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Translation FAQ
Dialect Differences: Chinese It is fairly commonly recognized that Spanish words used in Mexico differ from those used in Spain. Indeed, many languages used across large geographies have local or regional dialects: English, French, Chinese, Portuguese, etc. Oregon Translation is prepared to help you determine which dialect is appropriate for you or if perhaps you should have two versions for two different audiences. One resource we love is the Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com), which contains complex details about which languages are used in which countries and demographics about the speakers of those languages and countries.
There is a lot of confusion about Chinese dialects, so let’s take a moment to clarify this one language. There are 13 spoken dialects of Chinese, the most common of which are Cantonese and Mandarin. Written Chinese weaves a different tale of equal importance for translation. There are only two writing styles: Traditional Writing and Simplified Writing. The writing style does not align with use of one or other spoken Chinese dialect. In the 1950s and 1960s, the countries of China, Singapore, and Malaysia separately undertook vast efforts to simplify the written characters, ultimately all arriving at identical conclusions. Therefore, Simplified Writing is used throughout the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and Malaysia. Traditional Writing is used everywhere else. Hong Kong continues to use Traditional Writing even after it was restored to the People's Republic of China in 1999.
Cantonese is primarily spoken in the Guangdong Province in the People’s Republic of China, in Hong Kong, and in Macau. Cantonese was the predominant dialect spoken in U.S. Chinatowns up through the 1970s.
Mandarin is widely used throughout the People’s Republic of China (mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as in Indonesia and Singapore. Regardless of the dialect you need for your translation, Oregon Translation is ready to help you. Contact us today for a free quote.
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Translation FAQ
