Rise of the Chinese Language

Rise of the Chinese Language – Why Chinese Language Is Becoming More and More Important

What is “Chinese”? We hear all the time that “Chinese is taking over”, but what do people really mean when they say “Chinese”? To understand, you must know that there are seven major languages spoken in China: Putonghua, Gan, Kejia, Min, Wu, Xiang, and Yue. Then each of these seven have countless dialects. However, what is usually referred to as “Chinese” in the West is the Putonghua language, more commonly known as Mandarin. Mandarin is also the official language of the People’s Republic of China.

Is Chinese Really Taking Over?

Is Mandarin really taking over? Well, yes and no. It all depends on what you’re talking about. While Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, in terms of how many people speak it, almost all of them live in China. Not nearly as many people outside of China speak Mandarin as a native language. While everyone prefers speaking in their native language, when it comes to international business, sometimes the “second language” is much more important. This is because people from all nationalities can learn a common second language, and use that to communicate for most business and commerce purposes. Without a doubt, the world’s “second language” is English. This doesn’t mean, however, that learning Mandarin is useless – not by a long shot. With more and more companies doing business inside China and with Chinese companies, knowledge of Mandarin can still be a significant advantage. This creates opportunities for translators and interpreters well-versed in Mandarin.

The Need for Chinese Translation Services

Chinese translation can be particularly tricky, not just because of the nuances of the language itself, but also because of the cultural context surrounding it and its form and tones. The written form of the language can take three separate formats: traditional character, simplified characters, and Pinyin. Traditional characters are the oldest form still in use, and are used mainly in places outside of mainland China, such as Taiwan. Simplified characters are primarily used within the mainland. Pinyin, which is a romanization of Mandarin (or a way of writing it using the Roman alphabet), is mainly used in the West. The spoken language consists of four tones, making it difficult for Westerners to master, as seemingly subtle changes in vowel tones (such as rising versus falling) can greatly alter the meaning of words. As a whole, though, Chinese grammar is relatively simple, as it doesn’t do much in the way of verb conjugation, which is a plague for students of most other languages.

As far as the cultural implications of translating Chinese, one has to be careful to use the proper etiquette and appropriate level of formality. Being too informal can come across rude and disrespectful, while being too formal could be construed as mocking or being arrogant. Also, humor rarely translates across cultures as intended, leading to confusion or worse.

While translating to and from Mandarin Chinese can be a seemingly daunting task, it can also be quite rewarding, productive, and lead to many new opportunities. Don’t let the challenging nature dissuade you from pursuing a future in Chinese translation – the results could well be worth the extra effort!

References

• The Rise and Rise of Mandarin: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8776515/The-rise-and-rise-of-Mandarin-but-how-many-will-end-up-speaking-it.html
• Should You Teach Your Kids Chinese?: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/robert-lane-greene/should-you-teach-your-kids-chinese
• All Language Alliance: http://www.languagealliance.com/chinese-translation/
• Chinese Dialects: http://chineseculture.about.com/cs/language/a/dialects.htm

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