English to Chinese Translation Of Names

English to Chinese Translation of names may sound hard especially for people who are somewhat alienated with the Chinese language.  However, for those who are familiar with the language, it is definitely just a piece of cake. For those who are non-Chinese, having their names in Chinese symbols can mean a lot. For some it even brought them a sense of pride. However for those who have no idea of the Chinese language they might also end up being caught in some embarrassing situation of some sort if they are not being careful enough with English to Chinese Translation of their names.  

Things to Ponder with English to Chinese Translation  

1. It is important to know that Chinese alphabet is pretty different from the English alphabet. Hence, it is important to be extra cautious in having your name translated into this language otherwise you might catch yourself in embarrassing situation.
2.

The way English to Chinese Translation is done also makes a lot of impact on the way and English name is translated into Chinese symbols.

 
Transliteration Affecting the Chinese Symbols

The process of which English to Chinese Translation is done which is called transliteration really has a great impact on the way an English name is translated into a Chinese symbol or character.  This is because in this process, the English word having the same sound is given the Chinese translation regardless of its meaning.  

Scrutinize the Details

It is therefore important that you scrutinize the details before having English to Chinese Translation of your name. You should always ask questions when you decide to have your name translated into Chinese characters. English to Chinese Translation of names may sound hard especially for people who are somewhat alienated with the Chinese language. or those who are non-Chinese, having their names in Chinese symbols can mean a lot.

Chinese language translation: Challenges

Business Chinese translation is in great demand nowadays.

China is recognized as the new economic power. China is now the second biggest economy in the world and as a market it represents one fifth of the world population. 
Since China has opened its doors to international business by becoming a full member of the World Trade Organization back in 2001, it is effectively now considered the largest market in the world which translates into huge economic and cultural exchange that requires clear communication.

China possessing one of the largest industrial bases in the world and at the same time is the fastest growing consumer market.  But unlike other nations with global markets who communicate predominantly in English, China is relatively unfamiliar with the English language.

To effectively compete on and profit from the Chinese market, business recognizes the need of professional Chinese language services.

No wonder that amongst all the translation requirements in businesses world, the requirement for Chinese translation service is growing at the fastest rate. 

With thousands of distinctive characters called ideographs, a complicated alphabetic form and language patterns and dialects, Chinese is considered as one of the hardest languages to translate.

In the translation business Chinese translation is always a big challenge to translation services providers.

Chinese writing system uses characters but not letters

The Chinese writing system is one of the oldest known written languages.

The Chinese writing system uses Chinese symbols known as ideographic characters. Today, Chinese is the only modern language that is entirely based on characters.

Each character represents a word or often a concept and in many cases serves multiple purposes; each Chinese character has one, or more than one, independent meanings.

A Chinese translator has to face this linguistic challenge.  Accuracy of Chinese translations depends on context as well as the literal meaning of each written character.

A Chinese translator must know the number of syllables each Chinese word has and the corresponding Chinese character each syllable must have. A Chinese translator must also know which character can be used independently or could only be used in a combination with other characters.

Furthermore, a Chinese translator must have an in-depth knowledge of the 3000 most commonly used Chinese characters and a good knowledge of the 6000 Chinese characters that are common for literature and technical writings.

Two character systems: Traditional and Simplified Chinese

Chinese is a complicated language to translate, for Chinese speakers use different types of character systems. Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore use the Simplified Chinese characters, while Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan prefer Traditional Chinese characters.

When performing a Chinese language translation, translation services vendor must take into account the targeted Chinese speaking audience and define precisely which letter system to use when translating.

Moreover, there are many of differences between Simplified and Traditional Chinese regarding the fonts, manners of expression and terminologies.

 

Many Dialects

Chinese is a complex and varied language that includes seven main and numerous other recognized dialects.

The various dialects contain unique vocabulary and/or distinct pronunciation and are generally quite different from each other.

Only a small number of Chinese translators are capable of translating all dialects; in fact, most concentrate on only two or in the best case three dialects.

Even when a translator has knowledge in all the Chinese dialects, there are still a number of important grammatical characteristics to be kept in mind when translating from or to Chinese.

For example Chinese language lacks tonal inflections and doesn’t stress different syllables within each word.  In Chinese language tenses are indicated by adverbs and the context itself, but not by verbs.

Since the Chinese market is one of the largest and the most lucrative markets in the world and since  Chinese is one of the hardest languages to understand and translate, for business  it is imperative to use language services provided by a translations vendor that is experienced and well-versed in Chinese language translations.

For example, translation company EVS Translations: a full-service translation company with global presence and with over 20 years’ experience. Chinese translation projects are assigned to a team of 200 native Chinese speakers, who reside in China and are familiar with the Chinese language specifics and socio-cultural nuances. Chinese translators at EVS are experts in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Furthermore, EVS team of Chinese translators comprises of linguist professionals specialized in any of the 12 most common Chinese dialects. Visit evs-translations.com.

 

 

English to Chinese Translation – Your Appropriate Chinese Writing Tattoo

The Tattoo

Once you’ve decided to get a Chinese tattoo it can be very irksome to choose the one symbol that is an appropriate English to Chinese translation for the idea you want it to represent. You obviously need the correct translation of what your skin ink is going to represent for the rest of your life.

The Need for Appropriate English to Chinese Translation

Chinese is an extremely intricate and ancient language (the oldest evidence of written Chinese is from around three thousand years ago. With sixty thousand characters, three thousand of which are in use in everyday life, the need for proper translation using appropriate symbols in the right order is very important. The different intricacies of the original Chinese are mostly oversimplified in modern Chinese. So, it is probably not advisable to do English to Chinese translation yourself if you are aiming to have a unique ancient symbol etched on your skin.

The Different Chinese Styles

There are many writing trends and Chinese has been differentiated in different scripts that define each style.

All of them are different and would need a professional for English to Chinese translation. For example, there is the seal script which is used for important legal papers. Most often it is used as a stamp on carved or wax seals. Another example is the cursive (or grass) script which uses rounded strokes, and like in English cursive, writing characters are joined together. It is a very flowing style. It is often used by Chinese calligraphers and due to its artistic look is considered to be an art form by many. So, make sure that you do proper English to Chinese translation before getting the tattoo. Once you’ve decided to get a Chinese tattoo it can be very irksome to choose the one symbol that is an appropriate English to Chinese translation for the idea you want it to represent. There are many writing trends and Chinese has been differentiated in different scripts that define each style.