Mandarin language tips

Q: Can you clarify a bit more about Chinese, their dialects and changes?

The most popular variations of Mandarin Chinese are Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Mandarin Chinese language is evolving more rapidly than any other language on earth. Hong Kong, for example, is currently making a fusion between Cantonese and Mandarin, with a different accent and dialect of Mandarin, a Mandarin that is in dramatic flux. Taiwanese Mandarin has a strong variation in both accent and word usage. And Chinese spoken inside the United States has also become a dialect.

From the heaviest of technical content to the warmest of multimedia, Mandarin subtitling or web site translation, there are cultural differences and nuances, requiring adaptation in your Mandarin Chinese translation with a subtle touch to enhance your image in the eyes of your Chinese prospects and employees.

English to Mandarin Chinese translations destined for China should be translated by true professionals located inside China itself, with impeccable English and 20 years experience. Translations need to have a look and feel of naturalness, as though originally created in China, without the heaviness, errors or stilted feel often associated with a translation. Multimedia script translations should be properly adapted to the “spoken Chinese word” (as opposed to the “written word”), and adapted to the proper length to be spoken within the allowed timing. Mandarin Chinese voice recordings should sound smooth, have credibility, and flow perfectly to the timing of the original English, and the most popular voice talents ae not “professional voice talents” but rather television news anchors.

In China, the appropriate Mandarin Chinese translated words to be used in screen prompts and voice prompts for software and IVR are not a mirror reflection of their counterparts in American English. Your tranlsation team needs to know exactly when to vary your words just slightly to meet the modern standards for this new audience. Mandarin Chinese translators inside China understand software, have first-hand experience in development, and offer Mandarin Chinese translation services for the text elements within code as XML, C++, .NET, Java and similar.