoots after rain in spring）, while in English, the metaphor lies in the spring jumping up at a fast speed. Thus, in English to Chinese translation, the sentence “Numerous new projects have been springing up in Beijing.” Could be translated into “很多项目如雨后春笋般涌现于北京”. Understanding the differential metaphorical extensions between the two languages, English to Chinese translators could improve the quality of their Chinese translations, and also move on to another level of appreciating the differences between these two languages and cultures. A little treat for us, isn’t it?
In formal Chinese to English translation, such as academic, legal and business fields, nominalization is an effective way to keep the target translation concise, clear, and most importantly, formal. Nominalization is the employment of noun forms of verbs and adjectives. For instance, in the previous sentence, instead of using “to employ noun forms…”, we used the noun form of employ, i.e., “employment of…”. As mentioned earlier, nominalization helps to build a formal texture of the translation and usually adds credibility to the idea communicated in the translation. However, it is not appropriate in all cases: in translating materials with a casual and colloquial nature, nominalization should not be used in principle.
In Chinese-English translation, it is common for translators to get in contact with ideas which could be expressed in multiple ways in the target language. For instance, in the translation of “好战的” into English, the candidates lining up to be selected include aggressive, belligerent, antagonistic, combative, etc. Similarly, in English to Chinese translation, “miser” could be translated to “小气的”or“吝啬的”.
Thus, should translators choose one translation equivalent and stick to it throughout the whole translation project or use different translation equivalents in different contexts? Our suggestion is that it depends on the nature of the words. For non-jargon words, it would be preferable to use various expressions, so that the translated text would be of high vocabulary complexity. On the other hand, for jargon or specialized terms, it is favorable to keep using the same expression, to avoid confusion. To meet the standard of high-quality translation, both consistency in terms and variation in common words are musts.
Do you know what a TRANSLATOR is? What about INTERPRETER? What does it mean to be a translator or interpreter? See the video below for a day in the life (Courtesy of American Translators Association).
Having introduced online dictionary and search engines in previous blogs, today I will present several useful online translation forums useful for English-Chinese translation practice. Good translation forums offer translation techniques by experienced translators, terms in special fields, tips on managing risks and marketing services online, potential help in translating some text from peer translators, or perhaps to find out what other translators are reading, both on translation or for fun. Good forums helpful for English to Chinese translator include:
By participating in the translation community, we can keep ourselves updated on translation industry and also establish our voice in this fields, both by asking and answering questions related to translation.