Monday, April 28, 2014

How to Translate Chinese Menus

Please think carefully and choose the best translation of menu items. Remember that good translations should be:

A) CLEAR: a foreigner should be able to look at/hear the name and guess what it is. Transliteration/romanization should be avoided. If possible, try to modify an existing word with a similar meaning, such as: "Chinese ravioli" (因為在歐美社會ravioli 是家喻戶曉的義大利名菜,所以取不太邏輯的名稱「中國的義大利餃子」)

B) ATTRACTIVE (the words should sound good): alliteration, rhyme & rhythm: 狗不理包子 Tianjin Boss is Busy Buns)

C) CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE to English-speaking foreigners (e.g. "fungus" ~ "mushroom," but "mushroom" is much more acceptable, so 木耳 should NOT be translated as "tree fungus" (聽起來很噁心!). 木耳="tree mushroom" (可能好吃,外國人可以接受)

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