Section VI: Interpreters & Translators
Although it is increasingly common to find both US and Chinese business executives and government officials that speak the other's language, many formal business meetings are conducted through interpreters. You may choose to take your own interpreter to China or hire one in China. Many executives prefer to take their own interpreters when complicated negotiations require a mastery of sophisticated legal and technical terms, or when they want the interpreters to report back on what is discussed in Chinese. It is recommended, however, that you avoid using a translator who is also a colleague and who is expected to be a substantive contributor to the discussion. Translating can be a taxing responsibility. Regardless of your decision, having a good interpreter is important. Good translators will catch mistakes and correct them in the translation. A good translator will also, if necessary, be sensitive to wording that might be counterproductive or offensive if translated literally. Finally, it is important to debrief translators and find out how specific statements were worded, in order to avoid ambiguity and understand the Chinese party's full meaning.
Speaking Tips
- Pause frequently: Pausing after every 1-2 sentences is particularly important if you are communicating through an interpreter.
- Use simple language: This prevents misunderstanding on the translator's part and safeguards against misinterpretation to your Chinese counterparts.
- Avoid slang: Slang and colloquialisms run the risk of being mistranslated.
- Address your counterpart: Speak to your Chinese counterpart(s), not the interpreter.
The following are a list of interpreting and translating service providers in the Shanghai and Beijing areas:
English/Chinese List of Translators |
OrganizationsAbacus Consulting Services Legal Translators and Court Interpreters 9249 South Broadway #200-135 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 Tel. 303-470-9555 E-mail: translate@languagealliance.com www.languagealliance.com Aloha Bridge Service Xin Liu PhD, President Mandarin I Interpreter and Translator 1305B Kahala Towers 4300 Waialae Avenue Honolulu, HI 96816 Tel: 808-737-2600 Mobile: 808-222-4230 E-mail: liu@pixi.com www.pixi.com/~liu AsianA Communications 2 Flagstone Irvine, CA 92606 Tel: 949-679-8600 Fax: 949-679-8900 Mobile: 949-533-9188 Email: admin@asiana.com www.asiana.com ATA (American Translators Service) 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 Alexandria, VA 22314 Tel: 703-683-6100 Fax: 703-683-6122 E-mail: ata@atanet.org www.atanet.org Berlitz Language Center One Thomas Circle Suite 105 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202-775-5863 www.berlitz.us China Institute 125 East 65th Street New York, NY 10021-7088 Tel: 212-744-8181 Fax: 212-628-4159 E-mail: info@chinainstitute.org www.chinainstitute.org Culture to Culture International Ms. Sheri Yi, President 4157 Chain Bridge Road Fairfax, VA 22030 Tel: 703-352-6815 Mobile: 240-888-0462 Fax: 703-359-0638 E-mail: culturetoculture@comcast.net Insty-Prints Mr. Eric Lam 6931-H Arlington Road Bethesda, MD 20814 Tel: 301-951-8881 Fax: 301-907-4577 Email: ipbethesda@elinkisp.com McNeil Multilingual 6564 Loisdale Court Suite 800 Springfield, VA 22150 Tel: 703.797.7400 Fax: 703.797.0417 Email: contact@mcneilml.com www.mcneilml.com Merrill Translations/Merrill Corporation Ms Emily Piekarski 1776 I (Eye) Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202-973-2332 Mobile: 202-276-3662 E-mail: emily.piekarski@merrillcorp.com www.merrillcorp.com/translate Princeton Technical Translations Center 333 Bolton Road East Windsor, NJ 08520 Tel: 800-839-6770 Fax: 609-443-6778 E-mail: princetran@princetontranslations.com Schreiber Translations, Inc 51 Monroe Street, Suite 101 Rockville, MD 20850 Phone: 301-424-7737 E-mail: translation@schreibernet.com www.schreibernet.com TransPerfect Translations 601 Thirteenth Street, NW Suite 320 North Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202-347-2300 Fax: 202-347-6861 Email: washingtondc@transperfect.com www.transperfect.com |
IndividualsMr. Andrew Ferrier Ms. Jennifer Greene Mr. Gu Weiqun, PhD Ms. Lam Chung-Pollpeter Ms. Lily Li Ms. Marilyn Luong Ms. Victoria Segal Ms. Alice Tian Mr. Hongzheng Xie
(John Xie) Mrs. Lily Zhao Pitt |
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Last Updated: 19-Dec-06