Chinese-English Vocabulary Builder: Chinese Idioms

1. 弄虛作假 ( nòng xū zuò jiǎ )-To play tricks, to deceive. 弄: to play, to fiddle with. 虛: false. 作: to make. 假: falsehood, deception.
   例句: 考試弄虛作假不但不誠實且不是聰明的表現。
   Example: Not only is cheating on a test dishonest, it also isn’t a smart move.
2. 孰是孰非 (shú shì shú fēi)- Who’s right and who’s wrong. 孰: who, which,what. 是: right. 非: wrong.
   例句: 現在不是管孰是孰非的時候，趕緊把問題解決才是最要緊的。
   Example: This is not the time to figure out who’s right and who’s wrong. What’s most urgent  is to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
3. 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi)-Used to describe large crowds of people. 人: people. 山: mountain. 海: sea.
   例句: 聖派翠剋日當天，芝加哥河邊人山人海，大家都圍著看被染綠的河。
   Example: On St. Patrick Day, the Chicago riverside was surrounded with crowds watching the river turn green.
4. 不知所措 (bù zhī suǒ cuò)- To be at a loss, not knowing what to do. 不知: not knowing. 所: place. 措: to place, to deal with.
   例句: 當貓狗打起來，害怕的妹妹便不知所措的哭了起來。
   Example: When the dog and cat picked up a fight with each other, the frightened little girl began to cry, not knowing what to do.
5. 將信將疑 (jiāng xìn jiāng yí)- Skeptical; to take with a grain of salt. 將: going to. 信: believe. 疑: doubt, suspicious.
   例句: 電子書出剛上市之時，出版業及作者都對此產品將信將疑，不願電子化。
   Example: When e-books first entered the market, both publishers and authors were skeptical about the product and were unwilling to go electronic.
6. 緩兵之計 (huǎn bīng zhī jì)-Delaying tactics / stalling /measures to stave off an attack.
   例句: 原來剛才那陣騷動是搶劫那家店的緩兵之計。
   Example: As it turns out, the ruckus just a moment ago was a distraction from the robbery happening in the store.
7. 錯漏百出 (cuò lòu bǎi chū)-To be filled with errors and omissions. 錯漏: error and negligence. 錯: mistake, wrong. 漏:  to leave out by mistake. 百: hundred. 出: to occur.
   例句: 他的算數錯漏百出。沒有一提是正確的。
   Example: His math is filled with mistakes; none of the questions are answered correctly.

Literature in Translation: 〈事物〉 by 瓦歷斯．諾幹

“Objects” by Wǎlìsī Nuògàn

Poets say that poetry is an out-of-body experience….It is a state of tugging and pulling of the soul. When observing objects, you’ll notice that everything appears to be a reflection of your own self-centered ego. Scythes symbolize your eagerness to harvest your work, statues seem to embody your vulgarity and disdain toward the world,  flutes are in fact hollow tibia, and tombstones, well, let’s not even go there. It’s difficult to dig deeper into the meaning behind objects because what we see is often a reflection of ourselves, the same way history is a reflection of humanity. Even external experiences can stir up something within us, and there is no escape.

For more information about the author, please click here for his bio in Chinese.

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Vocabulary

1. 事物 (shì wù)- Things, objects.
2. 離散 (lísàn)– Separation.
3. 不置可否 (bù zhì kě fǒu)- To show indifference; not agreeing nor disagreeing. 不: not. 置: place. 可: agreement. 否: disagreement.
4. 鍛鍊字句 (duàn liàn zì jù)- 鍛鍊: training. 字句: words, expressions, writing.
5. 本質 (běn zhì)- Nature, essence, innate character. 本: origin, root. 質: material.
6. 拉扯 (lā che)– Tug and pull.
7. 不知天高地厚 (bù zhī tiān gāo dì hòu)- Literal: Oblivious to the sky’s limit and the earth’s deepness. Used to describe one’s arrogance and naiveness. 不知: doesn’t know. 天: sky. 高: high. 地: ground厚: thick; deep or profound .
8. 慾望 (yù wàng)- Desire, longing.
9. 雕像 (diāo xiàng)- Sculpture; (carved statue). 雕: to engrave, to carve. 像: figure, image.
10. 猥瑣 (wěi suǒ)- Wretched, vulgar. 猥: cheap, vulgar, obscene. 瑣: fragmented.
11. 睥睨 (bì nì)-  To look disdainfully out of the corner of one’s eye; to look down upon.
12. 鐮刀 (lián dāo)- Scythe. 刀: knife.
13. 墓碑 (mù bēi)- Gravestone; tombstone. 墓: grave. 碑: monument; an upright stone tablet.
14. 長笛 (cháng dí)- Flute.
15. 脛骨(jìng gǔ)- Tibia. 脛: lower part of the leg. 骨: bone.
16. 卒讀 (zú dú)- To finish reading. 卒: to finish. 讀: reading.
17. 遁逃 (dùn táo)- To escape.

*Original piece published in 《二行詩》筆記/事物 in United Daily News (聯合報) on November 21, 2011.

Defining Terms: Translation, Copyediting, Proofreading

Someone asked me why I provide copyediting and proofreading services separately from translation services. She would never hand over a translated document without editing and proofreading during and after the translation process. Of course, checking one’s work is necessary to any quality work, but when I say that I copyedit and proofread, I don’t mean copyediting and proofreading my own work but other people’s work. Below is a quick guide to the differences between translation, copyediting, and proofreading.

Translation: Refers to rendering a piece of writing from one language to another while keeping in mind the cultural nuances and meaning of the original language. The best translations are not word-to-word translations, but meaning-to-meaning translations.

Copyediting: Refers to editing a piece of writing for spelling, grammar, syntax, and consistency of usages throughout. Copyediting for a publisher often requires following a specific style guide to ensure that all publications are consistent in style. A few style guides are the American Psychological Association Publication Manual for scientific publications, the Chicago Manual of Style for the social sciences, and American Medical Association Manual of Style for medical publications. Copyediting for individuals, however, doesn’t always require using a style guide.

Developmental editing: Developmental editors, also known as content editors, look at the big picture and edit for substance. Instead of a mechanical line-by-line editing, developmental editors take the whole book’s organization and ideas into consideration. Because of this, changes can range from the rewriting of sentences or paragraphs, to the reordering of the table of contents.

Proofreading: The purpose of proofreading is to make sure there are no typographical errors (typos), weird breaks (widows and orphans), or mistakes at the final stage before putting the writing into print. In publishing, proofreading happens after the copyediting stage, when the typeset pages have been printed. At this stage, it is expensive to make changes, so any changes should be limited to those that are especially jarring.

Because there  is often confusion as to what copyediting and proofreading involve, it’s always important to communicate with the client about what is expected of you.

For differences between translation and interpretation, please click here.

Happy translating, copyediting, and proofreading!