English Chinese translation on Politeness (Ⅱ)



Being Polite in a Chinese Way - English Chinese translation



As we all know, in English Chinese translation or vice versa, cultural elements are playing a rather important role. Without a complete understanding of the culture, some may feel really frustrated or even annoyed. For instance, the first time I go to work with a foreign friend, and on the way to the company, we encountered several “上班去啦 (shàng bān qù lā) – Go to work?”. Well, each time, my friend asked me what was just said, coz she was just learning Chinese and want to know everything others said in Chinese. So I need to translate English to Chinese repeatedly. Same thing happened on our way back home. “上班去啦” is replaced by “下班啦(xià bān lā) – Off work?” and “回来啦(huí lái lā) – Coming back?”. These conversations are repeated every day. Finally, my friend could not help to ask why all these useless talks. Well, she did not mean the bad side. She meant like it was so funny to say the obvious things again and again.

So, have you ever been confused or bothered by such social conventions in another country? I was very impressed by the English greeting of “How do you do”, coz our English teacher emphasized for several times that it was not a real question, just a way of greeting. But it still feels awkward to say it every time we meet others, especially when we have passed the initial phase of relationship. How should I explain the feeling? Maybe it feels not so intimate. It is too polite and makes me feel there is some gap/distance between people. As some may know the Chinese word “客气(kè qi) – polite, politeness, stand on ceremony”, it is good to be polite at a socializing occasion or the initial stage of acquaintance, but kind of insincere when the two parties are very familiar with each other. It will widen the distance between the two. A Chinese is highly possible to think this way when they are in this situation: Oh, I’m wrong. He is still using the socializing remarks to greet me. That means he does not regard me as a good friend.



English Chinese translation on politeness



That being said, “你好(nǐ hǎo)”, the Chinese equivalent of “How do you do” is not a good choice if you want to be solicitous or friendly. Instead, “起床啦(qǐ chuáng lā) – got up, 出门啦(chū mén lā) – going out, 上班啦(shàng bān lā) – go to work, 吃饭啦(chī fàn lā) – having your meal, 回来啦(huí lái lā) – coming back” are used as basic greetings or sometimes as conversation starters. With all these cultural background being explained in English Chinese translation or vice versa, the understanding of certain phenomena will be much easier to get.

Furthermore, with a full understanding of the cultural factors, people can avoid bad collision raised by misunderstanding. For example, one friend once complained about the Chinese ways of showing care. Say, when others slip or cause some other sort of accidents, Chinese will say “小心(xiǎo xīn) – be careful” to them. Even though we are showing care with good intention, but some may not take this. To them, it sounds like some sarcasm, saying that you should have been more careful. In such cases, it is very important to make clear the cultural elements when you translate English to Chinese or Chinese to English. Or people will take it wrong.

Cultural conflicts are always there. But as great translators, we should try our best to avoid it and make the cross-cultural communication goes smoothly. To translate English to Chinese in a natural way, translators need to clear off the cultural blocks in the way.