English and Chinese are two different languages that are poles apart. They both have their speakers in billions. English is a universal language, and Chinese is the first most spoken language with 1.31 billion speakers. Both languages are included in the official languages of the United Nations.
Here is a brief introduction to both languages.
Chinese Language
Chinese is the most sought-after language in the world. It is spoken by 1.31 billion people which contributes to 16% of the world’s total population. All these people speak multiple variants of Chinese as their first language. Chinese comes from the Sino-Tibetan language family. The variants of Chinese are also taken as different dialects of a single language. However, when there is a lack of mutual intelligibility these are taken as different languages. The Chinese language has two main variants:
- Standard Chinese
- Mandarin
English Language
English is an important part of the Indo-European language family. The English language, like most of the other languages, has witnessed evolution over the centuries. It is an official language in 58 countries and 31 non-sovereign states. There are more than 1.4 billion people who belong to this language as their first and second languages. It has a Latin writing system, and there are 26 alphabets in the English language which are combined to make a word and later sentence.
Hence looking at the families and backgrounds, one can easily spot the differences between both languages. However, these differences pose great challenges for translators.
Here are some of the major challenges in English to Chinese translation that translators have to face.
Different Writing Systems
The writing systems of both languages are totally different and nowhere close. English has the alphabet for the writing system, whereas the Chinese language uses characters making English-to-Chinese translation services even more complex. This implies that translators not only need to be good with English but should have profound knowledge of the Chinese language and its characters too. The Chinese language has immense characters and as experts quote, you should at least know 3500 characters to understand the Chinese language in order to provide accurate translation, even better proficiency is recommended.
Poles Apart Grammar
English and Chinese come from different language families. Therefore, the grammar is also different. These have different grammar systems. Hence, the translation from English to Chinese or Chinese to English gets tough for the people and translators who lack proficiency in these languages and don’t understand the grammar. English grammar follows subject, verb, and object. While sentence structure is important in English, Chinese focuses more on the meaning. Chinese long sentences are separated by punctuation which makes the meaning clear for the readers. Therefore, this emerges as another important challenge for translation companies, where the meaning of a sentence can be changed depending on grammar.
Complex Vocabulary
As mentioned above, Chinese is a language that is made up of characters and each character and symbol comes with a particular significance. However, English is made up of 26 alphabets and a word in English is a combination of different alphabets and a single alphabet has no significance of its own. So vocabulary has no similarities at all and while working on English to Chinese translation services the translators often have to work a lot. In order to navigate through this challenge, the translators have to be familiar with the vocabularies of both languages or else the process may get draining.
Cultural Differences
Cultural differences are very important and not to ignore. The translators also get stuck with Chinese to and from the English language because there are huge cultural differences between both languages and nations. There are different cultural values and norms which are practiced in each country. The norms and cultural practices are important to be considered while translating from one language to another. Several words, phrases, and idioms have their cultural significance, and overlooking the cultural reference may infuriate the targeted audiences. Therefore, the translation company hired should take care of the relevant factors.
Tones
Chinese is a tonal language. A tonal language is the one where pitch of the word and sound may change the sentence or its meaning. This is one of the most challenging parts of the translation for these languages. Hence, the translation company should ensure that they hire a team of professionals who understand all these factors and don’t overlook the need for consideration of important factors such as cultural references and tones. English on the other hand has different practices as a language. The content in both languages should be conveyed rightfully and consider correct tones to avoid inaccurate translation.
Despite these challenges, English-to-Chinese translation is a valuable skill. There is a great surge in the demand for Chinese translations, as China becomes an increasingly important economic and cultural power. It is part of the world’s top economies and Chinese products are there all over the world. By understanding and overcoming the challenges of English-to-Chinese translation, translators can produce accurate and effective translations that meet the needs of their clients boosting businesses overseas.
Conclusion
English and Chinese are two different languages coming from divergent regions and language families. Hence, the differences between these are real making the translation from one language to another a serious deal. Therefore, it is important to consider the main challenges and to consider the strategies to overcome these challenges. These may include different writing systems, the complex vocabulary of both languages, tones of English and Chinese language as well as cultural differences.
