China is learning a costly lesson for the casual use of the English by many of its companies.

Beyond confusing public directories and hilarious -- or sickening -- translations of restaurant menus, the lack of accuracy in business documents has become the latest stumbling block to the sales of China's high-speed trains -- something that Chinese are most proud of and are eager to sell around the world.

 

The Chinese-language press reported yesterday that some of the English terms for China's high-speed trains for export are not standardized, a result that may have arisen from the competition between two high-speed train producers in the country, which are about to merge.

 

China's top leaders have been promoting the country's high-speed railways to overseas markets, and Chinese enterprises have been selected to build several high-speed lines overseas, including between Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary, and a new route linking Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya.

 

However, companies have complained to the media, saying that they lost bids because of poor translations.

 

In 2008, Beijing Foreign Studies University enrolled only four students in its masters degree in translation and interpretation, but that skyrocketed to nearly 60 this year.

 

The number of universities with qualifications to offer the program has increased to 150.

 

However, that does not fill the talent shortage. 

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment