2013-12-19
Outline
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
• BACKGROUND: – Translating names between languages – a non-homogeneous process – Particulars of translating names between Chinese and English
• CHINESE INTO 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.
– Parsing the name – Sequencing elements – Faithfulness/fidelity • Preserving sound romanization • Preserving meaning
– (Localization) Keywords: transliteration; phonological translation; phonological awareness; translation; faithfulness; fidelity; Chinese; Mandarin
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. *
Tel.: 001 415 338 1034; E-mail:
[email protected]
0. Background
• ENGLISH INTO CHINESE – Chinese name templates – Syllable simplification strategies • Vowel insertion • Consonant deletion • Consonant blending
– The role of meaning & imagery
• CONCLUSION
0. Background
• Translating names between language pairs -- not a homogeneous process (depends on properties of languages involved)
• Roman script
(transliteration not necessary)
– Special symbols and diacritics (e.g., ü, ñ, ö, é, â, ß) • [Spanish to English] “mañana”
roman script (French, Spanish, German)
segmental script (Greek, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi)
– Pronunciation (to nativize or not to nativize)
phonetic script (Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean hangul, Japanese kana)
non-roman script
non-segmental script [mora, syllable, feature] (Korean hangul, Japanese kana)
(Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew)
non-phonetic script (Chinese; Japanese kanji, Korean hanza, Egyptian hieroglyphics; Mayan glyphs; Sumerian cuneiforms)
0. Background • Non-roman phonetic script – Cyrillic to roman: • “Борис” Boris • “Светлана” Svetlana
– Omit diacritics – “manana” – Keep diacritics – “mañana” – Rewrite as segment – “manyana”
• [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 (transliteration required)
• Non-phonetic script
(e.g., Chinese)
– “Hillary Clinton” into Chinese characters (漢字) – “毛紅軍” into English
– Greek to roman: • “Πανδώρα” Pandora • “Σολοµών” Solomon
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0. Example
0. Example
(Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍
• Chinese: 毛紅軍
[mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Parse
[mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity (preserve something) • Preserve sound • Preserve meaning
• 毛[mɑw2] | 紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1] • Family
(Chinese into English)
Given
|
– Sequence • Source language – Family
(Chinese):
Given
|
–毛[mɑw2] | 紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1] • Target language
(English):
– Given
|
Family
–紅[xoŋ2] 軍[tɕɥyn1]| 毛[mɑw2]
0. Example
0. Example
(Chinese into English)
• Chinese: 毛紅軍
• Chinese: 毛紅軍
[mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity • Preserve sound – choice of romanization – [HANYU PINYIN] Mao Hongjun – [WADE-GILES] Mao Hung-chün – [YALE] Mau Hungjyun – [GWOYEU ROMATZYH] Mau Horngjiun
(Chinese into English) [mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Faithfulness/fidelity (50+)
• 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
1. Chinese into English • PARSE
[mɑw2 xoŋ2 tɕɥyn1]
– Localization / nativization • Phonological level – Hongjun --> Humphrey; Henry
• Semantic level – “Red Army” --> Redd; Radcliff; Rusty – “Fur” --> Furr; Furman; Barber
– 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)
FN1-GN1 FN1-GN1 FN1-GN2 FN1-GN2 FN2-GN1 FN2-GN1 F2-G2
Family name (FN)
Given Name (GN)
姚 Yao 鞏 Gong 毛 Mao 胡 Hu 歐陽 Ouyang 諸葛 Zhuge 司馬 Sima
明 Ming 俐 Li 澤東 Tse-tung 錦濤 Jintao 修 Xiu 亮 Liang 相如 Xiangru
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1. Chinese into English
1. Chinese into English
• PARSE
• SEQUENCE (Family name vs given name)
– 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)
– SOURCE LANGUAGE
(Chinese) prominent politicians; news celebrities)
sequence = Family + Given
(historical figures;
• 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
• TARGET LANGUAGE – Ang Li
(director);
(director);
Gong Li
(actress);
Chow Yun-fat (actor)
(English):
Jay Chow
(singer);
Jet Li
(actor)
1. Chinese into English
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• FAITHFULNESS/FIDELITY
• Issues
– Preserve sound (mainstream) • Romanization systems
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
(50+; see Legeza 1968)
– Preserve meaning (rare)
IPA
IPA
IPA
IPA
[p] [t] [ts]
[pʰ] [tʰ] [tsʰ]
[m] [n] [s]
[f] [l]
[tʂ] [tɕ]
[tʂʰ] [tɕʰ]
[ʂ] [ɕ]
[ɻ]
alveopalatal 舌面前 velar 舌根
[k]
[kʰ]
[x]
[ŋ]
labial 唇音 alveolar 舌尖 alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 retroflex 捲舌
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
• Issue (1)
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
– The Mandarin consonant inventory
• Contrastive aspiration (c.f. English “pie” vs “spy”)
• Contrastive aspiration (Voice Onset Time [VOT])
IPA
IPA
IPA
IPA
[p] [t] [ts]
[pʰ] [tʰ] [tsʰ]
[m] [n] [s]
[f] [l]
[tʂʰ] [tɕʰ]
[ʂ] [ɕ]
[ɻ]
alveopalatal 舌面前
[tʂ] [tɕ]
velar 舌根
[k]
[kʰ]
[x]
[ŋ]
labial 唇音 alveolar 舌尖 alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 retroflex 捲舌
Spanish /b/
Spanish /p/ English /b/
English /p/ Chinese /b/
Chinese /p/
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1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Issue (1)
1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Issue (1)
– Contrastive aspiration (strategies)
– Contrastive aspiration (strategies)
• OPTION 1: Treat as voicing contrast
• 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) • OPTION 2: Use diacritics to mark aspiration
(using apostrophe or “h” to indicate
that the contrast is different from what is found in English)
– – – – – –
(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
alveolar 舌尖
d
velar 舌根
g
[p] [t] [k]
[pʰ] [tʰ] [kʰ]
t k
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)
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 t
velar 舌根
k
[p] [t] [k]
p’
alveolar 舌尖
[pʰ] [tʰ] [kʰ]
t’ k’
pinyin labial 唇音
p
alveolar 舌尖
t
velar 舌根
k
IPA
pinyin
IPA
[p] [t] [k]
p’
[pʰ] [tʰ] [kʰ]
t’ k’
• 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
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (1)
• Issue (2)
– 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
– The Mandarin consonant inventory • How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3) IPA
IPA
IPA
IPA
[p] [t] [ts]
[pʰ] [tʰ] [tsʰ]
[m] [n] [s]
[f] [l]
[tʂ] [tɕ]
[tʂʰ] [tɕʰ]
[ʂ] [ɕ]
[ɻ]
alveopalatal 舌面前 velar 舌根
[k]
[kʰ]
[x]
[ŋ]
labial 唇音 alveolar 舌尖 alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 retroflex 捲舌
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
• Issue (2)
– How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3) • Unconventional use of symbols/letters • Use of diacritics • Combinations of symbols/letters alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 retroflex 捲舌 alveopalatal 舌面前
IPA
IPA
IPA
[ts] [tʂ] [tɕ]
[tsʰ] [tʂʰ] [tɕʰ]
[s] [ʂ] [ɕ]
– How to transcribe the sibilant initial series (x3) • 威妥瑪 Wade Giles (1892) – Use of diacritics – Combinations of symbols/letters IPA
IPA
[ɻ]
IPA
IPA
alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
ts [ts]
ts’ [tsʰ]
s [s]
retroflex 捲舌
ch [tʂ]
ch’ [tʂʰ]
sh [ʂ]
alveopalatal 舌面前
chi [tɕ]
ch’i [tɕʰ]
hsi [ɕ]
IPA
j [ɻ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (2)
• 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 alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 retroflex 捲舌 alveopalatal 舌面前
IPA
IPA
z [ts]
c [tsʰ]
s [s]
zh [tʂ]
ch [tʂʰ]
sh [ʂ]
j [tɕ]
q [tɕʰ]
x [ɕ]
IPA
r [ɻ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issues
• Issue (3)
– The Mandarin vowel inventory front
High
– 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
– High central (apical) vowel [ɨ] – transcription strategies
central
i y
back
ɨ
• Unconventional use of symbols/letters • Combinations of symbols/letters
u ɘ
Mid-high
Mid-low
low
e
ɤ o ɛ
ʌ ɑ
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
• 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 alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
IPA
dz [tsɨ]
retroflex 捲舌
jr [tʂɨ]
alveopalatal 舌面前
ji [tɕi]
pinyin
IPA
tsz
[tsʰɨ] chr [tʂʰɨ] chi [tɕʰi]
pinyin
IPA
– 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
sz
[sɨ] shr [ʂɨ] syi [ɕi]
pinyin
r
[ɻɨ]
• “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
zi [tsɨ] zhi [tʂɨ] ji [tɕi]
pinyin
IPA
ci
[tsʰɨ] chi [tʂʰɨ] qi [tɕʰi]
pinyin
IPA
pinyin
IPA
si
[sɨ] shi [ʂɨ] xi [ɕi]
ri
[ɻɨ]
1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Issue (4)
女 綠 居 虛
[ny] [ly] [tɕy] [ɕy]
chi [tɕi]
[tsʰɨ] ch’ih [tʂʰɨ] ch’i [tɕʰi]
pinyin
IPA
pinyin
IPA
szu
[sɨ] shih [ʂɨ] hsi [ɕi]
jih
[ɻɨ]
– 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 (5)
– 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
chih [tʂɨ]
IPA
tz’u
• Issue (3)
– The high central vowel – 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
alveopalatal 舌面前
retroflex 捲舌
pinyin
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Issue (3)
retroflex 捲舌
IPA
tzu [tsɨ]
alveopalatal 舌面前
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
Hanyu Pinyin 漢語拼音
Wade-Giles 威妥瑪
Yale 耶魯
Gwoyeu Romatzyh 國語羅馬字 (base form)
nü
nü
nyu
niu
– Labeling of tone • Diacritics (majority of romanizations) • Build into spelling (國語羅馬字 Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Tone 1 Tone 2
lü
lü
lyu
liu
Tone 3
ju
chü
jyu
chiu
Tone 4
xu
hsü
syu
shiu
Hanyu Pinyin 漢語拼音 DIACRITIC
EXAMPLE
— ⁄ √ \
媽 mâ 麻 má 馬 mǎ 罵 mà
1942)
Gwoyeu Romatzyh 國語羅馬字 STRATEGY (basic form) i/u → y/w; or add -r i/u → e/o; or double vowel change/double final letter; or add -h
EXAMPLE
媽 ma 麻 mar 馬 maa 罵 mah
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1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Issue (5)
• Issue (6)
– Labeling of tone
– Syllable boundaries
• Diacritics (majority of romanizations) • Build into spelling (國語羅馬字 Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Tone Tone Tone Tone
1 2 3 4
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
Hanyu Pinyin 漢語拼音 DIACRITIC
EXAMPLE
— ⁄ √ \
昌 常 場 唱
châng cháng chǎng chàng
• Word boundaries: space • Word-internal syllable boundary:
1942)
Gwoyeu Romatzyh 國語羅馬字 STRATEGY (basic form) i/u → y/w; or add -r i/u → e/o; or double vowel change/double final letter; or add -h
– 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)
EXAMPLE 昌 chang 常 charng 場 chaang 唱 chanq
1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Romanization in mainland China vs Taiwan
GLOSS
CHARACTERS
毛澤東 (see name) 習近平 (see name) Harvard University 哈佛大學
HANYU PINYIN 漢語拼音
WADE GILES 威妥瑪
Mao Zedong Xi Jinping Hafo Daxue
Mao Tse-tung Hsi Chin-p’ing Ha-fo Ta-hsüeh
TAIWAN: Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (Bopomofo)
– 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 (Taipeiall of Taiwan)
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
1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Dimensions of romanization design – – – –
Economy Symmetry Compatibility with English Computer input
• World compatibility (with Hanyu Pinyin in mainland China) • Computer input (avoidance of diacritics; economy)
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1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Economy (c.f. sibilant series)
– Symmetry (c.f. sibilant series) • 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958)
pinyin
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
retroflex 捲舌
• 威妥瑪 Wade Giles (1892) alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前 alveopalatal 舌面前
IPA
pinyin
IPA
pinyin
IPA
zi [tsɨ]
ci
[tsʰɨ]
si
[sɨ]
zhi [tʂɨ]
chi
[tʂʰɨ]
shi
[ʂɨ]
pinyin
ri
ts’ [tsʰ]
s [s]
j [tɕ]
ch [tɕʰ]
hs [ɕ]
pinyin alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
IPA
pinyin
IPA
pinyin
IPA
dz [tsɨ]
tsz
[tsʰɨ]
sz
[sɨ]
jr [tʂɨ]
chr
[tʂʰɨ]
shr
[ʂɨ]
pinyin
r
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
1. Chinese into English (romanization)
• Dimensions of romanization design
• Dimensions of romanization design
– Compatibility with English (c.f. high central vowel)
retroflex 捲舌
IPA
pinyin
zi [tsɨ]
ci
zhi [tʂɨ]
chi
IPA
pinyin
[tsʰɨ]
si
[tʂʰɨ]
shi
IPA
pinyin
IPA
ri
[ɻɨ]
• 耶魯方案 Yale romanization (1942) pinyin alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
retroflex 捲舌
IPA
pinyin
IPA
pinyin
IPA
dz [tsɨ]
tsz
[tsʰɨ]
sz
[sɨ]
jr [tʂɨ]
chr
[tʂʰɨ]
shr
[ʂɨ]
pinyin
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
[ɻɨ]
• Avoid diacritics • Fewer keystrokes (c.f. economy)
IPA
[sɨ] [ʂɨ]
IPA
– Computer input
• 漢語拼音 Hanyu Pinyin (1958) pinyin
[ɻɨ]
• 耶魯方案 Yale romanization (1942)
ts [ts]
retroflex 捲舌
alveolar-sibilant 舌尖前
IPA
r
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
IPA
[ɻɨ]
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) • 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) • 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 – 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)
– – – – – –
陳奕迅 Yixun Chen Eason Chan 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 [HK]
1. Chinese into English (romanization) • Why anglicize? – Chinese Americans: Assimilation into mainstream society – Entertainment business: Trendiness; exoticness – Business setting: Egalitarianism
[TW/MY] 伍思凱
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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
• Available TEMPLATES
– Most typical (Length: 2 to 3 syllables)
– Minority/ethnic names (not subject to length restrictions) : • Japanese
• 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
2. English into Chinese
– 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
([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
2. English into Chinese
• Available templates – News translation
• Available TEMPLATES (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
– 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”) 米高 = Migao (“rice” + ”tall”)
– (CANTONESE)
George Bush Barack Obama
CHINA (Mandarin)
TAIWAN (Mandarin)
HONG KONG (Cantonese)
布什 Bushi 歐巴馬 Oubama
布希 Buxi 歐巴馬 Oubama
布殊 Bushu 奧巴馬 Aobama (CANTONESE “Oubama”)
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2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation – Relative complexity of syllable structure 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
• 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)
– Mandarin allows no syllable-final consonants (except nasals)
– Mandarin allows no consonant clusters
2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer / phonological translation – Different priorities MAX-IO (do not delete segments)
• Sound transfer / phonological translation – Regional strategy preferences
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 – Which is better? • Vowel insertion (V-insertion) • Consonant deletion (C-deletion) • Consonant blend (blend)
MANDARIN
ENGLISH Eisenhower
INSERTION
DELETION
ai-sen-hao-wei-er 艾森豪威爾 [Ch]
ai-sen-hao 艾森豪 [Tw]
Wimbledon
wen-bu-er-deng 溫布爾登 [Ch]
wen-bu-dun 溫布頓 [Tw]
Montserrat
meng-te-sai-la-te 蒙特塞拉特 [Ch]
meng-sai-la-te 蒙塞拉特 [Tw]
BLEND
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 • 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
2. English into Chinese
• Back Translation Experiment (Li 2004)
• Word list
– Why Harry Potter ? • Unfamiliar names -- use of familiar names would measure memory and not phonological processing • Names chosen were all phonological translations
ENG
SUBJECTS (12) • 4 U.S. subjects
(2)
(3)
(4)
Cedric
Godric
Draco
CHN
China
Taiwan
China
Taiwan
Char
特里 勞妮
崔老 塞德 西追 戈德 妮 里克 里克
高錐 客
德拉 科
跩哥
te-lilao-ni
cuilao-ni
gaozhui-ke
de-lake
zhuaige
Pin Yin
2. English into Chinese
(1)
Trelawny Taiwan
China
saide-like
Taiwan
xizhui
China
ge-deli-ke
2. English into Chinese TASKS
(native speakers of English with no prior
exposure to Chinese)
• 4 China subjects
• (Listen to Chinese translation of each name)
• Back translation
– Guess the original English based on sound similarities alone – Original English does not have to be a real word
China)
• 4 Taiwan subjects
(native speakers of Mandarin from Taiwan)
(Chinese into English)
• INSTRUCTIONS
(native speakers of Mandarin from mainland
– Syllable count (Englishguess vs Englishactual) – Consonant cluster preservation (Englishguess vs Englishactual) • (Reveal answer)
• Similarity rating
2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS • Syllable count deviation
ENG
(0-10)
RESULTS • Syllable count deviation
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
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
Insertion
Blend/deletion
[preserves consonantal units] (preserves phonemes)
[preserves number of syllables] (preserves rhythm)
US
+1.29
+0.25
CN
+0.81
-0.25
TW
+1.06
+0.04
Total
+1.05
+0.01
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2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS • Syllable count deviation
RESULTS • Consonant cluster restoration
• 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
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
Draco
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
– 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%)
RESULTS • Similarity ratings (2)
(3)
Cedric
(4)
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
10 (more similar)
Godric
CHINA (insert)
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS • Similarity ratings
Ratings:
Cedric
(4)
[Blends used most commonly in Taiwan, least commonly in mainland China]
2. English into Chinese
Trelawny
Trelawny
(3)
RESULTS • Consonant cluster restoration
Insertion
ENG
(2)
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS • Consonant cluster restoration
(1)
(1) ENG
– 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)
(less similar) 0
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2. English into Chinese
2. English into Chinese
RESULTS • Relative importance of segment vs prosody Preserving # of syllables (prosody / rhythmic pattern)
> Preserving # of segments (consonants / individual phonemes)
• 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
2. English into Chinese
• Sound transfer – other issues
• 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”)
– 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 西 shenghexi (saint + water lily + west)
(three + yell + contest)
but 聖荷
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2. English into Chinese • Meaningfulness / meaninglessness of characters – Meaning manufacture e.g., • Neutral imagery
(meaning opaque or abstract)
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
– 斯 si (Classical Chinese determiner) – 克 ke (“to subdue” – morpheme only) – 特 te (“special”)
» Anna: 安娜 » Susan: 蘇姍 » Jennifer: 珍妮佛
• Positive connotations – LeBron (James) 雷霸龍 Lei Balong (Thunder + Tyrannosaurus) – Coca Cola 可口可樂 Kekou Kele (Tasty + Joyful)
» 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)
CONCLUSION
2. English into Chinese
• CHINESE INTO ENGLISH (preserving sound romanization)
• 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])
– 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.
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