|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/chinatranslationsweb/ |
Upload File : |
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
<title>Mandarin translation, Cantonese translation, Simplified character sets, Traditional character sets and guide</title>
<meta name="title" content="Mandarin translation, Cantonese translation, Simplified character sets, Traditional character sets and guide" />
<meta name="description" content="Professional translation guide explains the kind of Chinese translation you will need. Use of Mandarin or Cantonese, Simplified or Traditional character sets differ when you target mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or other Chinese speaking regions." />
<meta name="keywords" content="Mandarin translation, Cantonese translation, Simplified characters, Traditional characters, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="assets/img/logo/favico.ico">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="assets/img/apple-icon-114x114px.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="assets/img/apple-icon-144x144px.png" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/css/shortcode.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/css/woocommerce.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/css/responsive.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/3rd/font-awesome/font-awesome.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/3rd/pretty-photo/pretty-photo.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="assets/3rd/layerslider/css/layerslider.css" />
<!--[if IE]>
<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/html5shiv/3.7/html5shiv.js"></script>
<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/respond.js/1.4.2/respond.js"></script>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<header>
<div id="tm-header-top">
<div class="tm-wrap tm-table">
<div class="tm-logo">
<a href="index.html" class="tm-logo-simple">
<img alt="Logo" src="assets/img/logo.jpg">
</a>
<a href="index.html" class="tm-logo-retina">
<img alt="Logo" width="142" height="60" src="assets/img/[email protected]">
</a>
</div>
</div>
<!--tm-wrap-->
</div>
<!--tm-header-top-->
<div id="tm-header-nav" class="tm-menu-style1 tm-sticky-menu">
<div class="tm-wrap tm-table">
<nav class="tm-nav">
<ul class="tm-menu tm-menu-simple">
<li><a href="./">Home</a></li>
<li class="current-menu-item"><a href="about.html">About</a></li>
<li class="tm-mega-menu"><a href="services.html">Services</a>
<ul class="sub-menu">
<li><a href="chinese-to-english-translation.html">Chinese to English translation</a></li>
<li><a href="english-to-chinese-translation.html">English to Chinese translation</a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-website-localization.html">English to Chinese website translation</a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-proofreading-and-editing.html">Chinese proofreading and editing</a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-translation-rush-service.html">Rush service</a></li>
<li><a href="desktop-publishing.html">Desktop publishing (DTP)</a></li>
<li><a href="printing-in-china.html">Printing and delivery to anywhere in China</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="partners.html">Partners</a></li>
<li><a href="clients.html">Clients</a></li>
<li><a href="history.html">History</a></li>
<li><a href="employment.html">Employment</a></li>
<li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="tinynav"></div>
</nav>
<!--tm-nav-->
<div class="language">
<a href="http://www.chinatranslations.com/">
English
</a>
<a href="http://www.chinalocalization.com/">
简体中文
</a>
<a href="http://www.chinatranslations.com/cht">
繁体中文
</a>
</div>
<!--tm-social-icons-->
</div>
</div>
<!--tm-header-nav-->
</header>
<div id="tm-page-title">
<div class="tm-wrap tm-table">
<div class="tm-title-captions">
<strong class="tm-entry-title">Chinese Translation Guide</strong>
</div>
<ul class="tm-breadcrumbs">
<li>
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
</li>
<li>
Chinese Translation Guide
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<!--tm-page-title-->
<div id="tm-page-body">
<div id="tm-blog" class="tm-container tm-wrap tm-blog-style-list tm-sidebar-right">
<div class="page-content">
<div class="tm-content page-content-inner">
<div class="entry-header">
<h1>Chinese Translation Guide</h1>
<div class="meta">
<strong>Simplified character sets, Traditional character sets, Cantonese dialect, Mandarin dialect...</strong>
</div>
</div>
<!--entry-header-->
<div class="entry-container">
<div class="entry-content">
<p>Will someone please explain what this all means and why this is important when selecting the kind of Chinese translation I will need? <br /><br />
Just like English, with its British, US, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand,
South African and numerous other variants, Chinese, spoken by well more than a billion people worldwide, has its own set of intricacies and variations. All of these must be considered when selecting translation formats and styles.
<strong><h3>Chinese dialects and character sets </h3></strong>Most translation companies will simply classify the translation as "Cantonese dialect" or "Mandarin dialect". This is an oversimplification, which can lead to the wrong style and format being chosen. <br />
<br />
Written Chinese, as it is a pictographic language - each character or "letter"
of the language depicts a word rather than a sound, - is essentially the same
for all readers. However, in the 1950s China instituted an overhaul of the
language, creating a simplified character set and making the use of the
simplified set mandatory throughout the country. Singapore adopted the
simplified system in the 1980s. What this means is that there are now two
characters sets:
<p><strong>Simplified</strong>, used in mainland China, Singapore, to some extent in Malaysia, and,
increasingly, in the Overseas Chinese communities around the world. </p>
<p><strong>Traditional</strong>, used in Hong Kong,
Macao, Taiwan, all other Southeast Asian countries and, in some part
(although a decreasing part), by the Overseas Chinese communities
worldwide. Although it is a misnomer, most translation services have taken to calling the Simplified "Mandarin", and Traditional "Cantonese". Simplified is also referred to as GB, the technical name for the typeset encoding, while Traditional is also called BIG5. <br />
</p>
<br />
Here is a chart of when to use Simplified and when to use Traditional: <br /> <br />
<strong>Chinese Simplified </strong> <br />China (PRC) <br />
Singapore <br />
Government-to-government communications of an international stature <br />
(except when directed to Taiwan) <br />
UN and UN agency documents <br /><br />
<strong>Chinese Traditional </strong> <br />Hong Kong <br />
Taiwan <br />
Malaysia* <br />
Southeast Asian countries (except Singapore) <br />
<br />
Overseas Chinese communities** <br />
<br />
* <strong>Note </strong> - Malaysia is the one country where no standard has been set. Three of the four major Chinese-language newspapers are typeset in Traditional, however, with Singapore next door, the use of both styles is acceptable in this market. Look closely at who are the recipients of your translated piece when choosing the character set for this country. <br />
<br />
** <strong>Note </strong> - Although Traditional has been the standard used in the vast majority of Overseas Chinese communities, the heavy immigration of people from mainland China into these communities over the last decade is having
ever increasing influence. Some state and provincial governments are starting to issue documents in both character sets or even opting for the Simplified set.
If your document is destined for a Chinese audience outside of Greater
China, make sure to learn which character set is being more commonly
used in the community or by the demographic you are trying to reach.<br /><br /><strong><h3>Writing styles </h3></strong><br />The other factor to take into consideration when instructing or discussing the translation job with your translation service, are
the writing styles of the different areas where Chinese is used. Just like English, with its British, American, Canadian, Australian and other variants, the style of written Chinese differs widely from area to area. The political separation between Hong Kong, Taiwan and China has only served to widen these differences. The writing styles are further influenced by the dialect of Chinese spoken in each area or region. When choosing a translation service, make sure that they can write in the style of the target area. <br />
<br />
<strong>The writing styles break down into five major areas</strong>: <strong>China</strong>, <strong>Hong Kong</strong>
(including Macao), <strong>Taiwan</strong>, <strong>Singapore</strong> (including Malaysia) and <strong>Overseas Chinese</strong>.
The
Overseas Chinese or "International" writing style is the one that is customarily
used in the Chinese communities of North America and Europe - this style would be the one to adopt if translating a document issued by a US state or Canadian province government office where the readership are the Chinese-speaking residents of that state or province. <br />
<br />
If you are not sure about the style to adopt, please allow us to help you determine the correct style based on the target audience. <span class="style1">
</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<!--entry-container-->
</div>
</div>
<!--page-content-->
<div class="page-sidebar">
<aside class="widget widget_nav_menu tm-list-style1 tm-list-style2">
<ul>
<li><a href="chooseus.html">10 Reasons for Choosing Shanglong</a></li>
<li><a href="execbios.html" class="copyright">Meet Our Top Management</a></li>
<li><a href="english-to-chinese-translation-and-localization-projects.html" class="copyright">Samples of Projects Completed</a></li>
<li><a href="risks-of-machine-translation-in-Chinese-to-English-and-English-to-Chinese-translation.html" class="copyright">English to Chinese Translation:
<i>Risks of Using Machine Translation</i></a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-translation-guide.html" class="copyright">Chinese Translation Guide</a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-spacing-and-punctuation.html" class="copyright">Chinese Spacing and Punctuation Guide</a></li>
<li><a href="chinese-to-english-translation-of-chinese-names.html" class="copyright">Chinese to English Translation of Chinese names</a></li>
<li><a href="china-news.html" class="copyright">China Update - The Latest News from PR Newswire</a></li>
</ul>
</aside>
</div>
<!--page-sidebar-->
</div>
<!--tm-container-->
</div>
<!--tm-page-body-->
<footer>
<div class="tm-wrap tm-table">
<div class="copyright">
<p>
© 2017<a href="index.html"> Nanjing Shanglong Communications Co Ltd. </a>All rights reserved.<br>Offices in
<a href="contact.html">Nanjing, China</a> and
<a href="contact.html">New York, N.Y., U.S.A.</a>
</p>
</div>
<div class="tm-social-icons">
<a class="tm-icon-facebook" href="#">
<i class="fa fa-facebook"></i>
</a>
<a class="tm-icon-twitter" href="#">
<i class="fa fa-twitter"></i>
</a>
<a class="tm-icon-dribbble" href="#">
<i class="fa fa-dribbble"></i>
</a>
</div>
</div>
</footer>
<!-- Go to top -->
<a href="#" id="tm-gotop">
<i class="fa fa-chevron-up"></i>
</a>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-core.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-ui.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-tinynav.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-isotope.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-flexslider.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-countdown.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-masonry.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-leanModal.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/jquery/jquery-validate.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/pretty-photo/pretty-photo.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/layerslider/js/greensock.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/layerslider/js/layerslider.kreaturamedia.jquery.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/3rd/layerslider/js/layerslider.transitions.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/js/theme.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-15460550-1");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}</script>
</body>
</html>