英文阅读：Quality of translations deteriorating
Translation used to be a serious academic endeavor but now it has become aheavily market-oriented industry, and one in great disorder.
Since China began to open itself to the outside world about 30 years ago,
exchanges with foreign countries have been increasing dramatically. That posed a
rising demand for translation of Chinese and foreign languages.
Companies specializing in translation cropped up in major cities. There are
now about 3,000 translation companies registered with the industrial and
commercial authorities. In addition, there are numerous unregistered
organizations and individuals engaged in the business. It is reported that the
business has developed into an industry with an annual output value of more than
20 billion yuan ($2.78 billion).
The industry, however, is running unbridled. A large number of small
companies compete for clients offering low charges. To reduce their production
costs, these companies employ sub-standard translators with low remuneration.
The result is translations that leave a lot to be desired.
Translation services focus on three main categories. First, translated
books published by regular publishing houses; second, technical documents
imported from abroad and introduction of products or services Chinese firms
offer to foreign clients; and third, publicity materials local governments print
to promote international communications. Poor translations can be found in all
three categories, especially in the latter two.
Generally, regularly published books are better in quality but they are
inferior to those published before the 1980s. Since the early 1990s, Chinese
publishers began to publish Chinese versions of foreign books in large numbers.
In order to beat rivals, they quickened the process of translation by either
forcing the translator to finish the work quickly or appointing several
translators to do one book. A book of regular length was often published in just
a few months after the original foreign version was launched. One can easily
envision what the translation was like.
Things are even worse with the other two categories. The root cause lies in
the unusual nature of translation as a service product. Unlike a computer or a
home appliance, the quality of a translated text is not ostensibly for the
consumer. For instance, a manufacturing plant wants to have the introductory
pamphlet of one of its products translated into English. It goes to a
translation company, naturally one that offers the lowest price. The company
hires a group of college students to do the job, on very low wages. But the
company usually does not check (and it has no ability to check) the translation,
which is ridden with grammatical mistakes.
Translation has not been recognized by society as a painstaking work and
people generally do not know the difference between a faithfully and
meticulously translated work and a shoddy piece. There seems to be no hope the
situation is going to change soon. But the competent authorities can do
something to regulate the market.
At a forum of the country's top translators organized by the China
Translation and Publishing Corporation (CTPC) last week, this writer learned
that the National Standardization Administrative Commission has published
national standards for translation and a revised version is being considered.
The problem now is who will supervise the execution of the standards. The
National Industrial and Commercial Administration seems to be the one, since it
authorizes publishing and translation companies.
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