October 2009 - Global View Newsletter
Simplified or Traditional?
It’s natural to associate specific speech and writing styles with certain regions of the world. For example, most people associate French with France, German with Germany, and Spanish with Spain, Central and South America. However, while associating Chinese with China isn’t incorrect, it isn’t 100% correct either.
Chinese actually has several different regional dialects, the most commonly known being Mandarin and Cantonese. Despite the multiple dialects, every Chinese citizen is educated in Mandarin. As such, most everybody in China can speak Mandarin, and the formal writing in China is based off of Mandarin grammar rules. Hence, when someone says they can speak Chinese, he or she is generally referring to Mandarin. Granted, the spoken and written style in each area is going to be different, but communication between two individuals from different locations wouldn’t be problematic.
A good way to understand the difference would be observe the differences of language in New York and London. While the language would be different, two individuals from these cities would be able to communicate without a problem.
Some are convinced that it is the only way to prove the accuracy of a translation. Ask most professional linguists and they’ll wholeheartedly disagree. The reason for the opposition is because of the complexities going from one language to another are doubled by going back the other direction. Think of the childhood game telephone where a group of kids sit in a circle and whisper a phrase. The final phrase is never the exact same as the original. Some of it is error, some of it is meaning, some of it is intention. The more processes to go through, the more diluted the end product will become.
Back-translations aren’t always bad, but must be taken for what they are: a diluted version of the original. When used to assess a generalized meaning of the original the process can be helpful. The reader must understand though that not all elements will transfer back exactly because translation will also include some localization to make the text appear original to the target reader. Without Written Chinese, despite being based on Mandarin grammar, can be written in two different ways: traditional characters and simplified characters.
At one point in time, traditional characters were the standard way of writing throughout all of China. Due to the difficult nature of the traditional characters, millions in China could not learn to read or write extensively and were considered illiterate. In the early 1900’s, the Chinese government wanted to improve the literacy rate of its citizens and began to discuss and create simplified characters. However, it wasn’t until Chairman Mao came to power that simplified characters began to be standardized and commonly used throughout mainland China.
Despite calls for and an increasing desire to return to traditional Chinese characters, simplified characters are used as the main form of writing in mainland China. On the other hand, citizens of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao still continue to use traditional characters as their primary form of writing.
As a result, translation from English to Chinese needs to be considered on a regional basis. If your target audience is in mainland China, the translation ought to be done using simplified Chinese characters. Similarly, translation ought to be done in traditional Chinese characters if the target audience is in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. While more and more residents of each area are proficient in both simplified and traditional characters, it is still best to differentiate by region when creating a written document in Chinese.
Understanding, this process can and will turn into a battle.
For the most accurate assessment of meaning, the best process is double proofreading; once by the linguist’s partner and once by an independent third party, both equally qualified. This way, the professionals can account for the original meaning, the cultural adaptation and other small nuances necessary to make it appear native for their target.
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