Research and Verification in Translation

A good translator must have a solid foundation in professional knowledge. However, due to the limitations in a translator's understanding of both the source and target languages, it is necessary to continually ponder, search, and verify the accuracy and linguistic appropriateness of their translations during the translation process. Therefore, the ability to search and verify is a skill that needs to be continuously honed through practice.

For example, when it comes to the translation of proper nouns, if you are unsure about the Chinese characters to use, you can enter the English name into Google and click to search for Chinese websites. Responsible translators often annotate the original name in parentheses after the Chinese name. The annotated name is the translation you are looking for. If there are multiple translations, choose an authoritative one (such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website) or a commonly used one (input different Chinese names into Google to see which one has more hits, indicating it is more commonly used). However, the most common may not always be the best, so you must also rely on your own judgment. This method can also be used to find professional terms that have recently entered the Chinese language and whose translations are yet to be established, as translators generally annotate the original term when they are unsure of the translation. This method can be used for both Chinese to English and English to Chinese translations. For instance, to find the Chinese translation of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, you can enter "Aung San Suu Kyi" into the Google search box and search all Chinese web pages. You will find that there are basically three translations: 昂山淑姬, 翁山苏姬, and 昂山素季. If there is only one, there is no choice; but with three options, you must decide which to use. You can input each of the three translations into the search box and search for Simplified Chinese web pages (the "all Chinese web pages" option includes web pages from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese pages) to see which one has more hits. The results show: 昂山淑姬 has 610 hits, 翁山苏姬 has 186 hits, and 昂山素季 has 5620 hits. In terms of quantity, "昂山素季" should be used. To further ensure that this translation is consistent with the translation used by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you should check whether the articles are from official Chinese media.

If you need to determine the corresponding proper noun in English for a Chinese term, you should enter the Chinese name into Google and search for Chinese websites. For example, to find the English spelling of General "史迪威," enter "史迪威" into the search box, and one of the search results will display: "Joseph Warren Stilwell was an American who had an indissoluble bond with China..."; or if you need to know how to say a part of a proper noun in English and enter that part into the search box, it can speed up the search process. If you enter only Chinese, and there are many search results, you can add an English word to the keywords to narrow down the search range. For example, if you want to find the English term for "利玛窦," after entering "利玛窦," you can also enter "利玛窦, Italy" to refine your search.

◀️：Context and Word Meaning Selection

▶️：Breaking Free from the Shackles of the Original Text in Translation