When in Doubt, Think Broad! (Tips for Interpreters)

As an interpreter, you need to retain a lot of vocabulary and have knowledge of a wide range of topics. While the endeavor to understand all the tiny details to every medical procedure and disease, every legal ruling, or financial technicality is admirable, it’s better to first retain the equivalent of the words in your target language than to focus on the details that go along with the specific terminology.

For example,  all medical interpreters should know the term “Hepatitis B.” The other thing to know about this is that it’s relating to the liver.  Everything else you know about it is a bonus and will be helpful to your work as an interpreter, but it is not critical. While you can always do research and learn about the causes, the symptoms, the treatments, and prevention, all that knowledge isn’t necessarily required for you to be able to interpret the phrase “Hepatitis B.” If the patient does not know what Hepatitis B is, he will ask the doctor, and the doctor will answer any of the patient’s questions. At this point, all you’d have to do is interpret. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t spend time to learn more about the phrases or procedures we are interpreting about, just that we should try to maximize our time and to ensure that we are retaining what will be most applicable to our work, which is a wide-ranging vocabulary.

Expanding your vocabulary is the first step to being able to render good interpretations, and learning more about each component relating to the terms is something you can build up overtime. Our understanding about the technicalities and details will benefit our work, but they aren’t necessarily critical to our performance, so when in doubt, go for more vocabulary than more details.

Fellow interpreters, do you agree? What are your thoughts on this general approach?

As always, happy interpreting!

On the Job: Relay Interpreting in a Medical Appointment

Relay interpretation is a type of consecutive interpretation used when multiple languages are at play at the same time, where the source language is  interpreted into different languages, and at least two interpreters are present. We see this most commonly used in conference interpreting where the source language is rendered into a common target language and then further rendered into specific language groups. This type of interpretation is similar to the game “telephone,” where one message is whispered down a line of people, and the last person in line announces to the group what the message was. If you’ve played this game before, you’d know how easily it is for the original message to become distorted at the end of the line.

With this in mind, we can see the challenges of relay interpretation. Because multiple players are involved, the risk of distorting the message is high, where omission from or addition to the original message can occur; thus, it is important that all interpreters involved are professionals and are  familiar with the code of ethics and the  necessary means they need to take to ensure accurate interpretation of the message.

At a recent  medical appointment, a Mandarin interpreter was requested. I learned early on that while the patient spoke Mandarin, he also spoke a Chinese dialect that I am unfamiliar with. This was not a problem because he understood Mandarin, but his son was present as well, and my work complicated when the two of them communicated in their dialect, leaving both the provider and myself out of the conversation.

During the appointment, the patient and his relative would have side conversations in their dialect. I had to inform the provider that the side conversations were in a different dialect that I didn’t understand, so she knew I wasn’t keeping information from her. After the side conversations ended, I tried to find out what they were talking about, and the son would kindly summarize it for me, allowing me to interpret the summary to the provider.

Much of the appointment went like this: the provider spoke, I interpreted the English into Mandarin Chinese, after hearing my interpretation, the patient and the son would converse in their dialect, and then the son would respond in English or in Chinese–if in Chinese, I would interpret it into English for the provider. What worried me was that while the side conversations lasted for at least 30 seconds at a time, the summaries were only a few words long, such as, “he said okay.”

In this case, relay interpretation took place, from English to Mandarin to the separate dialect back to Chinese then to English again. As I mentioned earlier, to ensure that messages get transmitted without distortion, we need to make sure that the interpreters are professionals; however, since the son was a family member, he felt that as long as he understood the message, it was okay. This is partly why family members are highly discouraged to act as interpreters. As well, when messages are summarized, the interpreter, not the speaker, decides what was most important and less important in the message. Because of this, important information can be lost during the transmission of information.

As an interpreter, I always want to make sure that messages are being understood, so I worried about what the patient was saying to his son and whether they full understood the provider’s instructions. However, it seems like the  in situations like this, it’s hard to repeatedly instruct the family members to interpret everything, or ask that the patient speak for himself rather than through the family member.

Fellow interpreters, what would you have done in this situation?

Phone Interpretation: Could You Repeat that Again?

In the perfect world, an interpreter will relay every single message perfectly without interruption. However, sometimes even when everything is perfect–you have the perfect phone connection, you’re in a quiet environment, you’re following all protocols for phone interpreting–there are times when a new word comes up or when you didn’t get all the information the first time around. The first thing to do when this happens is remain calm. After that, you can take the steps below to remain professional and still complete the task of relaying the correct information.

What if I don’t know how to interpret a word?
If an unfamiliar term comes up and you’re unable to interpret it, the ideal solution should be to quickly look it up. One benefit of interpreting on the phone is that you can have your internet or glossary handy. If that doesn’t work, and you happen to know the meaning of the word, interpret that. However, if you’re unfamiliar with the word and what it means, it’s okay to ask the speaker for clarification or for an alternative word. Of course we all wish we could interpret everything without any mistakes or lapses, but when you’re on the call, it’s important to be on your toes and think fast.

When to ask for Repetition, Verification, and Clarification? 
When information received is unclear, the interpreter can ask for repetition, verification, or clarification of the information. It’s important to ensure accurate information before interpreting so the callers receive the intended information. Of course the ideal would be that the information is jogged down correctly on the first try, but we are human. When asking for such information, make sure to use third person, “This is the interpreter. May you please repeat what you said after ‘London’?” Or, “The interpreter would like to verify the phone number. Is it 543-210-3429?” Or “The interpreter would like you to clarify what you mean by ‘vital signs.'”

Repetition. Asking for repetition means you’re asking the person to repeat what was said.

Verification. Asking for verification  means you will read back what you think you heard and wait for affirmation that you got the correct information.

Clarification is used when you are asking for the definition of a word. An interpreter is sometimes confronted with words for which the equivalent to the target language is not off the tip of his tongue. The first way to deal with this is to figure out from the context what the word is. Once you’ve figured that out, you can verify with the speaker if that is the correct word. However, if you still can’t  interpret or describe the term, ask the speaker for further explanation or a definition so you can interpret their response instead.

One more tip about asking for clarification: always be specific about the information you need again. If you missed the zip code, ask for the zip code.

What if the speaker talks too much and I’m unable to retain the information?
In this case, gently interrupt the speaker and ask them to break the information into smaller segments, so details are not missed. “Ma’am, this is the interpreter, may you please break down the information into smaller segments so I can ensure accuracy of my interpretation? Thank you.” You’d be surprised, but people can be accommodating–they want the same thing you want, which is to pass on necessary information to the person on the other end of the phone.

Hope this is helpful. Happy interpreting!

Don’t Be A Choosy Language Learner

Translation is always in the back of my mind, so I’m always thinking: How would I say this in Chinese? or How would I say this in English? And sometimes the strangest things strike my interest. This time, they’re the phrases in an article on balding and hair loss.

Language is ever-changing, and a good linguist–translator or interpreter–always finds ways to expand her vocabulary. There are topics or occurrences in our daily lives that we don’t always think are important enough to further explore, when actually, anything can be a learning experience. Don’t discriminate against odd subjects!

Okay, so let’s get into the hair loss/ baldness vocabulary from the article I read on udn.com, a Taiwanese online news source.

1. 頭髮 (tóufa)- hair (on the head). 頭: head; 髮: hair (on the head).
2. 髮線 (fàxiàn)- hairline. 髮: hair (on the head). 線: line.
3. 禿頭 tūtóu- baldness.
4. 雄性禿 xióngxìng tū- male pattern baldness. 雄性: male. 禿: bald(ness).
5. 額髮線後退 (é fàxiàn hòutuì)- receding hairline. 額: forehead. 額髮線: forelock. 後退: to go back.
6. 促進生髮的藥物 (cùjìn shēngfà de yàowù)- medication that promotes hair growth. 促進: promote. 生: grow. 髮: hair. 藥物: drug, medicine.
7. 電燈泡 (diàndēngpào) 電火球仔 dian hui chu ah>- lightbulb. Used to describe a completely bald head. Note: Another usage for 電燈泡 (diàndēngpào) is what American English terms “third wheel.”
8. 植髮中心 (zhífà zhōngxīn)- center for hair transplants. 植: to plant. 髮: hair. 中心: center.
9. 急性休止期落髮 (jíxìng xiūzhǐqī luòfà)- acute telogen effluvium. Hair loss caused by illnesses. 急性: acute.
10. 圓禿 (yuántū) or 鬼剃頭 (guǐtìtóu)- alopecia areata, also known as spot baldness. 圓: round, circle. 禿: baldness. 鬼: ghost. 剃頭: to shave one’s head. 鬼剃頭 is the colloquial usage.
11. 假髮 (jiǎfà)- wig. 假: fake; 髮: hair.
12. 生髮水 (shēngfàshuǐ)- hair regrowth tonic. 生: grow. 髮: hair. 水: water, solution.

Side note, have you heard that washing your hair every day isn’t good for you and may lead to hair loss? That actually isn’t always the case. We should actually wash our hair and scalp regularly to avoid clogged hair follicles, which can lead to more hair loss.

Hope you learned something today!

What Makes a Prepared Interpreter

Interpreting is challenging and fun, but it’s also a profession and something to take seriously. Not only do we want to present ourselves as a professional, we also want others to see us as one.

A professional interpreter strives to be as prepared as he can be. When he receives an assignment, he tries to get as much information as he can about the assignment, and makes sure he prepares for it by reviewing his terminology. However, because access to appointment details isn’t always available, keeping up with terminology and language skills is a nonstop process for interpreters.

But wait, preparation isn’t just about the behind-the scene work of reviewing terminology and researching on the topic, it’s as important to prepare for the whole session, and I’ve put together some tips to help you prepare for your next gig. Share some of your tips and tricks if you think of anything else as well!

Map it. Make sure you plan your route and know where you’re going, where you’re meeting, and leave for the appointment with sufficient lead time so that traffic doesn’t become an issue for your arrival time.

Dress Professionally. Even though you don’t have a boss looking over your shoulders, business attire will show that you take your job seriously. When you’re dressed professionally, you feel more confident, people will also give you more credibility.

Arrive Early. Arriving at least 10 minutes before the appointment will allow you enough time to acquaint yourself to your surroundings. For appointments in large hospitals or courts, interpreters are often asked to check in to get a visitor’s badge, so make sure to account that into your commute as well.

Explain Your Role. Not every client will have experience working with an interpreter. While it may seem intrusive to give the client a short info session about who you are and what your role is, the 20-second explanation will benefit the communication between your clients and make your job easier. Explain that you will interpret everything that is said. Also ask the speakers to speak directly to each other, and kindly request that they use short sentences so that you can accurately convey the entire message.

Remember Your Code of Ethics. Stay true to the message and interpret everything that is said, without omissions, additions, or alterations of the message.

Ask for Clarification. We want to make sure that we are communicating everything that is said. It’s okay to not understand a phrase, and it’s okay to ask for clarification or rephrasing, particularly in a consecutive interpreting session (medical interpreting).

Be Confident and Have Fun with it. You’ve done your homework, did your training, and got that gig. Now be confident that you can do this and that you’re going to be amazing. Interpreting is work, but it should be fun, too. That’s why we’re doing it, right?

Good luck!

How to Prepare for a Phone Interpreting Session

What is Phone Interpretation
Phone interpreting is the oral translation of conversations through the phone.  Some people find it easier because it doesn’t involve direct human contact; others find it more difficult because there isn’t face-to-face contact.

The benefit of phone interpreting is you can focus on the words while taking notes in a place you’re comfortable in–your quiet office, your bedroom, wherever. You can even have your laptop in front of you and quickly look up unfamiliar terminology while on the job. The downside is that you are not physically present and that you are reliant on technology that can sometimes be unpredictable.

Preparing for A Conference Call
The basics are the same as any interpreting session. You need the language capacity and to keep in mind the code of ethics, but you’ll also have to make sure that you put yourself in the best setting when making calls.

Environment. It’s important that you are in a quiet place when placing calls so that you can hear the other line(s) and so you’re clear of distractions during the call. While you can’t control the connection or sound quality on the other end of the phone, you should do what you can to ensure that you are in a quiet environment.

Phone Reception. I prefer landlines over cell phones as I find that the connection is better. Not everyone has a landline nowadays so making sure our phone reception is good is the best we can do to ensure clear transmission of messages. If you’re using Skype or an internet phone service, make sure that the internet connection is stable.

First Person. Same with in-person interpretation jobs, interpretations should be in first person, and if you need the speaker to repeat or rephrase something, ask in third person, “The interpreter would like you to repeat….”

Consecutive Interpretation. Phone interpretations are often consecutive. At in-person interpretation sessions, I ask the parties involved to use short sentences so I can make sure that I interpret everything that is said. I also raise my hand in a “stop” motion if I need them to pause, so I can interpret. On the phone, it’s a little different because no one can see each other. The way I interrupt is simply to start interpreting after a sentence or two. Don’t be shy to interrupt. Your goal and job is to transmit all information, and you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

Sensitivity to Tones and Cultures. This one is obvious. To be a good interpreter, one must know the language. Especially in cases where you can’t read the speaker’s facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language, it’s even more important to know the cultural nuances and be able to read/copy the intonations of the speaker.

Familiarity with the Topic. Interpreters are sometimes given the subject to be discussed before the conference call. This would allow you to prepare ahead of time–catch up on the vocabulary, and read up on the topic. This is not always the case, however, so it’s important for interpreters to constantly educate themselves on new subject areas and vocabulary.

Happy interpreting!

Chinese-English Vocabulary Builder: Chinese Idioms

1. 躊躇滿志 (chóu chú mǎn zhì)-To be immensely proud of one’s success; to be content.  躊躇: indecisive. 滿: satisfied. 志: will. 。
   例句: 小女畢業典禮當天，父母臉上泛溢著躊躇滿志的笑容。
   Example: On their daughter’s graduation day, her parents smiled from ear to ear with pride.
2. 白璧微瑕(bái bì wēi xiá)-A slight blemish on a piece of white jade. Used to describe a small mistake . 白: white. 璧: a piece of jade with hole in it. 微: slight. 瑕: defect, flaw.
   例句: 就算是公司裡最年長的員工也會出錯，然而這小錯只是白璧微瑕而已無傷大雅。
   Example: Even the most senior staff in the company makes mistakes, but this one is just a small mishap that won’t hurt the company’s image.
3. 突如其來 (tū rú qí lái)-An unexpected or sudden occurrence. 突: suddenly, abruptly, unexpectedly. 如: as if. 來: come.
   例句: 突如其來的雨把他淋成落湯雞。
   Example: She was drenched by the sudden rain.
4. 無可匹敵 (wú kě pǐ dí)-Unparallelled; unique in kind or quality. 無: none. 可: able. 匹敵: to rival or equal.
   例句: 自國中他的英語能力便無可匹敵，所以他的托福考了滿分我們一點也不訝異。
   Example: His English language skills have been unparalleled to his peers since middle school, so we were not at all surprised when he got a perfect score on his TOEFL exam.
5. 鍥而不捨 (qiè’ ér bù shě)-To persevere; to chisel away at something. 鍥: carve. 而: and. 不: not. 捨: give up.
   例句: 他鍥而不捨的精神促使他抵達終點，跑完馬拉鬆。
   Example: His perseverance pushed him to reach the finish line, completing the marathon.
6. 冒冒失失 (mào mào shī shī)-Lacking care, acting in haste. 冒: risk. 失: to lose, to make a mistake, to neglect.
   例句: 他冒冒失失的態度讓老闆無法給予全權的信任。
   Example: Bob’s lack of attention to detail has made it difficult for Bob’s boss to extend his full trust.
7. 一不做，二不休 (yī bù zuò, ‘èr bù xiū)-Either give up, or follow through from beginning to end. 不: no. 做: act, do. 休: to rest, to end.
   例句: 一不做，二不休，做事要持著有始有終的態度。
   Example: We should always finish what we’ve started. If you’re not going to follow through, don’t even start.

 

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References:
Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary.
MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary http://www.mdbg.net
Yahoo 奇摩字典 http://tw.dictionary.yahoo.com

Dirty Mouth: Let’s Talk Cursing (and Interpreting)

The default role of an interpreter is a conduit. Merriam Webster defines conduit as a natural or artificial channel through which something is conveyed. If we think of the channel as a telephone wire, the conduit transmits anything and everything that is received from one end to another. In other words, an interpreter relays all information that is spoken, without any omission, additions, or distortions of the message.

In medical and legal interpreting, there are times when we have to give bad news. And in times like this, the client may become upset and use curse words to express his feelings. In my medical interpreting training, someone raised a question of whether interpreters still need to relay everything in such cases, particularly if an interpreter has qualms about cursing. Despite what an interpreter’s personal feelings are toward swearing, interpreters must stay true to the original message, even if it means cursing or using words they wouldn’t necessarily use in their daily lives. Such is what’s implied in the code of ethics for interpreters.

Regardless of the cultural or social implications of cursing, if it happens that you must curse on the job, then you need to do it as part of your professionalism. I don’t curse, and haven’t really thought about how English curse words correspond with Chinese curse words, but as a responsible interpreter, I’ve put together a short list (you know, for my work, of course). Cursing is an interesting thing. You’ll notice below that the common curse words we use in English relate  to sex and excretion and mothers. Even though sex and excretion are unavoidable parts of natural human conditions, and we all love our mothers, these words are considered indecent and taboo in both the American and Chinese cultures.

1. Bastard-王八蛋 (wáng bā dàn)、 龜孫子(guī sūn zi)
2. Fuck [angry fuck]- 幹 (gàn)、肏 (cào)
3. Fuck, Fuck me, Fuckin’ awesome, Holy shit [excitement]-我靠 (wǒ kào)
4. Fuck you, Go to hell- 去你的 (qù nǐ de)、 我鳥你 (wǒ niǎo nǐ)
5. Fuck him, Screw him-鳥他的 (niǎo tā de)、去他的 (qù tā de)
6. Bullshit–屁 (pì)、屁話 (pì huà)、鳥話 (niǎo huà)、你個狗屁 (nǐ ge gǒu pì)
   Example: What the fuck are you talking about-你在講什麼鳥話 (nǐ zài jiǎng shén me niǎo huà)
7. What the fuck is this?-這是什麼鬼? (zhè shì shén me guǐ)
8. What the fuck are you doing?-你搞什麼鬼? (nǐ  gǎo shén me guǐ))
9. Damnit- 他媽的 (tāmāde)
10. Son of a bitch- 狗崽子 (gǒu zǎi zǐ)

These are just some common English curse words and their cursory Chinese equivalents. If you’re interested in learning about Chinese curse words, their detailed explanations, and how they relate to English, the Transparent Language blog has a good post about it that you should check out.

Happy cursing! (Just kidding. Cursing is bad.)

Thoughts on Translation: Rise of the Planet of the Machines

It doesn’t look like monkeys will take over the world anytime soon, despite what the movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, says. However, machines are already taking over the world. We are so reliant on technology now, that without it, very few of us are able to actually function.

I recently started working with an organization on reviewing machine translation of texts. Rather than translating, I see it more as editing or correcting, but that’s not the point. It’s been fun and entertaining, and it has also convinced me that machines still have a long way to go.

We see mistranslated machine translations all over the internet and share the hilarity of some of these incorrect translations with our friends among our social-networking tools. I never thought much about the errors but wondered why people or institutions are fine with putting their reputation at stake, using shoddy translation tools (and not having a human review the translation for accuracy) that they should know fully well is not consistently accurate

True, our programmers are teaching machines vocabulary and grammar, and teaching them to make word choices based on surrounding text, but it is still not enough. Machine translations are often ridiculous because cultural nuances are not built in their system, they don’t know that one word can mean another in different contexts, and sometimes they’re not flexible about moving text around for better syntax.

I enjoy reading 「humorous」 machine-translated text, and I’m glad that we have yet to perfect this technology. Because until we program machines to produce completely accurate translations, I’ll have a job.

Literature in Translation: “Liu Qí-Wei’s Life as an Adventurer” by Liu Níng-Sheng

In 1993, I went to Papua New Guinea with my dad, Liú Qíwěi, who was then 82 years old. On our trip he lamented: “life has a way of messing with me: When I had the energy to travel, no one would sponsor my research; now that I’m old and have sponsors, I’ve lost all my energy.” However, when he was seventy, he was still researching different aboriginal tribes and collecting data on the Borneo culture. My dad was a strong man.

At our last stop in Papua New Guinea, everyone was suffering from mosquitoes bites along the Sepik river. Even with the most potent bug spray, the mosquitoes were unstoppable; and because I was filming and had to keep a steady hand, the mosquitoes were unscrupulous in their attacks. By the time I told my dad, “I’m not sure I can take this any longer,” my hands were utterly swollen. Seeing my condition, my dad finally agreed to go home with me a few days earlier than planned and we never went further up the river.  I was once bitten by fleas when we were in the Tali highlands in China. It was extremely itchy and the swell from the bite was as large as a water glass. To stop the swelling, a shaman grabbed a few bushels of urtica thunbergiana, pulled up my shirt, and repeatedly hit my body with them. The excruciating pain left me covered in cold sweat; however, the ritual also stopped the itching. Throughout the whole trip, my father was pickier than I was about our diet, which consisted of “vegetables,” also known as tree leaves, combined with fish, canned meat, or crackers. With no variety day in and day out, he became tired of the meals and would sometimes skip lunch and just drink water instead. What he enjoyed most was instant coffee, so we brought some of that with us.

From that adventure I learned of my father’s deep respect for foreign cultures–he never treated the people as lower class, the way most travelers would. When I once again traveled through Papua New Guinea, I saw that most tourists didn’t judge foreign cultures fairly. Instead, they would use the cultural perspectives innate in them to criticize a local culture. For example, when purchasing food, they would say, “So dirty!” or “Is this edible?” These attitudes are indeed worth discussing.

When I sat on the floor with a Papua New Guinean to chat, I could tell from the body language of other tourists why cultural exchanges are so difficult. They don’t have the desire to understand, let alone identify [with the locals]. The Papa New Guinean later said to me: “You’re the only one who’s willing to sit with us, to identify with us.” How tedious would life be if the whole world spoke only one language, ate the same food, and dressed the same? Through my dad’s mentoring and influence, I learned the importance of respecting other cultures. When I once passed through Tahiti, I noticed that the aboriginals were working hard to restore their native music and dance after enduring foreign influence over the past hundreds of years.

When Paul Gauguin went to Tahiti, he argued with the local government, which was trying to suppress the local culture after missionaries were offended by the perceived flirtation of the native dances. In fact, promoting reproduction and the longevity of their culture was the essence of their dances. Many aboriginals are fond of war; some are even cannibals and head hunters. Aboriginals partake in cannibalism believing that it allows them to attain the spirit and wisdom of the hunted, whom they see as their respected enemies. [But without understanding], we criticize their cultures and customs, and simply think that their behaviors are amoral and uncivilized. However, we need to first learn about their culture to understand the reasoning behind such ceremonies. These are all lessons I learned from my father.

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Vocabulary:

1. 巴布亞紐幾內亞 (Bā bùyà Niǔ Jī nèi yà)-Papua New Guinea. This usage is most common in Taiwan.  Abbreviated version: 巴紐(Bāniǔ).
2. 感嘆 (gǎn tàn)-To sigh, to lament.
3. 造化 (zào huà)-Nature, the creator.
4. 弄人(nòng rén)-To mess with someone.
5. 部落 (bù luò)- Tribe.
6. 原住民 (yuán zhù mín)-Indigenous peoples / aborigine.
7. 婆羅洲 (pó luó zhōu)-Borneo.
8. 採集 (cǎijí)-To gather,  to collect, to harvest.
9. 熬 (áo)-Endure.
10. 防蚊藥 (fáng wén yào)- Bug (mosquito) spray. 防: to protect , to defend, to prevent. 蚊: mosquito. 藥: drug, medicine.
11. 吃不消 (chī bu xiāo)-To be unable to tolerate or endure / to find sth difficult to manage
12. 肆無忌憚 (sì wú jì dàn)- Unrestrained; unscrupulous. 肆: indulge. 無: without. 忌: fear. 憚: to shrink (from fear).
13. 跳蚤 (tiào zao)-Fleas.
14. 巫師 (wū shī)-Wizard, magician.
15. 咬人貓 (yǎo rén māo)-Urtica thunbergiana.
16. 民族 (mín zú)-Nationality, ethnic group.
17. 商榷(shāng què)-To discuss, to bring up for discussion.
18. 認識 (rèn shi)-To understand, to become acquainted to.
19. 認同(rèn tóng)- To identify with, to recognize, to approve of.
20. 薰陶 (xūn táo)-Influence.
21. 風俗 (fēng sú)-Custom (social).
22. 壓制 (yā zhì)-Suppress.
23. 傳教士 (chuán jiào shì)-Missionary.
24. 西匹河 (xī pī hé)- Sepik river.
25. 大溪地 (dà xī dì)-Tahiti.

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Original commentary, “劉其偉的探險生涯,” by 劉寧生著, from 聯合報副刊. Dated November 14, 2011.