Who's coming to congress 2014

[DrStraw]

One day to go!

You are allowed to go for just one day?

[Mef]

One day to go!

You are allowed to go for just one day?

Certainly! A one day pass is $70

[often]

i was there
i performed a song
also translated a bunch for chinese pros.

interesting times were had.

[EdLee]

also translated a bunch for chinese pros.

A professional translator mentioned that that was not translation, but interpretation.

[wineandgolover]

i was there
i performed a song
also translated a bunch for chinese pros.

interesting times were had.

Kevin's song was a step up from the usual standards. Perhaps his lyrics weren't a whole lot better, but he plays guitar well, and really surprised me with his vocals. Most impressive. I have a one minute clip of his song for next year which I'll get around to posting. Quite amusing.

It was an exhausting week. After getting on the plane in NYC, I fell asleep before take-off and woke on touchdown in London. My neighbors admired my sleeping abilities, but I suspect their bladders resented that I had the aisle.

Ed, you were missed.

Kirby wasn't missed. That dude was everywhere!

[yoyoma]

It's over -- the end always seems so sudden.

[Uberdude]

often: are you Kevin Huang who translated Xie He's reviews? If so thanks a lot, was great!

[often]

often: are you Kevin Huang who translated Xie He's reviews? If so thanks a lot, was great!

that was me, tho' i'm not sure why they keep mispelling my last name, it was "Hwang" not "Huang". haha

i'm glad you liked it

and yes... it might've been "interpretation" instead of "translation"
but whatever

[EdLee]

i'm not sure why they keep mispelling my last name, it was "Hwang" not "Huang". haha

One potential reason: the former spelling is Taiwanese, the latter pinyin.

[daal]

also translated a bunch for chinese pros.

A professional translator mentioned that that was not translation, but interpretation.

From what I gather, pretty much all translation between Chinese and Western languages is interpretation.

[skydyr]

also translated a bunch for chinese pros.

A professional translator mentioned that that was not translation, but interpretation.

From what I gather, pretty much all translation between Chinese and Western languages is interpretation.

Fixed that for you

[Shawn Ligocki]

Just to clarify, a quick search yields:

The difference between interpreting and translation is only the difference in the medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text.

And thanks for interpreting, Kevin! You really passed on the feeling of Ding Bo and Xie He ("Ah, now you have the courage to attack" )

[xed_over]

i'm not sure why they keep mispelling my last name, it was "Hwang" not "Huang". haha

One potential reason: the former spelling is Taiwanese, the latter pinyin.

The other potential reason is much less complicated, since we wouldn't know the difference between Chinese and Taiwanese spellings -- we don't know how to spell (and no one has corrected us)

I sent the ejournal editor a correction.

[daal]

Just to clarify, a quick search yields:

The difference between interpreting and translation is only the difference in the medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text.

Bringing in the interpreter muddies the discussion, which has to do with the verb "to interpret," which involves explaining what someone means. Translators do their best to present the intended meaning of a written statement, and interpreters try to do the same with verbal communications. Between some languages, this is largely a matter of passing on the literal meanings of what was written or said. My point was that a literal translation may suffice for some languages, but not necessarily for Chinese. for example, if an interpreter tells an American businessman that his Chinese counterpart said that he thinks the proposal is excellent, he just has to speak to his boss about it, the American may still need the statement interpreted, because the words alone do not convey the intention of the statement, which may in fact be to reject the proposal. This level of interpretation is not as high between speakers of Western languages, where culturally based misunderstandings of literal translations are not as likely.

To illustrate this in the best possible way, let me offer a few anecdotes. (Did you immediately detect irony? Where are you from?) When I first came to Berlin, I worked for a while doing construction, and was at first baffled to hear my colleagues shouting "Mahlzeit!" (mealtime) at all hours of the day. It didn't take long to figure out however that this was just a form of greeting, and soon I was shouting it back at them. If I had had an interpreter, he wouldn't have translated Mahlzeit as "mealtime," but rather as "hello." In contrast, I recently read about Chinese tourists going hungry while visiting acquaintances in the West. What happens is that they are offered something to eat, and they politely decline it in the assumption that their host will continue to offer until they give in and accept. Apparently that's what Chinese hosts do, but Western hosts don't, and after saying "no thank you" once, they've missed their chance and no amount of rumbling in their stomachs is enough to overcome the embarrassment that asking for some food would then entail. What would the Chinese person's interpreter have needed to say? More than just "would you like something to eat." Prost Mahlzeit!

[wineandgolover]

As promised here is the video of Kevin's serenade to his teacher, Jennie Shen:

err, I thought this would be easy. Does anybody know how to embed this? Thanks.

Do folks have photos or stories they'd like to share? Damned if I'll be the only one.

Fixed, thanks Shawn.