Translators share tips on how to convey meaning

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The misleading translations that result are gradually being corrected as professionals increasingly notice such problems. Other participants noted other ways to help readers and listeners understand Chinese culture across the language divide.

"My secret is (American) dialect to (Chinese) dialect," says Chen Chunge, a popular subtitle translator and paraphraser of US TV talkshows.

For him, "classy" Shanghai dialect is similar to English used in more refined occasions, as teenager and showbiz talk in English pairs best with Mandarin with a Taiwan twist.

"American English, which is generally bolder and straightforward, can sometimes best keep its essence when translated into our equally blunt Northeasterner's dialect," he says.

"Trying to do vernaculars as grounded as possible in both languages - that's my tip to getting the messages across."

Cui Xiangwei, guest professor at the Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera, says the key to understanding Peking Opera is hearing it not only in its original Chinese in song but also hearing the lines read at the same time in the audience's mother tongue.

"I take it from my experience as a simultaneous translator that it's much more effective to hear it in your own language than reading a script," he says. "And the original is not lost as you also listen to it at the same time."

"Conveying Chinese culture to the world needs quality translations," says Liu Deyou, translator and former vice-minister of culture.

"We need cream-of-the-crop masters who have thorough knowledge of both languages and culture. But we are also in urgent need of a large number of professionals who can inventively recreate the messages so they're more understandable to outsiders."

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