Lost in translation

For years, the Chinese market has been importing more books than exporting them.

In 2012, the country imported 16,115 book titles, mostly from English-speaking countries, and exported fewer than 7,600 titles, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

But many consider the quality of translations in China to be a major obstacle in accessing these imported works.

"Most of the translated versions of books can be rough," said Zheng Xiaoqian, a doctoral candidate of English literature at Nanjing University.

Zheng downloaded the Chinese version of Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography.

"The translation is generally OK, but I still want to read the English version because I don't trust the translator," she said.

Li Yi in Shanghai is a self-professed bookworm, spending much of his free time reading books, including a large number of imported books.

"I learned that there are only about 80 to 100 reliable translators in China who are capable enough to carry out the tough work," said the 40-year-old lawyer.

Zhu Jisong, an English teacher at Fudan University, said that the Chinese versions of many foreign books are generally of bad quality.

"It's a vicious circle. The translation is bad so the market response is bad, which means that the book cannot sell well, and the payment for translation won't be high as a result. With such a low payment, you cannot find a good translator," he said.

The general rate for an English-to-Chinese translation is 80 yuan ($12.90) for every 1,000 English words, and a fast translator can process about 500 words an hour if the original book is not so literary and the language and flow are easy enough to follow. The Chinese government imposes a 20 percent tax when the payment is higher than 800 yuan, which is high compared with current wages and the cost of living.

"There are other reasons. Students with a good command of English usually go to transnational corporations to work and they won't use their spare time to do translation work. Those whose English is not so good need to do translations to make money, which directly results in the low quality," Zhu said.

"Theoretically, English teachers in universities have the ability to translate books, but translation works are not included in their academic assessment so they are not willing to do extra work that is not helpful in assessing their academic level, which is in turn closely connected with their salaries."

yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn