Dear readers,
It’s time for my annual summer holiday. I’ll be gone for the next two weeks so there will be no new posts until I return. I will reply to your emails and comments when I am back from my holiday. If you sent me an email within the last two weeks, I apologise for not replying sooner. Unfortunately work comes first and it has been quite a busy couple of weeks!
That’s all from me for now. See you in two weeks’ time. 
A short but interesting comparative essay on colour symbolism in the English and Chinese languages can be found here. The author tackles each colour separately and briefly examines the different roles that each colour plays within the two linguistic cultures.
I was planning to write a series of posts on colour symbolism after I return from my two-week holiday (July 4-July 21) so I hope this four-page essay will whet your appetite.
Working outside of the country where your source language is spoken can be a challenge. Language and society are always evolving and it can be quite difficult to stay informed of political jargon, slang and social trends if you are no longer immersed in the language you spent years studying. Thankfully, the internet can help us fill the gaps in our linguistic and cultural knowledge.
Shanghai Daily’s Buzzwords blog has been an indispensable source of information over the past few years and has allowed me to keep up to date with all of the latest social trends and “buzzwords” in present-day China. Each buzzword is accompanied by a short description of the origin of the term and is a fantastic resource for translators who work with news articles or similar texts. The blog is updated weekly so you can be assured that the terms featured are in current use.
I honestly cannot recommend this blog enough. Anyone who works in the Chinese>English language pair should consider adding this blog to their favourites/bookmarks.
Readers might be interested to know that Lexiophiles is currently holding its Top 100 Language Blogs competition. The Lexiophiles crew have added a few new categories for this year’s competition : Language learning, language teaching, language technology, and language professionals.
A number of blogs on translation and interpretation made it into the Top 100 list last year, including Yndigo, Fidus Interpres, and Blogging Translator. A full list of last year’s Top 100 Language Blogs can be found here.
You can submit your nominations for your favourite language learning and translation blogs by clicking here. The closing date for nominations is July 6th and voting will be open to the public between July 8th and July 27th.
More details about the Lexiophiles Top 100 Language Blogs of 2009 can be found here.
John Pasden, of Sinosplice and ChinesePod fame, published a wonderfully informative series of interviews, The Many Paths to Translation Work, on his blog earlier this year. I came across these interviews only a few days ago and I’ve really enjoyed reading about the translators’ diverse backgrounds and the type of work that they are involved with.
I heartily recommend this series to anyone who is currently involved with Chinese>English translation or those of you who are considering a career in translation.
Translators working in the Chinese>English or English>Chinese language pairs may be interested to know that they can find hundreds of specialised glossaries at FoodMate.Net.
The glossaries cover a wide range of subjects, including logistics (物流), skin care cosmetics (护肤化妆), mahjong (麻将) and embryology (胚胎学).
The following article was originally posted on my language learning blog, Aspiring Polyglot. I have posted a copy of the article here for the benefit of those readers who are thinking of translating recipes for a living or as a hobby.
Many language learners and food lovers have toyed with the idea of translating recipes as a way to hone their translations skills and/or as a means of obtaining “authentic” recipes. These days you can use Google to search for Italian recipes in Italian, Japanese bento box ideas in Japanese and find recipes for authentic Sichuan dishes written by Chinese bloggers in Chongqing. Food lovers don’t have to rely on cookbooks written in their own language any longer and don’t have to be content with “localized” recipes which have been adapted to suit local tastes and ingredients.
Translating recipes can be a fun way to learn new vocabulary and develop translation skills. Some professional translators translate recipes and cookbooks for a living and we shouldn’t underestimate the difficulty of translating a cookbook for a foreign readership. While a hobbyist can settle for a less-than-perfect translation of a recipe he or she found on a blog or forum, the translator must pay special attention to register (who is the book being written for?) and be familiar with local measurements and ingredients. Penny Marinou, a translator based in Athens, Greece, discusses the various pitfalls of translating recipes in her article Translating for Recipe Books and Menus.
Another short but insightful article about recipe translation and “localization” can be found here. In it, the author briefly mentions the difference between “translation” and “localization”, the former being the conversion of a recipe from one language to another and the latter involving the translation and adaptation of a recipe to suit the measurements, ingredients and tastes of the target audience. Localization often occurs when some of the ingredients in the original recipe are not readily available and are substituted for other, easily obtainable, ingredients. The author argues that a heavily modified recipe is not a localized recipe but an entirely new creation and cites “chicken tikka masala” as an example. Chicken tikka masala is not an Indian dish which has been adapted to suit British tastes but a dish created by Indian immigrants with local ingredients in mind.
Last but not least, I thought I’d share a link to an article written by Peter Hertzmann, a gourmand with a passion for French cuisine and cookery. The article, Recettes en Français, is a very informative piece about his experiences with translating French recipes into English and lists a few useful resources for other enthusiasts and aspiring translators. He also shares links to recipe databases and explains a lot of the key terms and vocabulary you’re likely to encounter if you try to translate a French-language recipe for yourself.
Have any of you ever tried to translate a recipe or cookbook? What challenges did you face and what advise would you give someone who wants to work within this niche market?
The following article was originally posted on this blog last year and was cross-posted on my language learning blog, Aspiring Polyglot, a few months ago.
I’ve decided to post a slightly modified version of the original article on this blog for the benefit of those of you who are interested in volunteering your translation skills for a worthy cause.
Translating documents or web pages on a pro bono basis is something that some professional translators enjoy doing and something that other translators feel can be detrimental to the profession and their career. Charities, education organizations and NGOs often recruit volunteer translators to help them promote their cause and increase public awareness of the various health and social issues which plague modern society.
There are numerous reasons for and against pro bono translation. Aspiring translators and those who are hoping to re-enter the translation market will find that volunteer work will help them build up a portfolio, allow them to gain valuable work experience without the pressures of strict deadlines, and even build up expertise in a certain area (e.g. environmental issues, medical care in the developing world, rural education). Others see it in a different light. Some argue that the time spent translating documents for free could be better spent on assignments which they will be paid for or on marketing their services, while others feel that offering translation services for free would prompt companies to offer work to the lowest bidders, thus jeopardizing the translation market.
As someone who has had to take on job which is unrelated to translation in order to make ends meet, pro bono translation work is a good way for me to hone my translation skills and gain experience in my speciality fields. I intend to re-enter the translation market in the not-too-distant future so it is important for me to keep my skills sharp and prove to my future clients that I can offer a high quality product. Volunteer work gives me the chance to grow professionally and allows me the flexibility to fit translation work into my busy schedule.
On a more personal level, volunteer work allows me to combine my translation skills with my hobbies and interests, which makes the experience both fun and educational. I am currently helping the staff at the Institute of Archaeology (China Academy of Social Sciences) translate staff biographies and news articles in order to flesh out their English-language website. I have a personal interest in Chinese archaeology so this work allows me to learn more about the subject area as well as gain a deeper understanding of the terminology used in this field of research.
Volunteer translation work isn’t for everyone but I would certainly recommend it as a way for junior translators to learn more about their chosen profession, develop the skills that they will need to succeed as professional translators, and contribute to a good cause. Volunteer opportunities can be found at any of the sites listed below :
If you would like to learn more about my experiences of working as a volunteer translation or know of another website which offers volunteer opportunities for translators, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Welcome to my blog! 欢迎来到我的博客！
Kelly Translates is a blog which focuses on the challenges of Chinese>English translation. It is a place where I can share my thoughts on translation as a career and art, post links to glossaries and online dictionaries, share linguistic and cultural knowledge, and chronicle my quest to become a certified translator.
This is, in fact, the second incarnation of this blog. Some of you may remember the old blog but for those of you who don’t, don’t worry. The new blog will follow a similar format to the old one and I will be posting some of the posts from the old blog for the benefit of those who have only just discovered my blog.
If you have any feedback or suggestions for features you would like to see on this blog, you are welcome to leave a message on any of my posts or on the Contact page, or contact me by email.
