Cover not available
Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 68:1 (2022) ► pp.24–54

Chinese certificate translation in the Australian context

A purpose-oriented practice

| The University of Queensland

All countries issue certificates – marriage certificates, birth certificates, medical certificates, graduation certificates, degrees, driver’s licenses, and business permits – for various purposes, so the translation of certificates is common in the translation market. For cultural, practical, and administrative reasons, certificates issued by different countries and in different languages often take different forms and contain different information. Because translated certificates may be required for specific purposes, the appropriate translation of certificates can therefore pose challenges for translators. This paper presents a study on the translation of various certificates from Chinese into English. It attempts to compare and analyze different features of certificates in Chinese and English, identify issues encountered in the translation of certificates, and explore different translation strategies, taking into account linguistic, pragmatic, cultural, and communicative factors. Based on the findings of the data analysis, the study suggests that when translating Chinese certificates into English, it is necessary to consult the potential users of the translated certificates to identify the purposes of the translation and decide which translation strategy is appropriate.

Keywords: certificate, certificate translation, translated certificate, purpose, skopos
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Definition of certificate
  • 3.An overview of research on certificate translation
  • 4.An overview of certificates and their features
  • 5.Analysis and discussion of certificates and their translations
    • 5.1Chinese and English certificates
    • 5.2Templates for certificate translation
    • 5.3Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 24 February 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00257.ko
References
AUSIT
N.d. “Templates for Your Translations.” Accessed 17 June 2020. [URL]
2012 Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct. N.p.: Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators Inc.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics
2016 “2016 Census: Multicultural.” Accessed 26 June 2020. [URL]
Baker, Mona
2018 In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London and New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Burke, Jean
2017 “Linguistic Diversity among Swahili-Speakers: A Challenge for Translation in Australia.” In Translating for the Community, edited by Mustapha Taibi, 156–173. Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Concise Oxford Dictionary
, 6th edition 1976 Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
García, Ignacio
2017 “Volunteers and Public Service Translation.” In Translating for the Community, edited by Mustapha Taibi, 98–109. Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garcés, Carmen Valero, and Raquel Lázaro Gutiérrez
2017 “Community Translation in Spanish Penitentiaries: A Coordinated Approach.” In Translating for the Community, edited by Mustapha Taibi, 110–120. Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ko, Leong
2017 “Community Translation in the Australian Context.” In Translating for the Community, edited by Mustapha Taibi, 138–155. Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macquarie Dictionary
, 2nd revised edition 1987 NSW: Macquarie Library Pty Ltd.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China
2020 “Number of Students of Formal Education by Type and Level.” Accessed 24 June 2020. [URL]
Munday, Jeremy
2008 Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
NAATI
2002 Manual for Candidates, 19th edition. Canberra: NAATI.Google Scholar
Nida, Eugene Albert
1964 Toward a Science of Translating. Leiden: Brill. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nida, Eugene Albert, and Charles Russell Taber
1969 The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Newmark, Peter
1981 A Textbook of Translation. Oxford and New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Rueda-Acedo, Alicia
2017 “From the Classroom to the Job Market: Integrating Service-Learning and Community Translation in a Legal Translation Course.” In Translating for the Community, edited by Mustapha Taibi, 42–68. Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taibi, Mustapha
2012 “Public Service Translation.” In Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics, edited by Kirsten Malmkjær and Kevin Windle, 214–227. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Taibi, Mustapha, and Uldis Ozolins
2016 Community Translation. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.Google Scholar
Varo, Enrique Alcaraz, and Brian Hughes
2002 Legal Translation Explained. Manchester and Northampton: St. Jerome Publishing.Google Scholar
Vermeer, Hans Josef
(1989) 2004 “Skopos and Commission in Translational Action.” In Translation Studies Reader, edited by Larrence Venuti 2004, 227–238. London and New York: Routloudge.Google Scholar
Wang, Weihai 王威海
2006 Zhongguo huji zhidu: Lishi yu zhengzhi de fenxi 中国户籍制度：历史与政治的分析 [China household registration system: History and political analyses]. Shanghai: Shanghai wenhua chubanshe.Google Scholar
Zhang, Fengkui 张凤魁
2011 Shewai gongzheng wenshu Ying yi daquan 涉外公证文书英译大全 [Encyclopedia of English translation for foreign-related notarization certificates]. Beijing: Renmin jiaoyu chubanshe.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Wang, Shengnan & Raghavan Dhanasekaran
2022. Application of Discriminative Training Algorithm Based on the Improved Gaussian Mixture Model in English Translation Evaluation. International Transactions on Electrical Energy Systems 2022 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.