At LanguageTran, we understand the complexities hidden in “difficult” language pairs. We know that translation is more than a literal word-for-word regurgitation. It requires so much more than knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Our teams of professional translators have deep relationships with their working languages and the nuances of how they differ from each other. Here we introduce you to some theories regarding how your mother tongue influences your perspective and discuss why understanding how languages differ is so imperative, especially with respect to English to Chinese translation.

Are we tongue-tied by our mother tongue?

In Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages, Guy Deutscher discusses this idea in the context of how your experiences are shaped by your mother tongue. He also wrote "Does Your Language Shape How You Think?" for the New York Times in which he discusses some fascinating concepts relevant to the language translation industry.

Linguists have long suspected that an individual’s perceptions of the world were locked in by their mother tongue. Some proposed that your first language determined strict boundaries to your domain; you performed and thought within a defined space of possible actions and ideas. In fact, the theory went on to assume that your mother tongue actually inhibited your ability to grasp ideas that are common in other languages.

Now we know that our brains are much more plastic than we thought. At first, the theory that our mother tongue restricted our capacity to think was thrown to the wayside and any new theory borne from a similar foundation was largely ignored. If our native language had such a powerful grip on our potential, we would be unable to acquire new ways of thinking or communicating, much less translate language.

How do English and Chinese differ?

To meet the challenges posed by English to Chinese translation, you must understand exactly how the languages differ. Translating between related languages (e.g. the Romance languages) presents a different set of challenges than English to Chinese translation. To translate from English to Chinese, you must be equipped with more than new vocabulary and common idioms; the process is more akin to a paradigm shift.

In English, we denote time through verb conjugation. In Chinese, time is inferred through context or adverbial phrases. To think about an event in Chinese requires you to think about what else was going on at that time and the way in which it happened. In English, letters combine to make words; in Chinese, characters represent words or phrases. At the sentence level, we see that word order in Chinese is relatively non-important (parataxis), whereas comprehension of English relies heavily on the order of words in a sentence (hypotaxis).

Aside from grammatical differences, there are plenty of cultural references that do not translate easily. Many cultural concepts rooted in Chinese religious tradition do not occupy a related space in the English language. Additionally, Chinese has many honorifics. The word “teacher” can be said with one of seven degrees of respect. There is no such universal hierarchy in English that distinguishes varying levels of respect for a teacher. English to Chinese translation demands unrestricted, perspective-shifting capability in both languages.

Each of the above examples shows how the language we speak affects the way we think. Decoding the subtext becomes the challenge when translating English to Chinese. Translation from one to the other requires a deep understanding of both the spoken and unspoken language. English to Chinese translation is a complex, multi-faceted process that should be carried out by a professional English to Chinese translation service.

Languages without borders

Linguists today theorize that your mother tongue informs and controls your ability to process information, but does not lock you in. Deutscher goes further, “if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about.”

In the language translation industry, the way a translator carries a captured thought from one language into the domain of another language is what sets them apart. To do this well, the translator will transcend multiple language domains, compare them and choose the most appropriate reflection for each idea with respect to the cultural framework of the target language. It’s like looking through a kaleidoscope, moving back and forth between complex patterns.

At LanguageTran, we hire selectively screened, native English and Chinese speakers to guarantee a seamless journey over the crevasse of language differences. We are an experienced company that handles English to Chinese translation of legal documents, business documents, certified documents, and technical documents, amongst others. LanguageTran guarantees your translation will be accurate, professional and localized.