What You Must KnowWhat You Must Know About ChineseAbout Chinese

Translation

for project managers & vendor managersfor project managers & vendor managers

By Frank Weifrank@mts.cn

ContentContent1 Chinese Language1. Chinese Language2. Versions of Written Chinese 3. Versions of Spoken Chinese4 Simplified vs Traditional4. Simplified vs. Traditional5. Cantonese vs. Mandarin6. Chinese Input & Coding7 DBCS E di & F t7. DBCS Encoding & Fonts8. Chinese vs. Japanese & Korean9. Chinese Translation Peculiarities10. Certified Chinese Translation in

China11. Accreditation Tests12. How to find a qualified Chinese

translatorPlease note that this presentation is not intended to teach you to

k it Chi !speak or write Chinese!

Chinese LanguageChinese LanguageChinese is the most used language in• Chinese is the most used language in the world. Nearly one-fifth of the worldspeaks Chinese as their native tongue.speaks Chinese as their native tongue.

• Over 1 Billion Speak a Chinese Language• Written Chinese is not an alphabetic language. We call

Chi h t ' d h t ‘Chinese characters as 'squared characters‘.• The Chinese script is a logographic script structured so

that each character represents a single concept; a eac c a ac e ep ese s a s g e co cep ;characters are then combined to form compound words. Although there are several distinct languages (or "dialects") spoken in China including Mandarin anddialects ) spoken in China including Mandarin and Cantonese (Hong Kong), they can all read the same "written words" because it is based on meaning, not on soundsound.

Evolution of Chinese CharactersEvolution of Chinese Characters

Major Characteristics• 1. Basically monosyllabic characters

– Chinese characters are the written symbol of the Chinese language.

• 2. Tonal language– The meaning of a word changes according to its toneThe meaning of a word changes according to its tone.

• 3. Less Morphological Changes– There is no grammatical distinction between singular or plural,

no declination of verbs according to tense mood and aspectno declination of verbs according to tense, mood and aspect.• 4. Subject-verb-object Order

– The basic order of modern Chinese language is “subject-verb-bj t”object”.

– .......– Consult with frank@mts.cn if you are interested in this.

Versions of Written ChineseVersions of Written ChineseTh i i f Chi i l Si lifi d• There are two variations of Chinese written languages: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

• Chinese Traditional is the older form of the script and is used in pTaiwan, Hong Kong, and other locations outside of China, including various "Chinatowns" in the West. Chinese Traditional characters are more complex and more numerousare more complex and more numerous.

• Simplified Chinese is the result of reducing some strokes from the traditional characters to make it simpler to remember and write. Si lifi d Chi d l d i M i l d Chi ( d d t dSimplified Chinese was developed in Mainland China (and adopted in Singapore) as a way of simplifying the older system in order to increase literacy. As part of the simplification, several Traditional Characters were collapsed into one character in Simplified.

Traditional vs SimplifiedTraditional vs. Simplified

Simplified Vs TraditionalSimplified Vs. TraditionalD ' h Chi i i fi ll l I i• Don't assume that Chinese is a one-size-fits-all language. It is difficult to determine which version to use when requesting translation

• If you're not sure which version of Chinese you need to use, please

check with frank@mts.cn.

Versions of Spoken ChineseVersions of Spoken Chinese

• Many dialects exist, but they can be roughly classified into one of the seven large groups i e Putonghua (Mandarin)large groups, i.e., Putonghua (Mandarin), Gan, Kejia (Hakka), Min, Wu, Xiang and Yue (Cantonese).( )

• Putonghua (Mandarin) is the most widely used spoken language for all Chinese, a “common” language.

• Most Chinese speak a local dialect and Mandarin!

• Difficult to determine which version to use h ti t l tiwhen requesting translation.

* Data source: David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, 1997

Cantonese vs MandarinCantonese vs. Mandarin• Mandarin and Cantonese are dialects of Chinese

language not written languages and should not belanguage, not written languages and should not be used when requesting written translation.

• It is quite correct to use them if you are looking for an interpreter. You would also risk getting the wrong p g g gversion.

• For example, Mandarin is spoken both in China and Taiwan, and increasingly in Hong Kong. Many people i th Chi it l kin the overseas Chinese community also speak Mandarin. When a client from Taiwan requests Mandarin translation, she or he is actually asking for Traditional ChineseTraditional Chinese.

• If a project manager from a US agency asks for Mandarin translation to be used in Mainland China, what she or he wants is Simplified Chinese. p

• Therefore, the best way is to verify the target region, then offer the correct version from the above list and ask the client to confirm. In this way, you will never end

ith iup with a wrong version.

Chinese Input & CodingChinese Input & Coding• Pinyin and Wade-Gilesy

– Pinyin is the term used to refer to the system of writing Chinese words in the Latin (English) alphabet. This was developed in the 1950's in Mainland China to help increase literacy.

– Wade-Giles is the older transliteration system for writing Chinese words in the Latin alphabet. For instance, Peking and Canton are Wade-Giles, but Beijing and Guangdong are the pinyin versions. Most specialists use pinyin to transliterate M d i ChiMandarin Chinese.

• In the computer realm, Simplified Chinese uses GB2312 encoding while Traditional Chinese uses Big5 encoding. g g gThey have different Windows, operating systems, application software and technical terminology.

– Translation departments of large corporations, therefore, treat the two versions as different languages and have separatethe two versions as different languages and have separate teams to handle

• Chinese support on Microsoft Windows. Windows 2000 and XP both have an excellent level of built in Chineseand XP both have an excellent level of built-in Chinese support.

DBCS Encoding & FontsDBCS Encoding & Fonts• On English windows systems all the symbols found on the standard English• On English windows systems, all the symbols found on the standard English

keyboard are represented internally as one-byte ASCII codes. In comparison, each Chinese character has to be represented internally using two bytes. Such a difference implies that in order to use Chinese within a Win32 application, that particular application should be designed to handle two-byte encoded texts properly. p pp g y p p yIt is not the case that all the Windows applications come readily with such a capability.

• Correct font settings to display Chinese characters in your computers:– Traditional Chinese Fonts by PlatformTraditional Chinese Fonts by Platform

• Windows - MingLiU, PMingLiU • Mac OS X - AppleLiGothiic Medium, Li Hei Pro, Apple LiSung, BiauKai, LiSongPro• Mac System 9 - Taipei, others

– Simplified Chinese Fonts by Platform• Windows - SimSun, NSimSun, SimHei, others • Mac OS X - Hei, STHeiti Light and Regular, STFangsong, STKaiti, STSong, Kai • Mac System 9 - Beijing, others

Chinese vs. Japanese and Korean• While Chinese is treated equally withWhile Chinese is treated equally with

Japanese and Korean as an Asian language in the US translation market, the translation of Chinese is in realitythe translation of Chinese is in reality much more demanding than that of Japanese and Korean. The maindifference is in the translation of technical terminology.

• In Japanese and Korean, all technical terms are transliterated using Katakana d H l F l " " ill b h i ll ll d ' 'and Hangul. For example, "computer" will be phonetically spelled out as 'con'

'pu' 'ta' using Katakana (not conceptually translated) and it takes only seconds.

• In Chinese each term is conceptually translated into a specific word To make• In Chinese, each term is conceptually translated into a specific word. To make things more complicated, for the same English term, different translations are used in different scientific and engineering disciplines. You need to either know the particular translation used in that particular field, or know where to look it up if you are lucky enough to be able to get your hands on the rightlook it up if you are lucky enough to be able to get your hands on the right specialty dictionary.

Chinese Translation PeculiaritiesChinese Translation Peculiarities• Professional Chinese translators usually work with only

one of the two Chinese versions, Simplified Chinese or , pTraditional Chinese.

• Simplified Chinese was developed in Mainland China (and adopted in Singapore) as a way of simplifying the ld t i d t i litolder system in order to increase literacy. – As part of the simplification, several Traditional Characters were

collapsed into one character in Simplified. – Although it is relatively easy to convert from Chinese Traditional g y y

to Chinese Simplified, the reverse is not always true.

• Traditional Chinese used in Taiwan is different from that in Hong Kong and also from that in Chinesein Hong Kong and also from that in Chinese communities in Europe and America.

• Many companies treat them as two separate languages• Many companies treat them as two separate languages and have separate teams.

• Always check with clients the target market to determine• Always check with clients the target market to determine the correct version to use.

Certified Chinese TranslationCertified Chinese Translation • A certified Chinese translation in China needs to be

provided by a translation company, not by a certified p o ded by a t a s at o co pa y, ot by a ce t edtranslator. The translation company is required to have credentials.

• The requirements are: (1) valid business license• The requirements are: (1) valid business license showing the translation company is in the translation business; (2) a declaration that the translation is a faithful translation of the original document and stampedfaithful translation of the original document and stamped with company seal (likely with a director’s signature). (3) sometimes the translator is also required to include a duplicate copy of his certificate and signature as wellduplicate copy of his certificate and signature as well.

• Documents to be used in Court and Immigration processes require certification by a translation company.

• Translators are required to pass accreditation tests to obtain translation certificates. Certificates are not required for translators to work in a translation company.

Accreditation TestsAccreditation Tests• Translators Association of China (CTA) is a national

association of translators Its members includesassociation of translators. Its members includes individuals, educational organizations, translations companies and provincial translators association. Unlike ATA, CTA does have a accreditation program.

• There are several accreditation tests in China, some b l l th iti h Sh h irun by local authorities, such as Shanghai

Interpreting Accreditation Test and Fujian Translators Accreditation Test.

• China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) is the most authoritative translation and interpretation proficiency qualificationtranslation and interpretation proficiency qualification accreditation test which is implemented throughout the country according to uniform standards and in compliance with the national system of professional

lifi ti tifi t M d t l tqualification certificates. More and more translators take this test now.

How to find a qualified Chinese Translator

Alth h th i h b f Chi• Although there is a huge number of Chinese translators in the market, translation as a profession is still in its very earlier step.

– Many part-time translators and language students, but very few freelancing and soho professionals

– Translation is a new program in China’s universities, although every student is required to study a foreign language.Most Chinese translators have never been trained to use– Most Chinese translators have never been trained to use CAT tools.

– Most translators claim they can translate from Chinese into foreign languages, as it is not required in China that g g g , qonly native speakers of target language can translate into his language.

Frank WeiFrank Wei• Professional English-Chinese translator with 20 years of

iexperience• Holds a MA degree in English-Chinese comparative studies• Founder and General Manager of Master Translation ServicesFounder and General Manager of Master Translation Services• Founder of Translation as Love (“译网情深”翻译论坛）

translation forum (http://www.translators.com.cn ), which is the t l t l ti f i Chi lmost popular translation forum in Chinese language.

• Visiting professor of Xiamen University of Technology• Member of China Translators Association (CTA)Member of China Translators Association (CTA)• Executive Director of CTA Fujian Province Division

Please feel free to contact frank@mts.cn for any Chinese related questions.

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