transliteration csub 12.ppt - san francisco state...
TRANSCRIPT
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Lectures in Language and Linguistics Series, California State University Bakersfield, January 22, 2013
Foreign Names into Native Tongues:How to Transfer Sound Between Chinese and English
Chris Wen-Chao Li*Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, California 94132-4163, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
This talk will look at the variables that come into play when an English name is translated into Chinese and
vice versa. Naming conventions will be examined, along with options for transliteration and phonological
translation, taking into account the different segmental inventories, phonotactic contraints and syllable
structure requirements of the two languages. The strengths and weaknesses of a number of popular
translation strategies will be examined, along with the merits of competing Chinese romanization systems
from the perspective of language planning and language attitudes.
Keywords: transliteration; phonological translation; phonological awareness; translation; faithfulness; fidelity; Chinese; Mandarin
* Tel.: 001 415 338 1034; E-mail: [email protected]
Outline
• BACKGROUND:
– Translating names between languages – a non-homogeneous process
– Particulars of translating names between Chinese and English
• CHINESE INTO ENGLISH
– Parsing the name
– Sequencing elements
– Faithfulness/fidelity• Preserving sound � romanization
• Preserving meaning
– (Localization)
• ENGLISH INTO CHINESE
– Chinese name templates
– Syllable simplification strategies• Vowel insertion
• Consonant deletion
• Consonant blending
– The role of meaning & imagery
• CONCLUSION
0. Background
roman script(French, Spanish, German)
segmental script(Greek, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi)
phonetic script(Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean hangul, Japanese kana)
non-roman script(Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew)
non-segmental script[mora, syllable, feature](Korean hangul, Japanese kana)
non-phonetic script(Chinese; Japanese kanji, Korean hanza, Egyptian hieroglyphics; Mayan glyphs; Sumerian cuneiforms)
• Translating names between language pairs -- not a homogeneous process
(depends on properties of languages involved)
0. Background
• Roman script (transliteration not necessary)
– Special symbols and diacritics (e.g., ü, ñ, ö, é, â, ß)
• [Spanish to English] “mañana”
– Omit diacritics – “manana”
– Keep diacritics – “mañana”
– Rewrite as segment – “manyana”
– Pronunciation (to nativize or not to nativize)
• [French to English] “Notre Dame”
• [Spanish to English] “Don Quixote”
– Source language (Spanish) phonics
» Non-nativized: [ðon kixote]
» Nativized: [dɑn kʰihowtej]
– Target language (English) phonics – c.f. “quixotic”
0. Background
• Non-roman phonetic script (transliteration required)– Cyrillic to roman:
• “Борис” � Boris
• “Светлана” � Svetlana
– Greek to roman:
• “Πανδώρα” � Pandora
• “Σολοµών” � Solomon
0. Background
• Non-phonetic script (e.g., Chinese)– “Hillary Clinton” into Chinese characters (漢字)
– “毛紅軍” into English
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0. Example (Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍 [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Parse
•毛[mɑw2] | 紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1]
• Family | Given
– Sequence• Source language (Chinese):
– Family | Given
–毛[mɑw2] | 紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1]
• Target language (English):
– Given | Family
–紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1]| 毛[mɑw2]
0. Example (Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍 [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity (preserve something)
• Preserve sound
• Preserve meaning
0. Example (Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍 [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity
• Preserve sound – choice of romanization (50+)
– [HANYU PINYIN] Mao Hongjun
– [WADE-GILES] Mao Hung-chün
– [YALE] Mau Hungjyun
– [GWOYEU ROMATZYH] Mau Horngjiun
0. Example (Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍 [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity
• Preserve meaning – less common
– Literal:
»紅[xoŋ2] = “red”;
»軍[tɕɥyn1] = “army”;
»毛[mɑw2] = “fur; hair” – TL template restrictions
» “Red Army Fur” not an acceptable name in English
» (Strategy may work for other names though)
0. Example (Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍 [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Localization / nativization
• Phonological level
– Hongjun --> Humphrey; Henry
• Semantic level
– “Red Army” --> Redd; Radcliff; Rusty
– “Fur” --> Furr; Furman; Barber
1. Chinese into English
• PARSE
– Han Chinese (syllable count restrictions; meaning-sensitive)
• Family name:
– 1 to 2 (rare) syllables;
– fixed inventory
• Given name:
– 1 to 2 syllables;
– open category (c.f. English)
Family name (FN) Given Name (GN)
FN1-GN1 姚 Yao 明 MingFN1-GN1 鞏 Gong 俐 LiFN1-GN2 毛 Mao 澤東 Tse-tungFN1-GN2 胡 Hu 錦濤 JintaoFN2-GN1 歐陽 Ouyang 修 XiuFN2-GN1 諸葛 Zhuge 亮 LiangF2-G2 司馬 Sima 相如 Xiangru
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1. Chinese into English
• PARSE
– Ethnic / minority (Mongol, Manchu, Tibetan, Japanese)
• Above metrical restrictions do not apply
– Manchu: 愛新覺羅|溥儀 (Aixinjueluo Puyi = Aisin Gioro Puyi)
– Mongol: 札奇斯欽 (Zhaqi Siqin = Jagchid Sechin)
– Japanese: 三島由紀夫 (Sandao Youjifu = Mishima Yukio)
1. Chinese into English
• SEQUENCE (Family name vs given name)
– SOURCE LANGUAGE (Chinese) sequence = Family + Given (historical figures;
prominent politicians; news celebrities)
• Mao Tse-tung (Chinese revolutionary)
• Hu Jintao (Chinese president)
• Xi Jinping (Chinese president)
– TARGET LANGUAGE (English) sequence = Given + Family (ordinary citizens;
people with westernized names)
• Wen-chao Li (self)
• Yuen Ren Chao (linguist)
• Jackie Chan (actor)
– Where East meets West (entertainment)
• SOURCE LANGUAGE (Chinese):
– Wong Kai War (director); Zhang Yimou (director); Gong Li (actress); Chow Yun-fat (actor)
• TARGET LANGUAGE (English):
– Ang Li (director); Jay Chow (singer); Jet Li (actor)
1. Chinese into English
• FAITHFULNESS/FIDELITY
– Preserve sound (mainstream)
• Romanization systems (50+; see Legeza 1968)
– Preserve meaning (rare)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issues
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
IPA IPA IPA IPA
labial唇音 [p] [pʰ] [m] [f]
alveolar舌尖 [t] [tʰ] [n] [l]
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 [ts] [tsʰ] [s]retroflex捲舌 [tʂ] [tʂʰ] [ʂ] [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 [tɕ] [tɕʰ] [ɕ]velar舌根 [k] [kʰ] [x] [ŋ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
• Contrastive aspiration (c.f. English “pie” vs “spy”)
IPA IPA IPA IPA
labial唇音 [p] [pʰ] [m] [f]
alveolar舌尖 [t] [tʰ] [n] [l]
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 [ts] [tsʰ] [s]retroflex捲舌 [tʂ] [tʂʰ] [ʂ] [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 [tɕ] [tɕʰ] [ɕ]velar舌根 [k] [kʰ] [x] [ŋ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
• Contrastive aspiration (Voice Onset Time [VOT])
Spanish /b/ Spanish /p/
English /b/ English /p/
Chinese /b/ Chinese /p/
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
– Contrastive aspiration (strategies)
• OPTION 1: Treat as voicing contrast (utilize existing voicing contrast in English)
• OPTION 2: Use diacritics to mark aspiration (to indicate that the contrast is different from what is found in English)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
– Contrastive aspiration (strategies)
• OPTION 1: Treat as voicing contrast (utilize existing voicing contrast in English) – 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958);
– 通用拼音 Tongyong Pinyin (2002);
– 耶魯方案 Yale Romanization (1943);
– 注音符號第二式 Mandarin Phonetic Symbols Type II (1986)
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
labial唇音
b [p] p [pʰ]alveolar舌尖
d [t] t [tʰ]velar舌根
g [k] k [kʰ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• OPTION 2: Use diacritics to mark aspiration (using apostrophe or “h” to indicate that the contrast is different from what is found in English)
– 威妥瑪 Wade Giles (1892)
– 李約瑟 J. Needham (1954): Science & Civilization in China
– 高本漢 B. Karlgren (1940): Grammata Serica
– French Vissiere system (1902)
– Hungarian Academic system (1952)
– Polish Jablonski system (1934)
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
labial唇音
p [p] p’ [pʰ]alveolar舌尖
t [t] t’ [tʰ]velar舌根
k [k] k’ [kʰ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• OPTION 2: Use diacritics to mark aspiration (to indicate that the contrast is different from what is found in English)
• PROBLEMS:
– Word-initial p, t, k usually pronounced as aspirated in English (opposite of Romanization design)
• 宮保雞丁 “Kung-pao chicken”
• 武當派 “Wu-tang clan”
– Apostrophes often ignored in western contexts
• 太極拳T’ai Chi Ch’uan � Tai Chi Chuan
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
labial唇音
p [p] p’ [pʰ]alveolar舌尖
t [t] t’ [tʰ]velar舌根
k [k] k’ [kʰ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
– Aspiration-induced spelling differences:
•功夫:
– Gongfu
– Kung-fu
•宮保雞丁:
– Gongbao Chicken
– Kung-pao chicken
•山東:
– Shandong restaurant
– Shan-tung restaurant
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
• How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3)
IPA IPA IPA IPA
labial唇音 [p] [pʰ] [m] [f]alveolar舌尖 [t] [tʰ] [n] [l]
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 [ts] [tsʰ] [s]retroflex捲舌 [tʂ] [tʂʰ] [ʂ] [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 [tɕ] [tɕʰ] [ɕ]velar舌根 [k] [kʰ] [x] [ŋ]
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
– How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3)
• Unconventional use of symbols/letters
• Use of diacritics
• Combinations of symbols/letters
IPA IPA IPA IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 [ts] [tsʰ] [s]retroflex捲舌 [tʂ] [tʂʰ] [ʂ] [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 [tɕ] [tɕʰ] [ɕ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
– How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3)
•威妥瑪Wade Giles (1892)
– Use of diacritics
– Combinations of symbols/letters
IPA IPA IPA IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 ts [ts] ts’ [tsʰ] s [s]retroflex捲舌 ch [tʂ] ch’ [tʂʰ] sh [ʂ] j [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 chi [tɕ] ch’i [tɕʰ] hsi [ɕ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
– How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3)
•漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
– Unconventional use of symbols/letters
– Combinations of symbols/letters
IPA IPA IPA IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 z [ts] c [tsʰ] s [s]retroflex捲舌 zh [tʂ] ch [tʂʰ] sh [ʂ] r [ɻ]
alveopalatal
舌面前 j [tɕ] q [tɕʰ] x [ɕ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
– Sibilant series-induced spelling differences:
•西安
– Xi’an
– Hsi-an
•太極拳
– Tai Ji Quan
– T’ai Chi Ch’uan
•易經
– I Jing
– I-Ching
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issues
– The Mandarin vowel inventory
front central back
High i y ɨ
ɘ
u
Mid-high e ɤ o
Mid-low ɛ ʌ
low ɑ
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
– High central (apical) vowel [ɨ] – transcription strategies
• Unconventional use of symbols/letters
• Combinations of symbols/letters
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
– The high central vowel–耶魯方案 Yale romanization (1943)
• “z” with alveolar sibilants (no vowel symbol used)
• “r” with retroflex consonants (no vowel symbol used)
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前dz [tsɨ] tsz [tsʰɨ] sz [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
jr [tʂɨ] chr [tʂʰɨ] shr [ʂɨ] r [ɻɨ]alveopalatal
舌面前ji [tɕi] chi [tɕʰi] syi [ɕi]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
– The high central vowel – 威妥瑪Wade Giles (1892)
• “u” with alveolar sibilants (plus consonant rewrite – “u” vowel recycled)
• “ih” with retroflex consonants
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前tzu [tsɨ] tz’u [tsʰɨ] szu [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
chih [tʂɨ] ch’ih [tʂʰɨ] shih [ʂɨ] jih [ɻɨ]alveopalatal
舌面前chi [tɕi] ch’i [tɕʰi] hsi [ɕi]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
– The high central vowel – 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
• “i” recycled for use as both high front vowel and high central (apical) vowel
• Unconventional use of “i” symbol achieves economy of
representation, but requires prior knowledge/training
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前zi [tsɨ] ci [tsʰɨ] si [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
zhi [tʂɨ] chi [tʂʰɨ] shi [ʂɨ] ri [ɻɨ]alveopalatal
舌面前ji [tɕi] qi [tɕʰi] xi [ɕi]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
– High central (apical) vowel induced spelling differences:
•四川
– Sichuan
– Szu-chuan
– Szchwan
•老子
– Lao Zi
– Lao Tzu
– Lau Dz
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (4)
– The high front rounded vowel [y] – transcription strategies
• Diacritic (umlaut ü)
• Combinations of letters “yu”
• Combinations of letters “iu”
• (no good solution – all strategies have major shortcomings)
IPA Hanyu Pinyin漢語拼音
Wade-Giles威妥瑪
Yale耶魯
Gwoyeu Romatzyh國語羅馬字 (base form)
女 [ny] nü nü nyu niu
綠 [ly] lü lü lyu liu
居 [tɕy] ju chü jyu chiu
虛 [ɕy] xu hsü syu shiu
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (5)
– Labeling of tone• Diacritics (majority of romanizations)
• Build into spelling (國語羅馬字 Gwoyeu Romatzyh 1942)
Hanyu Pinyin漢語拼音
Gwoyeu Romatzyh國語羅馬字
DIACRITIC EXAMPLE STRATEGY EXAMPLE
Tone 1 — 媽 mâ (basic form) 媽 maTone 2 ⁄ 麻 má i/u → y/w; or add -r 麻 marTone 3 √ 馬 mǎ i/u → e/o; or double vowel 馬 maaTone 4 \ 罵 mà change/double final letter; or add -h 罵 mah
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (5)
– Labeling of tone• Diacritics (majority of romanizations)
• Build into spelling (國語羅馬字 Gwoyeu Romatzyh 1942)
Hanyu Pinyin漢語拼音
Gwoyeu Romatzyh國語羅馬字
DIACRITIC EXAMPLE STRATEGY EXAMPLE
Tone 1 — 昌 châng (basic form) 昌 chang
Tone 2 ⁄ 常 cháng i/u → y/w; or add -r 常 charng
Tone 3 √ 場 chǎng i/u → e/o; or double vowel 場 chaang
Tone 4 \ 唱 chàng change/double final letter; or add -h 唱 chanq
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (6)
– Syllable boundaries• Word boundaries: space
• Word-internal syllable boundary:
– No space (Yale 1943, Hanyu Pinyin 1958, Gwoyeu Romatzyh 1942, Tongyong 2002)
– Hyphen (Wade Giles 1892, J. Needham 1954, B. Karlgren 1940, French Vissiere 1902, Hungarian
Academic 1952, Polish Jablonski 1934)
GLOSS CHARACTERS HANYU PINYIN漢語拼音
WADE GILES威妥瑪
(see name) 毛澤東 Mao Zedong Mao Tse-tung(see name) 習近平 Xi Jinping Hsi Chin-p’ing
Harvard University 哈佛大學 Hafo Daxue Ha-fo Ta-hsüeh
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Romanization in mainland China vs Taiwan
– Mainland China• Standardized since 1958
• Used in spelling and instruction
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin romanization (also United Nations)
– Taiwan• Use of 注音符號 Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (Bopomofo) for
spelling and instruction – no pressing need for romanization
• Free market / natural evolution (co-existence of different systems)
– Wade Giles predominant until 2000s
– Standardization attempts: 2000-2002
» NATIVIST CAMP (民進黨 Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] + green camp):
» 通用拼音 Tongyong Pinyin (regions other than Taipei)
» UNIFICATION CAMP (國民黨 Nationalist Party [KMT] + blue camp):
» 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (Taipei�all of Taiwan)
TAIWAN: Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (Bopomofo)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• The romanization debates (Taiwan, 2000-2002)– Issues
• Tool for communication vs status/identity symbol
• Target audience (Who is it designed for?)
– Chinese audience
» Phonemic correspondence
» Symmetry & systematicity
» Economy
– Foreign audience
» Which foreign? (English? European)
» Compatibility with English phonics; compatibility with phonics
of other European language
• World compatibility (with Hanyu Pinyin in mainland China)
• Computer input (avoidance of diacritics; economy)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Economy
– Symmetry
– Compatibility with English
– Computer input
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Economy (c.f. sibilant series)
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
• 威妥瑪 Wade Giles (1892)
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 z [ts] c [tsʰ] s [s]alveopalatal
舌面前 j [tɕ] q [tɕʰ] x [ɕ]
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前 ts [ts] ts’ [tsʰ] s [s]alveopalatal
舌面前 j [tɕ] ch [tɕʰ] hs [ɕ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Symmetry (c.f. sibilant series)
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
• 耶魯方案 Yale romanization (1942)
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前zi [tsɨ] ci [tsʰɨ] si [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
zhi [tʂɨ] chi [tʂʰɨ] shi [ʂɨ] ri [ɻɨ]
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前dz [tsɨ] tsz [tsʰɨ] sz [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
jr [tʂɨ] chr [tʂʰɨ] shr [ʂɨ] r [ɻɨ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Compatibility with English (c.f. high central vowel)
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
• 耶魯方案 Yale romanization (1942)
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前zi [tsɨ] ci [tsʰɨ] si [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
zhi [tʂɨ] chi [tʂʰɨ] shi [ʂɨ] ri [ɻɨ]
pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA pinyin IPA
alveolar-sibilant
舌尖前dz [tsɨ] tsz [tsʰɨ] sz [sɨ]
retroflex捲舌
jr [tʂɨ] chr [tʂʰɨ] shr [ʂɨ] r [ɻɨ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Computer input
• Avoid diacritics
• Fewer keystrokes (c.f. economy)
IPA Hanyu Pinyin漢語拼音
Wade-Giles威妥瑪
Yale耶魯方案
Gwoyeu Romatzyh國語羅馬字 (base form)
女 [ny] nü nü nyu niu
次 [tsʰɨ] ci tz’u tsz tsyh
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Loss of imagery/meaning in romanization– Meaningfulness in conventional English names (associations):
• Etymological associations (e.g., Arthur, Mohammad, Vladimir)
• Gender implications (e.g., David, John, Mary, Sarah)
• Experiential associations
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Loss of imagery/meaning in romanization– Meaningfulness in Chinese names (character script)
• Character imagery
• Gender implications
– Gender-specific imagery
– Gender specific radicals
• Examples:
– Mao Hongjun:
» 毛[fur] | 紅[red] 軍 [army] (masculine imagery – male name)
– Li Lihua:
» 李[plum] 麗[beautiful] 華[flower/China] (feminine imagery = female name)
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Loss of imagery/meaning in romanization– Meaninglessness in transliterated Chinese names
• Loss of character imagery
• Reduced to random syllables (harder to remember). e.g.,
– Mao Hongjun
– Li Lihua
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Unintentional addition of meaning
– 李安 An Li (=Ang Li)
– 尤文狄Wendi You
– 晨夙三 Susan Chen
– 宋伯興 Boxing Song
– 方龍 Long Fang
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Connotations in romanization
– Psychological associations (Wade Giles vs Pinyin)
• Examples:
– Teng Hsiao-p’ing vs Deng Xiaoping
– Ch’ien Ch’i-cheng vs Qian Qichen
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Connotations in romanization
– Deliberate archaisms• 北京大學 Peking University* (not Beijing University)
• 清華大學 Tsinghua University* (not Qinghua University)
• 北京烤鴨 Peking duck (not Beijing duck)
* Chinese Postal Map Romanization (1906)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Localization / nativization / anglicization (westernized Chinese societies – Hong Kong, Taiwan, overseas Chinese
community)
– [HK]陳奕迅 Yixun Chen � Eason Chan
– [TW/MY] 伍思凱 Sikai Wu � Sky Wu
– [TW] 周杰倫 Jielun Zhou � Jay Chou
– [TW/US] 潘瑋柏 Weibo Pan �Wilber Pan
– [TW] 戴佩妮 Peini Dai � Penny Tai
– [CN] 王菲 Fei Wang � Faye Wong
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Why anglicize?– Chinese Americans: Assimilation into mainstream society
– Entertainment business: Trendiness; exoticness
– Business setting: Egalitarianism
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1. Chinese into English
• Name translation by meaning (rare)
– 李櫻 (Ying[cherry] Li[plum]) � Cherry Li
– 高山峰 (Gao[high] Shan[mountain] Feng[peak]) � Mountain Kao
– 殷悅 (Yin Yue)� homophonous with 音樂 [music] � Melody Yin
2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
• Available TEMPLATES
– Most typical (Length: 2 to 3 syllables)
• 1+2 configuration:
– family name (1) + given name (2) [c.f. Sinologists]
– Anthony Neely (singer)
» 倪安東 Ni Andong ([surname] + “peace” + “east”]
– Weldon South Coblin (Sinologist)
» 柯蔚南 Ke Weinan ([surname] + “lush” + “south”)
• All family name (3) [c.f. news translations; historical figures]
– Steve Jobs
» 賈伯斯 Jiabosi ([surname] + “uncle” + [opaque])
• All given name (3)
– Hillary Clinton (public figure; news translation – first name only)
» 希拉蕊 Xilarei (“hope” + “pull” + “pistil“)
2. English into Chinese
• Available TEMPLATES
– Minority/ethnic names (not subject to length restrictions) :
• Japanese
– Yukio Mishima = 三島由紀夫 = Sandao Youjifu
– Suzuki Ichiro = 鈴木一郎 = Lingmu Yilang
– (Japanese names difficult to translate into Chinese from English news wires)
• Mongolian
– Jagchid Sechen = 札奇斯欽 = Zhaqi Siqin
– Chingeltei = 清格爾泰 = Qingge’ertai
• Manchu (Qing dynasty)
– Aisin Gioro Puyi= 愛新覺羅|溥儀 = Aixinjueluo Puyi
– Alternative Sinicized surname: 金溥儀 Jin Puyi
2. English into Chinese
• Available templates
– News translation (not subject to template restrictions; last name only [if sufficient length &
unambiguous]) :
• Amare Stoudemeyer = 史陶德邁爾 = Shitaodemai’er
• Monica Lewinski = 萊溫斯基 = Laiwensiji (NOTE: phonotactic constraints – “ki” �
“ji”)
• Don King = 唐金 = Tang Jin ([surname] + “gold”)
– Regional differences: China / Taiwan / Hong Kong
• George Bush
• Barack Obama
CHINA(Mandarin)
TAIWAN(Mandarin)
HONG KONG(Cantonese)
George Bush 布什Bushi
布希Buxi
布殊布殊布殊布殊Bushu
Barack Obama 歐巴馬歐巴馬歐巴馬歐巴馬Oubama
歐巴馬歐巴馬歐巴馬歐巴馬Oubama
奧巴馬奧巴馬奧巴馬奧巴馬
Aobama(CANTONESE “Oubama”)
2. English into Chinese
• Available TEMPLATES
– Stock translations
• David = 大衛 = Dawei (“big” + “guard”)
• William威廉 Weilian (“authoritative” + “decent”)
• Elisabeth: 伊麗莎白= Yilishabai ([opaque] + “beautiful” +
“gauze” + “white”)
• Michael– (MANDARIN) 麥可 = Maike (“wheat” + “permissible”)
– (CANTONESE) 米高 = Migao (“rice” + ”tall”)
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2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation
– Relative complexity of syllable structure
– Mandarin allows no syllable-final consonants (except nasals)
– Mandarin allows no consonant clusters
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE EXAMPLES
JAPANESE CVN or CVC [geminate] gen, kai, get-
MANDARIN CGVN or CGVG san, hao, niao
CANTONESE CGVC mak, lam, hou
ENGLISH CCCV...CCC strands, swirled, splashed
POLISH CCCCCV...CCCCC następstw, strwiąz, plwac
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation
– ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
• Vowel insertion
– Bradd Pitt (2) = 布萊德彼特 = Bulaide bite (5)
• Consonant deletion
– (Michael) Bloomberg (2) = 彭博 = Pengbo (2)
• (Consonant blend)
– (Donald) Trump (1) = 川普 = Chuanpu (2)
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation
– Different priorities
MAX-IO(do not delete segments)
DEP-IO(do not add segments)
Solution 1:VOWEL INSERTION
preserves phonemes * (sabotages rhythm)
Solution 2:CONSONANT DELETION
* (loses consonants) preserves rhythm
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation
– Regional strategy preferences
ENGLISHMANDARIN
INSERTION DELETION BLEND
Eisenhowerai-sen-hao-wei-er 艾森豪威爾 [Ch]
ai-sen-hao 艾森豪 [Tw]
Wimbledonwen-bu-er-deng 溫布爾登 [Ch]
wen-bu-dun 溫布頓 [Tw]
Montserratmeng-te-sai-la-te 蒙特塞拉特 [Ch]
meng-sai-la-te 蒙塞拉特 [Tw]
Trinidad te-li-ni-da 特立尼達 [Ch]
qian-li-da 千里達 [Tw]
Botswana bo-ci-wa-na 博茨瓦納 [Ch]
bo-zha-na 波札那 [Tw]
Castro ka-si-te-luo 卡斯特羅 [Ch]
ka-si-chu 卡斯楚 [Tw]
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation
– Which is better?
• Vowel insertion (V-insertion)
• Consonant deletion (C-deletion)
• Consonant blend (blend)
2. English into Chinese
• Back Translation Experiment (Li 2004)
– Names from Harry Potter (Chinese editions)
• Mainland China (V-insertion)
• Taiwan (Blend and C-deletion)
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2. English into Chinese
• Back Translation Experiment (Li 2004)
– Why Harry Potter ?
• Unfamiliar names -- use of familiar names
would measure memory and not phonological
processing
• Names chosen were all phonological translations
2. English into Chinese
• Word list
(1) (2) (3) (4)ENG Trelawny Cedric Godric Draco
CHN China Taiwan China Taiwan China Taiwan China Taiwan
Char
Pin
Yin
特里
勞妮
te-li-lao-ni
崔老
妮
cui-lao-ni
塞德
里克
sai-de-li-
ke
西追
xi-zhui
戈德
里克
ge-de-li-ke
高錐
客
gao-zhui-ke
德拉
科
de-la-ke
跩哥
zhuai-ge
2. English into Chinese
SUBJECTS (12)
• 4 U.S. subjects (native speakers of English with no prior exposure to Chinese)
• 4 China subjects (native speakers of Mandarin from mainland China)
• 4 Taiwan subjects (native speakers of Mandarin from Taiwan)
2. English into Chinese
TASKS• (Listen to Chinese translation of each name)
• Back translation (Chinese into English)
• INSTRUCTIONS
– Guess the original English based on sound similarities alone
– Original English does not have to be a real word
– Syllable count (Englishguess vs Englishactual)
– Consonant cluster preservation (Englishguess vs Englishactual)
• (Reveal answer)
• Similarity rating (0-10)
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Syllable count deviation
(1) (2) (3) (4)
ENG Trelawny Cedric Godric Draco
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
US +1 0 +1.75 0 +1.75 +1.00 +0.67 0
CN +1 0 +1.25 -0.25 +1.00 +0.25 0 -1.00
TW +1 0 +1.50 0 +1.50 +0.50 +0.25 -0.25
TT +1 0 +1.50 -0.08 +1.42 +0.58 +0.31 -0.42
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Syllable count deviation
Insertion Blend/deletion[preserves consonantal units]
(preserves phonemes)[preserves number of syllables]
(preserves rhythm)
US +1.29 +0.25CN +0.81 -0.25TW +1.06 +0.04Total +1.05 +0.01
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2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Syllable count deviation• Blend/deletion strategy better at preserving syllable count
• Insertion strategy increases syllable count
– Effect most obvious among native speakers of English
– Effect least obvious among speakers from China
– Apparent counterexample DRACO due to hypercorrection:
“derak” vs “drak”
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Consonant cluster restoration
(1) (2) (3) (4)
ENG Trelawny Cedric Godric Draco
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
US 0 0.25 0 1.00 0 0.50 0 0.75
CN 0 0.75 0 0.25 0 0.25 0 0
TW 0 1.00 0 0.75 0 0.75 0 1.00
TT 0 0.67 0 0.67 0 0.50 0 0.58
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Consonant cluster restoration
Insertion Blend/deletion
[preserves consonantal units] (preserves phonemes)
[preserves number of syllables] (preserves rhythm)
US 0 0.62
CN 0 0.32
TW 0 0.88
Total 0 0.61
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Consonant cluster restoration
– Blend strategy makes it somewhat possible (61%) to
restore clusters
– Insertion strategy restores consonants, but never
clusters
– Cluster restoration rate [blend]:
Taiwan (88%) >U.S. (62%) >China (32%)[Blends used most commonly in Taiwan, least commonly in mainland China]
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Similarity ratings
(1) (2) (3) (4)
ENG Trelawny Cedric Godric Draco
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
CHINA(insert)
TAIWAN(blend)
US 5.00 5.87 3.37 6.62 4.25 5.75 3.87 4.75
CN 7.50 9.25 5.50 7.25 5.50 8.75 3.25 7.50
TW 5.25 7.00 3.50 6.50 4.25 6.25 3.25 6.75
TT 5.92 7.37 4.12 6.79 4.67 6.92 3.46 6.33
Ratings: 10 (more similar) (less similar) 0
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Similarity ratings
– Blend/deletion results judged as “more similar” by
all three groups than V-insertion
– Contrary to conventional view (Lin 2003)
• V-insertion (less destructive [also traditionally seen as more faithful
approach to translation])
• C-deletion (more destructive)
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2. English into Chinese
RESULTS
• Relative importance of segment vs prosody
Preserving # of syllables(prosody / rhythmic pattern)
> Preserving # of segments(consonants / individual phonemes)
2. English into Chinese
• Lexical retrieval (Aitchison 2004: 137-147)– Tip of the tongue phenomena
– Malapropisms
– “Bathtub effect”• Beginning of word
• End of word
– Rhythmic pattern• Number of syllables
• Stress pattern
anecdote / antidote
meditation / medication
distinguisher / extinguisher
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer – other issues
– Non-Mandarin-based historical precedents
• SHANGHAINESE
– Jackson 傑克遜 Djiq Kheq Sen (MANDARIN “Jiekexun”)
– Harrison 哈里遜 Ha Lij Sen (MANDARIN “Halixun”)
• CANTONESE
– Sweden 瑞典 Sui Tin (MANDARIN “Ruidian”)
– Denmark 丹麥 Dan Mak (MANDARIN “Danmai”)
– Hungary 匈牙利 Hung Nga Lei (MANDARIN “Xiongyali”)
– Washington 華盛頓 Wah Sing Tun (MANDARIN “Huashengdun”)
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer – other issues
– English names of non-English origin
• John = 約翰 Yuehan (opaque),
– not 丈 Zhang (husband)
– not 匠 Jiang (craftsman)
• Joseph = 約瑟 Yuese (opaque),
– not 周色腐 Zhousefu ([name]-color-ferment)
• (Andre) Agassi– AMERICAN [‘ægәsi] � 阿格西 agexi [Taiwan]
– ARMENIAN [ә’gasi] � 阿加西 ajiaxi [China]
2. English into Chinese
• Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters
– Not necessarily the closest in sound
• David
– [CHINESE-ACCENTED ENGLISH] 呆尾 daiwei (“idiotic tail”)
– [STOCK TRANSLATION] 大衛 dawei (“big guard”)
• Smith
– [CHINESE-ACCENTED ENGLISH] 死密死 simisi (“dead-dense-dead”)
– [STOCK TRANSLATION] 史密斯 shimisi (“history-dense-[opaque]”)
2. English into Chinese
• Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters
– Meaning avoidance (negative, overly-suggestive imagery), e.g.,
•死 si: “death”; “to die”
•呆 dai: “idiotic”
•狗 gou: “dog”
– E.g., “tango” � not 貪狗 tangou (greedy dog) but 探戈 tange (look spear)
•吼 hou: “to yell”
– E.g., “San Jose” � not 三吼賽 sanhousai (three + yell + contest) but 聖荷西 shenghexi (saint + water lily + west)
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2. English into Chinese
• Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters
– Meaning manufacture e.g.,
• Neutral imagery (meaning opaque or abstract)
–斯 si (Classical Chinese determiner)
–克 ke (“to subdue” – morpheme only)
–特 te (“special”)
• Positive connotations
– LeBron (James) � 雷霸龍 Lei Balong (Thunder + Tyrannosaurus)
– Coca Cola � 可口可樂 Kekou Kele (Tasty + Joyful)
2. English into Chinese
• Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters
– Meaning manufacture e.g.,
• Gender explicitness
– FEMALE NAMES:
» Female radical 女: e.g., 娜; 妮; 姝; 妤
» Anna: 安娜
» Susan: 蘇姍
» Jennifer: 珍妮佛» Grass radical (flowery things):
» Barbara: 芭芭拉
» Hillary: 希拉蕊» Female imagery (jade radical; notions of beauty)
» Elisabeth: 伊麗莎白 ([opaque]-beautiful-gauze-white)
2. English into Chinese
• Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters
– Meaning manufacture e.g.,
• Gender explicitness
– MALE NAMES:
» Avoidance of female connotations
» Traditional male imagery
» David大衛 dawei (“big guard”)
» William威廉 weilian (“authoritative” + “decent”)
» Sam 山姆 shanmu (“mountain” + [opaque])
CONCLUSION
• CHINESE INTO ENGLISH (preserving sound � romanization)
– Issues• Contrastive aspiration
• Sibilant consonants
• Apical vowel (high central vowel)
• High front rounded vowel
• Syllable boundaries
• Tone
– Goals• Economy
• Symmetry / systematicity
• Compatibility with English phonics
• Ease of computer input
– Loss and/or addition of meaning / imagery
• ENGLISH INTO CHINESE
– Syllable simplification strategies• Vowel insertion
• Consonant deletion (�)
• Consonant blending (�)
– Character choice and meaning / imagery• Gender specificity
• Neutral vs explicit (positive or negative imagery)
Clip from “Johnny English Reborn” (2012)
• Johnny English Reborn
REFERENCES
• Legeza, Ireneus Laszlo. 1968. Guide to Transliterated
Chinese in the Modern Peking Dialect. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
• 李壬癸。2001。「漢字拼音的幾個關鍵問題」。見李壬癸主編,《漢字拼音討論集》,頁1─8。台北:中央研究院語言學研究所。
• Li, Chris Wen-chao. 2007. “Foreign Names into Native
Tongues: How to Transfer Sound Between Languages—
Transliteration, Phonological Translation, Nativization, and
Implications for translation theory”. Target: International
Journal of Translation Studies 19-1: 45-68.