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Chinese Translation Services

With over 1.3 billion speakers worldwide, Chinese is one of the most popular languages in the world, not to mention the second most-used language on the Internet. Whether in business or software, eLearning or entertainment, Chinese translations are an absolute necessity for any global organization, in any industry. Trusted Translations offers high-quality, competitively priced Chinese translation services in both traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese.

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Chinese Spoken Dialects and “Classical” Written Chinese Language

The origin of Chinese characters can be traced back to the late 2nd millennium BC when scripts were engraved on oracle bones. Legend says that these characters were created by the legendary Cāngjié. Inspired by the footprints of birds and beasts, he tried to mimic nature in written expression. These primitive hieroglyphs each represented a concept and were the first appearance of the language. In time, it evolved into more straightforward characters formed by a series of brushstrokes. As a result, Chinese calligraphy is not merely a writing system; it is also considered a complex and refined art form.

Currently, with over 1 billion people speaking some form of Chinese, it is the most widely-spoken language in the world, counting only native speakers. Yet, within this widespread language, many different dialects developed, primarily different in their phonology due to the regional differences and only to a lesser extent in vocabulary and syntax. Regarding the written form of Chinese, it is a “classical” form of the language that wasn’t particular to any regional dialect. Nowadays, there are two main written forms of Chinese, the Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.

Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese

From the 1950s onwards, the classical (“traditional”) written language was replaced with a more “simplified” one, in order to help increase the levels of literacy in China. The language was simplified by reducing pen-strokes in many characters. The use of simplified characters has now become widespread in mainland China, while people living abroad keep using the traditional, non-simplified characters (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao). The basic difference between the two types of characters is that the traditional form is still based on earlier characters and uses more strokes, whereas the more modern, simplified characters are much simpler.

We provide professional translation solutions in simplified Chinese (mostly used in mainland China) and traditional Chinese (mostly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao) to some of the world’s top companies and organizations. Trusted Translations takes great pride in providing our clients with high-quality, professional simplified and traditional Chinese translations at competitive prices.

Did You Know?
Trusted Translations translates to Simplified, Traditional, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese.
Did You Know?
Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world, with over 1 billion speakers.
Did You Know?
Mandarin Chinese is the most-used language in the world, followed by English and Spanish.
Did You Know?
Trusted Translations uses only native Chinese translators to ensure a higher level of quality.
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Mandarin and Cantonese

It should also be noted that Mandarin is not simplified Chinese and Cantonese is not traditional Chinese. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken languages. Mandarin is the standard and official spoken language for mainland China and Taiwan. Cantonese is a spoken language in certain areas of China (Guangdong province) and also in Hong Kong and Macao. Cantonese is a dialect used in Guangdong (belonging to mainland China). Cantonese is also one of the official spoken languages used in Hong Kong and Macao. In other words, simplified Chinese is the official written language used in mainland China, and traditional Chinese is the official written language used in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Chinese Localization to Your Target Market

Simplified Chinese characters are used in almost all of China, Singapore and Malaysia, while traditional Chinese characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. This is important to take into consideration because if someone needs a translation for Taipei, for example, they must translate their material into traditional Chinese. Similarly, if someone needs to send a translation to Beijing, it must be done in simplified Chinese. What’s more, the use of traditional Chinese in Taiwan and Hong Kong differs somewhat from traditional Chinese used in other areas. With all of these differences, it is essential to localize the Chinese to your target market. Therefore, whether you are looking for expanding your business to the East or targeting local Chinese communities, we can provide help with our highly qualified team of translators.

Expert Chinese Translation Teams

We have assembled simplified and traditional Chinese teams, all living in different locations, so that we can localize your Chinese translation to your specific target audience, whether it is in mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong or Taiwan. All our translators have an array of skills and specialties and are knowledgeable in the complexities of the Chinese language. We custom fit the knowledge and strengths of our Chinese translator teams to your specific project and specific Chinese market needs.

Whether you need simplified or traditional Chinese, Trusted Translations is the one-stop solution for your Chinese translation needs.