maxiewawa The personal blog of maxiewawa

Reading Material

Here are some sites that have piqued my interest of late. Perhaps you'll find them useful:

Gregg Shorthand
The Simplified Gregg Shorthand Manual
Gregg Shorthand Anniversary Dictionary

If I'm going to be an interpreter, I'm going to have to learn shorthand. It's like a whole other language!

VITS Survey Of Interpreters

An organisation called VITS (not sure who they are, haven't finished reading it all actually) surveyed some interpreters a while back. A lot of interesting stuff. Quite long though.

I found out that most interpreters are migrants. I'm not sure why, the more I learn about interpreting the more I find that not many people whose first language is English are very interested in it. Strange.

Hard Hitting Stories

There's no polite way of putting this: my latest ChinaSMACK story is about toilets.

Men always have all the time in the world to use the bathroom, while women line up, anxiously waiting for their counterparts.

You might not think that such a story would give you any great insight about China but I think that it does.

Firstly, the reason I translated such a weird article was that I couldn't find anything on what I wanted to write about. You see, stories are often censored or "harmonized" on the Chinese language 'net, and in their place weird pieces like these appear.

Another important point is that people know that something's up. There are quite a few comments to this story from people who are disgusted that their political representatives are wasting their time on an issue like this. A friend said to me that she had no idea that the Chinese populace were so willing to speak up when they weren't happy with something.

But thirdly, and most surprising of all, is that some people are willing to defend such a study. Many are of the view that any attempt to make society better should be applauded. And why not?!

Interpreter’s Test

One of my goals this year (and onwards) is to become an accredited interpreter. I've heard that they travel the world, earn good money, and find the subject interesting, so I have applied for a course. Not just anyone can do this course though, you have to sit a test before they let you in. That test was today! I turned up at TAFE College's campus at Petersham this afternoon to take it. (TAFE = Technology And Further Education. Basically a technical college.)

For some reason, every prospective student except me was Chinese. - First language Chinese, second English. I think I was the only one the other way around. Not sure what that means... good for me because I'm a special commodity? Bad for me because the course will be tailored to Chinese speakers? Not sure.

They first had a test for our English ability. Needless to say I passed. But then they had a real challenge: a lady read a passage at natural speed, which took about two minutes, during which I had to take notes. Then I was required to repeat what she had said as closely as I could, referring to only my notes. Phew, that was hard! After the 2 minutes was up I looked at the frantic scribble in front of me and tried to piece together what she'd said. I don't think I did too badly, but not too well. I try to console myself with the knowledge that hardly anyone would be able to do it without any practice. I have seen in my research on interpreting that shorthand is a good skill, and after that bit of the test I can see that it's essential.

Next was our interpreting test. Oddly there wasn't a standalone mandarin test. Like I said, 99.9% of the applicants are from China so they assume that they can speak Chinese. This was with a different examiner to the English ability test.

When I walked into the room for my Mandarin test, the first question was which level I was applying for. Now, level 3 is a professional level interpreter, level 2 is paraprofessional (ie 'not-quite-professional). The lady giving me my English test said that I should try for professional level, since my English was obviously up to scratch, and that I have spoken Chinese since childhood. So when the Mandarin tester asked me which level I was going for, I said I wasn't sure, but that I wanted to give level 3 a shot.

The interpreting test consisted of a conversation that might happen in a real professional context. A woman is in a real estate agent's and she's asking about renting/buying a house. It wasn't a difficult conversation but the hardest part was remembering everything that was said. I'm usually good at this, when I interpret in an informal setting I can remember most of what's said, but this was another level of difficulty. I didn't know some words (I didn't know the Chinese for "flight path") and am not sure if I remembered everything. What was frustrating is that I could have probably translated simultaneously, which is when you translate what's said without waiting for the person to stop. - This means that you don't have to remember as much as one time. But as soon as I started doing that my examiner asked me to stop. So I had to wait for her to finish speaking before I replied with my translation. What's also hard is that we weren't actually in a real estate agent, so all the "cues" and "reminders" that come from actually being there weren't. I don't think I did too badly in any case, and considering that I had just come in cold, off the street, I did alright.

After that I had to do a sight translation. She gave me a written passage in English, and I had to just do a translation on the spot. So I just had to make it up on the spot. I found that really difficult. If you didn't know, translating into your first language is easier than the other way around, so I was automatically at a disadvantage, translating from my first into my second. Add to that the fact that it wasn't a conversation, but an article and I really had trouble. I haven't done much Chinese writing (other than MSN which doesn't really count since everything's so short) so I struggled.

It was clear that I was having trouble. I was speaking Chinese, trying to translate the article in front of me, and at one point the examiner said "hang on, where are you up to?" which I took as a sign that I was really stuffing it up!

So anyway, I finished and felt pretty bad about it. I told her that I wanted to try level 2, and she said ok. I did a conversation again, this time between a teacher and parent, and there weren't as many tricky words like "flight path". I didn't have to do a sight translation for the level 2 test, which was a relief!

Afterwards I didn't feel so great about the test. There were a few parts that I wasn't expecting at all (having to recite a 2 minute speech back exactly) and some other googlies I had to deal with (having to remember so much and sight translation). I was a bit bummed, but consoled myself that I hadn't done too badly. I am hoping to get into the paraprofessional level (level 2) and it was only because my english examiner suggested I try the level 3 test that I did; I shouldnt be surprised that I found it difficult.

I find out if I got in or not next week, so wish me luck!

Max on ChinaGeeks

I'm on ChinaGeeks!

I totally support the spokesperson’s point of view. But I think we need to apply this lawful supervision not only to obscene sexual material...

I did a translation of Liu Xiaoyuan's response to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu's response to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's speech about the internet. In it she responds to Google's news that it might pull out of China.

CCuster of ChinaGeeks was kind enough to give me a spot. I'm probably not going to go into as much analysis as he does, but keep posted for more!

Translating Practice

I've been reading Chinese language newspapers a lot recently. I'm keen on becoming an interpreter/translator so I thought I'd try to translate a story in today's newspaper.

Most of the stories are actually just translations of English language stories so I'm able to compare my English translations of Chinese stories with the original translations. Confused? Just have a look at this paragraph. It's in English, and is from the Daily Telegraph.

THE NSW Government is fast-tracking the $8 billion West Metro to be completed within six years in a bid to salvage credibility ahead of the election.

Here's the Chinese translation, which I found in a newspaper:

新州的政府正努力加快孩子亿元的West Metro的建设步伐，以期在六年内完工，从而在大选前挽回信誉。

And here's my English translation of the Chinese. Keep in mind that I wrote this without referring to the original English.

The NSW government is doing its best to quicken the pace of construction of the West Metro, hoping to complete work within the next six years, thereby winning back the trust of voters.

I think I was pretty close. Things are out of order,  but I think I got all the info in there. It doesn't flow as well as the original English but that's bound to happen I think.

The next paragraph. First, the original English story.

The botched $5 billion CBD Metro project is also going ahead but will no longer extend to Rozelle, instead taking commuters as far as Pyrmont, according to a Government source.

Next the Chinese.

耗资50的商业中心区的Metro工程也在继续进行当中，但是根据政府的最新消息，这一工程将不会扩展到Rozelle,相反，至多只能到达Pyrmont.

Now my translation of the Chinese.

The $5 billion CBD Metro project is continuing, but according to recent reports the new line will not extend to Rozelle, but will in fact only go to Pyrmont.

A few boo-boos. I mentioned "recent reports"; the original, "a Government source". I missed that.

Also, the original mentions that the project has been "botched"; I don't mention that information. This is because the Chinese doesn't translate "botched". Not my fault! But what does that mean anyway? Wikitionary says:

To perform (a task) in an unacceptable or incompetent manner; to make a mess of something; to ruin; to bungle; to spoil; to destroy."

But if the project was botched/spoiled/made a mess of, why is it still going ahead? Surely if something has been botched it's completely beyond salvage? If something is botched doesn't that mean that no one is able to fix it? I don't know why the writer put "botched" in there, and I suspect  that the confusion is why the Chinese translator left it out.

The original mentions "taking commuters as far as Pyrmont", where I say that "[the line] will in fact only go to Pyrmont". The Chinese doesn't mention commuters, which is why I don't. *shrugs* The important info, that the line isn't going to Rozelle, is maintained.

The third paragraph:

Premier Kristina Keneally plans to use money from the privatisation of the state's energy assets to help fund the $8 billion underground rail express to Westmead, which the Government previously admitted had no funds, no start date or completion time.

The Chinese:

Keneally计划动用新州能源资产私有化得来得资金，投资80亿元修建直达Westmead的地铁。此前，政府宣称因没有足够得资金，因此无法确定动工期和完工期。

And my English. Once again, I wrote this without looking at the original English.

Keneally plans to use the funds earned from the privatisation of NSW energy to invest in an $80 billion metro line to Westmead. But before construction began, the NSW government said that due to lack of funds it couldn't confirm when work would start or finish.

Obviously the worst error is the number. A bad miss, I'd rather not dwell on it. The original says "rail express", the Chinese says 地铁 which is why I say "metro". But what exactly is a "rail express"? Isn't an "express" a train that goes directly to a certain station without stopping at all the stops in between? Are they building a train or a train line?

The rest of the paragraph is a little wonky. The Chinese translates "previously" as 此前, which I translated as "before construction began". Oops. The original doesn't say what "previously" is "previous" to, the Chinese maintains that ambiguity, but I didn't. I also say that the reason that the government "couldn't confirm when work would start or finish" was "due to lack of funds". The original doesn't say this, but the Chinese does. The Chinese translation has added something not in the original, which I have maintained.

Most of this analysis I've done is subjective though; perhaps I've been understanding "botched" wrong all this time, maybe "train line" isn't as weird as I think. Maybe I've made errors that I haven't picked up on.

If you've found something I haven't, please leave a comment!

Security Guard Tells Ambulance: Pay Up.

Chief Security Guard Summoned to Mediate; Lower Level Security Guard Eventually Apologises

An ambulance, after entering a secure residential apartment complex, was told upon leaving that a fee was required for parking. Yesterday at four in the morning, an ambulance from Chengdu Airforce Hospital entered a residential complex in Lianhuayidu, Haihu city, and was asked for two yuan at the exit. This astonished the paramedics: "In my time as a paramedic, this is the first time I've been asked for a fee for parking, this is really a historical first."

From NetEase.

The Circus Comes To Town

Translated from NetEase:

Thanks to netizen "YueDing" for providing these pictures.

Crowded buses are something that all netizens from Chongqing will be familiar with. Today, a user called "YueDing" posted three pictures of a bus conductor most valiant.

This reporter can see from the photos that YueDing has posted that because the bus is too crowded the male bus conductor has climbed onto the railing, and is selling tickets from midair, and is indeed quite awesome. After the post was published, it drew the attention of netizens.

Zhutouge said: "Indeed, very valiant, but is it really from Chongqing?"

Mengjiangnan replied: Definitey not from Chongqing, Chongqing buses don't have cameras, and don't have that many advertisements.

But a user with the name "Mengyoulvke" said that where he gets off the bus there are many cameras. This reporter contacted the poster of the original post, who told me that he had got the photo from another website which had since been closed, and for this reason couldn't tell me exactly where it was taken.

Shanghai Man Lands On Lover, Survives Suicide Jump

My latest ChinaSMACK post is a doozy:

At 4pm in the afternoon of January 3rd, in a residential area near Changning road in Shanghai a 50-year-old man jumped from the sixth floor, landing on a bed of flowers below [...] as the man in question jumped he was holding a young girl, and after impacting with the ground she was squashed under him, which is why he wasn’t killed.

Read the rest at ChinaSMACK!