Top Five Errors in Chinese-to-English Translation

COMMON MISTAKES IN CHINESE-TO-ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND HOW TO ENSURE TRANSLATION QUALITY   

At minimum, awkward word choices and poorly written English distract the reader. In the worst-case scenario, poor English translations are incomprehensible and the goal of clear and accurate communication is not met.

Below are errors encountered in Chinese-to-English translations.

Errors in verb tense Verbs are not inflected, or conjugated, in Chinese. The translator must look for context clues, such as "previously" or "in the future," in order to select the correct verb tense for the English translation. Auxiliary verbs in the Chinese source text may pose challenges in English translation, for example, the past conditional tense, "I would have gone." 

Errors in number The Chinese language does not differentiate  singular and plural nouns. Again, context is key. 

Improper use of articles There are no definite (the) or indefinite (a, an, some) articles in the Chinese language. Proper understanding of English rules for the use of definite and indefinite articles is vital to the production of accurate written English. 

Awkward word order or syntax  Chinese has many options for sentence construction:
subject + verb + object 
descriptive phrase/relative clause + noun + verb
topic (subject or object) + comment (sentence or phrase)
A common error in rendering text from Chinese to English is to mirror the Chinese word order exactly, almost a one-to-one replacement.

Word choice English has one of the largest vocabularies of all the world's languages. Its influences include Greek, German, Latin, and French, and the borrowing continues to this day! With so many options and so many synonyms or near synonyms, the right word choice is not always obvious. In certain situations the Germanic word is preferred, and in other situations the Latinate word is preferred. Preposition choice is especially thorny. The preposition a writer chooses may reveal non-native facility with the English language.

Options for the translation of Chinese medical terms into English: 

肝 liver
肝 hepatic

心 heart
心 cardiac

肺 lung 
肺 pulmonary
​
肾 kidney 
肾 renal



Note that the same Chinese character is used for different registers in English.

What's the solution?  Hire an experienced translator to ensure accurate translations. The standard in the translation industry is to translate into one's native language, thus a native English speaker is the best choice for Chinese-to-English translations. Look for a language professional with relevant language training, professional experience, and excellent written English. Grammatical errors and typos are red flags! 
More questions about translation? Contact Integrative Translations.