As technology improves, one form of media in particular has continued to grow and develop but still remains wildly popular—videos. Whether you use them as eLearning modules or as one of the components in your marketing strategy, your multimedia content should be localized, just like your website content. To increase your global reach, a Mandarin audio translation (localization) may be crucial for your videos, and this usually includes the initial step of translating a script into Simplified Chinese and then proceeding with the actual audio recording in Mandarin.

Why is Mandarin Audio Translation Important?

While it’s important to have some knowledge about your target audiences and the languages they speak, it’s also normal for many companies to be uncertain into which languages their content needs to be localized. But Mandarin audio translation is an important aspect of localization that you simply can’t miss out on when appealing to the Chinese market. This is especially critical if your company is reaching out to Mainland China and Singapore. Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language in the world, with more than 955 million speakers across the globe, and is the native language for 14.4% of the world’s population.

How to Know Mandarin Is Right for Your Audio Translation

Still unsure if Mandarin audio translation is right for your target audience? Keep in mind that not only do languages vary from country to country, but written language can differ from spoken language. Mandarin is the spoken language unifier of mainland China, and Mandarin audio translation is usually a good value and a safe bet.

Building Confidence in Your Market with Mandarin Audio Translation

Because Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language in the world, a Mandarin audio translation can not only connect you with a larger audience, it can also build your brand’s reputation and bolster consumer confidence. It shows that not only do you appreciate other cultures and languages, but that you are taking the time to localize your content so you can successfully reach people all over the world. Your Mandarin audio translation doesn’t just reach people in China, it is beneficial to Chinese speakers worldwide. A recent United States Census Bureau study found that the third most common non-English language spoken in the U.S. was Chinese dialects. With most of the Mandarin speakers residing in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, it’s even more imperative that you consider a Mandarin audio translation / localization for your multimedia and eLearning projects so that you can reach your market on both sides of the country and around the world.

Working with a Professional Translation Company for Mandarin Audio Translation

A native speaker is vital to a successful Mandarin audio translation, especially if you’re localizing eLearning content. Can you imagine trying to learn a new skill or train for a job in a language that is choppy, hard to understand, and not your native tongue? Many marketing tactics can be implemented by your company’s employees, but a Mandarin audio translation  requires a professional in order to ensure that the information is accurate, culturally appropriate, similar in length to the original translation, and recorded professionally. When you reach out to a professional translation company for your Mandarin audio translation, you will find native speakers with subject-matter expertise and experience in your particular field, which is especially beneficial when it comes to company or product-specific terminology.

To find out more about Interpro’s Mandarin audio translation services, please contact us today.

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At many Chinese restaurants, there are choices between different regional cuisines such as Sichuan and Cantonese. Knowing, for example, that Sichuan food tends to be spicier and that Cantonese food tends to be milder can help you pick out the best entrée suited to your tastes. Just like Chinese regional cuisine, there are different varieties in the way Chinese is spoken – and written.

Having studied Mandarin in college, lived and traveled extensively in Asia, and worked in the translation and localization industry for nearly six years, I have learned a great deal about Chinese speaking markets. In short, when it comes to localization services, there are three key things to know when you want to “order” the right kind of Chinese localization to suit your target audience.

1. Which Chinese localization is best suited for my business?

As many companies are looking to Mainland China (and Singapore) for sources of new business, Simplified Chinese is what most customers request for translation. Simplified Chinese is the character set used in these two countries. If you are targeting Taiwan or Hong Kong, you would use Traditional Chinese.

2. What is the main difference between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese?

Compared with the Traditional Chinese character set, Simplified Chinese characters have a fewer number of “strokes” per character. Strokes are just that – the number of pen strokes needed to write a Chinese character.  Simplified Chinese could almost be compared to “shorthand” and was developed to increase literacy in China as it is quicker to write and easier to memorize.

The chart below shows a few examples of differences between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

3. Should I choose Mandarin or Cantonese for voice-over projects?

For voice-over projects – when it comes to speaking Chinese, Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China, Singapore, and Taiwan. With so many dialects of Chinese, Mandarin is the “unifier” and is mainly used when people from different regions of China speak to each other, the same way that Indians from different regions of India use English to communicate. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China’s Guangdong (Canton) province and is the main Chinese dialect spoken in most overseas Chinatowns.

For example, people in Taiwan can read a Hong Kong newspaper and vice versa. However, there are some characters used in each others’ scripts that are different, in which case a Cantonese native speaker (translator) or a Mandarin native speaker (translator) would be necessary to translate content targeted to Hong Kong and Taiwan audiences, respectively.

With over one billion native Chinese speakers worldwide, Chinese localization will give you the competitive edge needed to target some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

For more help in deciding which Chinese is best suited for you, contact Interpro and a consultant will provide you with the information you need to take the next steps to assist you in your Chinese translation project.

The post How to Order Chinese Localization: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Interpro Translation Solutions.

Mandarin is the main/official dialect spoken throughout the People’s Republic of China.  Cantonese is spoken in China’s Guangdong (Canton) province and Hong Kong.

Prior to the handover of Hong Kong back to the PRC from Great Britain in 1997, Cantonese and English were taught in schools.  According to CBC News, Mandarin is now the language of instruction in 72% of Hong Kong’s elementary schools.  In addition, there has been an uptick in the Chinese government’s promotion of the use of Mandarin throughout Hong Kong.  Additionally, given the “Special Economic Zone” status of Guangdong province’s Zhuhai and Shenzhen, the lingua franca in those cities has also gone from Cantonese to Mandarin.

Many Cantonese speakers are concerned that this may make the dialect extinct.  Although there is also evidence of Mandarin “replacing” Cantonese both in Asia and abroad (for example, wealthy Mainland Chinese are now migrating in larger numbers than their Hong Kong counterparts), there are still roughly 59 million people worldwide who speak Cantonese (CBC News)– many of whom are monolingual.

Even though Cantonese won’t truly disappear anytime in the near future, efforts are being made to preserve the language most prevalently heard in dim sum gatherings around the world.  For example, Hong Kong-based graphic designer and cartoonist, Ah To, has written several illustrated books to help readers understand Cantonese proverbs and idioms.

Cantonese Language Translation

Cantonese: chicken’s hands and ducks’ feet

Pronunciation: gai sa-oh ahb gu-er

Meaning: chaotic people or situations

Cantonese Language Translation

Cantonese: pretend to be a pig and eat tigers

Pronunciation: bahn jew sic louh fu

English equivalent: a wolf in sheep’s skin

These images are screenshots of Ah To’s illustrations and representative of some Cantonese idioms, which help to showcase the distinctive and unique culture of Cantonese speaking peoples.

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