English To Chinese And Vietnamese Translation | Common And Specific Translation Challenges

Vietnamese and Chinese are two important Asian languages that do share some similarities however have evolved over the centuries in different ways. As the surveys suggest an average speaker of Chinese can barely understand Vietnamese and vice versa. However, these languages have striking similarities when it comes to tones and vocabularies. A tonal language refers to the language in which meaning can be changed if the speaker changes the pitch of a word. Both languages belong to promising economies which are China and Vietnam. China is rather considered one of the superpowers of the world. The translation services have become evident for businesses coming from the West to tap these two ideal Asian markets. However, translators have to face certain challenges when they translate the content from English to Chinese and Vietnamese.

A few of the common and language-specific challenges that translators often get stuck in during English to Chinese translation services and for Vietnamese have been categorized below.

Common Challenges of Both Languages

The challenges that are similar for English translation in both Asian languages i.e. Chinese and Vietnamese are;

Writing Systems

The writing systems of both Vietnamese and Chinese languages are unique and different from English. So, there is a significant difference between all three languages. This fact, in particular, makes things difficult for translators to capture the intended meaning as well as pronunciation of the words during the translation process. The relevant translators hence need to translate content accordingly. This difference in the writing system in Chinese and Vietnamese from English primarily needs to be considered while carrying out the process of translation from English to the above-mentioned languages.

Lack of Tenses

The English language is full of tenses and there are tenses that make language understandable. Whereas Chinese and Vietnamese have their own composition and grammatical tenses. The translators can not excel in translation to or from any language without a defined context. Likewise, this triangle of languages also compels translators to come up with additional and accurate phrasing to convey the past, present, and future happenings depicted in English to the Chinese and Vietnamese.

Sentence Structure

The sentence structure that the English language offers lacks in most significant Asian languages and hence is one of the important factors to be mindful of while working on English to Vietnamese language translation. Although all three languages follow a similar pattern of subject-verb-object (SVO), it is the pattern and order of the modifiers and adverbs that create turbulence between them. The translators hence have to ensure sentence flow and logic which are clear and not much of a problem in English but require consideration in the remaining two languages and their translations. Thus, translators have to take certain measures to make the content meaningful with a sentence flow making it logical in the English translation.

Cultural Nuances

Translation does not get completed without considering cultural nuances. The humor, metaphors, idioms, and proverbs are all well-connected culturally and linguistically. All such content that contains humor, metaphor, or idioms and proverbs are linked with the culture, traditions, and particular language dialects and nuances. A similar thing goes with the content that comes in Vietnamese and Chinese languages and translating it to and from the English language can make original intent suffer. This is where the translators have to seek the right and creative alternatives in the Asian languages to make it look equally funny and historical in the new language. However, they often fail to find the relevant terms making the process challenging and testing for everyone involved which also indicates how only professional LSP can help to navigate through the English to Vietnamese language translation and its challenges.

English to Chinese Translation Challenges

Two of the important challenges that can particularly be a problem while translating English to Chinese translation services are:

Logograms

Unlike the English language, there is no alphabetic system in the Chinese language. Rather the Chinese characters represent the words and concepts. The translators hence need to do their research and go through multiple readings and associated meanings before they conclude an accurate translation also building relevant context. This is what makes it crucial to work with native Chinese translators only.

Tones

As mentioned above, Chinese is a tonal language. Translators have to be aware of the tonal variations to ensure that the content that has been translated from English to Chinese is accurately transferred from one language to another.

Challenges Specific to Vietnamese

Two of the exclusive challenges that can make English to Vietnamese a tough deal are the French influence on the Vietnamese language and the complexity of regional dialects.

French Influence

The Vietnamese language had to undergo French influence during French colonization. This naturally led to loanwords and the change of grammatical structures which makes the translation from English to Vietnamese complex. The French words which are part of the Vietnamese language require careful and wise selection of alternatives to make the content meaningful and fluent. The translators find it challenging to look for alternatives that are suited well in the language and have natural-sounding replacements.

Regional Dialects

The regional dialects of the Vietnamese differ from each other due to different pronunciations and vocabulary. The translators have to make themselves familiar with the specific dialects which are used in the source language i.e. English to ensure they produce an accurate and regionally coherent translation in Vietnamese.

Conclusion

English, Chinese, and Vietnamese all are important languages. In this era of globalization, English speakers and businesses from Western countries have to seek professional translation services to expand their business in China which is an ideal market for many and Vietnam. Chinese and Vietnamese are two Asian fellows and Chinese has a great influence on Vietnamese as a language. This similarity of both languages often translates to and from the English language a challenging deal.