A couple of years ago* I posted some comments about the need to have highly qualified people translating Chinese medical texts into English. Translation is difficult even for the most experienced.
Mo Yan, the 2012 Nobel Prize winner for literature recently addressed a reception at the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm on December 7 during his tour to the Swedish capital to receive his prize. He said "I think translation is much harder than writing: It only took me 42 days to write Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, while it took Swedish sinologist Anna Gustafsson Chen six years to translate the work." (Source: Beijing Review, December 20, 2012).
* see: http://theriverlands.blogspot.com/2010/02/translating-acupuncture-texts.html
Showing posts with label translating Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label translating Chinese. Show all posts
Monday, December 24, 2012
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Translating Acupuncture Texts
The topic of Acupuncturist's translating Chinese medical texts came up in a discussion recently. Occasionally I'll run across articles where an American acupuncturist's states that he or she translated the original Chinese text for the article. For example, Bob Flaws, OMD, of Blue Poppy Press, is a prolific "translator" who, according to his biography, taught himself to read "medical Chinese". He has in the past offered courses on reading Medical Chinese. He has also published a book "Teach Yourself to Read Modern Medical Chinese: A Step-by-Step Workbook and Guide". The pitch for this books states: "Bob shares all the 'quick and dirty' methods he’s used to teach himself. You can begin translating modern medical Chinese within hours"
While I have never read the book, advertising the translation methods as "quick and dirty" or promising you can begin translating Chinese into English "within hours" makes it sound like a side-show carnival product.(1)
Don't be misled, Chinese is not an easy language to learn or translate. The US Government classifies Mandarin Chinese as a Category IV language - one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn.
My concern is that Acupuncturists that read some of these "translated" articles or books take for granted that the translator is actually qualified to do that kind of work.
Those who want to translate and publish Chinese medical texts into English need to have a formal education in Chinese Language and translation from an institute of higher learning.
I propose passing Level 11 of the HSK exam as a minimum standard for translators of Chinese medical texts.
The HSK(2) is a standard test of Proficiency in Chinese language. The amount of words a person should know at the basic test level ranges from 400-3,000 Chinese words. In the advanced level HSK (Level 11) they should have knowledge of 5,000-8,000 words. According to the HSK website a person passing HSK Level 11 is proficient in Chinese at the advanced (high) level and can be regarded as qualified as an intermediate-level translator.
I also believe that a translator in the field of acupuncture should have the translations reviewed for accuracy by a translation committee prior to publication.
The whole purpose of setting high standards is to elevate the profession of acupuncture and make sure that accurate information is disseminated to practitioners.
Notes:
(1) A reviewer on amazon.com said this about Bob Flaws book:
"...I would like to say though, I found the book not that helpful in two ways. 1) The terminology although has pinyin romanization, it lacks the intonation marks. While this book is for reading, tones added will make the book able to help those wanting to learn to speak or listen to Chinese. 2) The book is full of errors. The wrong characters are written and often the meaning is either too simple or in error...so many errors!
(2) For more information on Chinese Proficiency Tests see HSK
While I have never read the book, advertising the translation methods as "quick and dirty" or promising you can begin translating Chinese into English "within hours" makes it sound like a side-show carnival product.(1)
Don't be misled, Chinese is not an easy language to learn or translate. The US Government classifies Mandarin Chinese as a Category IV language - one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn.
My concern is that Acupuncturists that read some of these "translated" articles or books take for granted that the translator is actually qualified to do that kind of work.
Those who want to translate and publish Chinese medical texts into English need to have a formal education in Chinese Language and translation from an institute of higher learning.
I propose passing Level 11 of the HSK exam as a minimum standard for translators of Chinese medical texts.
The HSK(2) is a standard test of Proficiency in Chinese language. The amount of words a person should know at the basic test level ranges from 400-3,000 Chinese words. In the advanced level HSK (Level 11) they should have knowledge of 5,000-8,000 words. According to the HSK website a person passing HSK Level 11 is proficient in Chinese at the advanced (high) level and can be regarded as qualified as an intermediate-level translator.
I also believe that a translator in the field of acupuncture should have the translations reviewed for accuracy by a translation committee prior to publication.
The whole purpose of setting high standards is to elevate the profession of acupuncture and make sure that accurate information is disseminated to practitioners.
Notes:
(1) A reviewer on amazon.com said this about Bob Flaws book:
"...I would like to say though, I found the book not that helpful in two ways. 1) The terminology although has pinyin romanization, it lacks the intonation marks. While this book is for reading, tones added will make the book able to help those wanting to learn to speak or listen to Chinese. 2) The book is full of errors. The wrong characters are written and often the meaning is either too simple or in error...so many errors!
(2) For more information on Chinese Proficiency Tests see HSK
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