Tag: Translation
A Numbers Game
I’m not the tidiest or most organized person in the world, so the expression luan qi ba zao (乱七八糟) was one I learned and took to heart early. A direct translation is “chaos seven eight in a wretched state.”
Untangling the Complexity of Chinese Bible Translations
Which Chinese Bible translation is best? A Chinese professor of systematic theology responds.
Supporting Article
Word Choice Challenges
Translation is complex, and the words chosen to communicate concepts are crucial; they can significantly influence the understanding of the reader. Strand gives examples of how translators struggle with this aspect of their work.
Supporting Article
Can the Chinese Union Version Be Replaced in China?
A Chinese lay leader gives his thoughts on the positives and negatives of using just the CUV and the impact of using other translations.
Contextualization—A Necessity, Not an Option
If we wish to participate cross-culturally in God’s work of transformation, then we must allow the specific context of our host culture to determine the kinds of contributions we make.
Remembering Them Every May Fourth
Like many things in China, history remains firmly under the control of the Party. Only approved topics are allowed to be researched and only approved interpretations are allowed to be taught. The narrative is tightly controlled.
Very little is taught about the history of Christianity in China, and when it is touched on, it is done so in a negative light. Western missionaries have typically been portrayed as being part of the vanguard of imperialism. Less is known about some of the positive things early missionaries were engaged in.
In recent years, however, a small space has begun to open up for the exploration of Chinese church history, as many educated Christians seek to understand the historical roots of their faith.
Twinkling With Inheriting and Development Achievement
A Translation Tale
On Thursday night my landlady called and asked if she could come over to see me because she had some translation questions for me. Anyone who's been in China for a while knows the fear and dread that well up inside at the sound of someone asking for help with translation work. "Just read it over. It won't take long." Those words always precede hours of painful and laborious mental gymnastics trying to translate phrases, like the one in the title of this post, from what we call "Chinglish" to English.