Between Languages: Recent Episodes

View Details

When we learn a second language, we often memorize new words in a very simple way: x = y. However, to be a professional translator, we must break free of this overly literal approach to language. In this episode I discuss how this can be done.

View Details

With a new semester of courses to teach, I start examining the common challenges faced by students of Chinese-English translation. This week, we look at one of the most common difficulties: syntax, or sentence structure.

View Details

In this episode I share some of my favourite materials and platforms I use every day as a Chinese-English translator and some other resources that you might find useful as a student of translation.

View Details

Join me for the last episode in this series that covers the common vocabulary you need to interpret in the courtroom. This week we are focusing on types of proceedings, legal documents and core concepts.

View Details

This week we continue our exploration of the most common terminology you'll need to interpret with confidence in the courtroom.

View Details

In this first episode of a three-part series I discuss some of the most common vocabulary you'll encounter when you start interpreting in the courtroom. While this terminology is most commonly used in Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand, legal interpreters working in other English-speaking countries like the United States might also find it useful. Chinese (Mandarin) translations are provided as well.

View Details

Microsoft Word remains the most popular word processor in the world, and is commonly used by both translators and their clients. In this podcast I share six tips on how MS Word can make your work more productive. Microsoft Word仍然是世界上最受欢迎的文字处理软件，并且是翻译人员和客户共同使用的工具。 在此播客中，我分享了六个关于Word如何可以提高你工作效率的小贴士。

View Details

In recent years, more and more translators have been asked to translate texts relating to cryptocurrency. In this podcast I break down some of the common terms you'll be facing both in English and Chinese.

View Details

Scholarly journals, research institutes, and academic publishers are often in need of bilingual professionals to translate their research output. In this week's podcast, I talk about the most important things to bear in mind when translating academic texts, especially for those who translate from Chinese into English.

View Details

Today we are dedicating a whole episode to discussing the translation of just one word: 社会 shèhuì, "society". Like many modern concepts (economy, science, culture, etc.) the exact term did not exist natively in the Chinese language. As a result, it is used very differently in Chinese as compared to English, which can create problems for beginning and professional translators alike.

View Details

In this week's podcast on Chinese-English translation, I discuss some of the tricky terminology you'll encounter when dealing with texts on China's cultural heritage.

View Details

For many translators, the names of people, places, and organizations are not a big challenge. However, when translating between Chinese and English, they can be very time-consuming to deal with. In this week's podcast, I explore some of the common issues and offer advice to beginning and advanced translators alike.

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 狗血 gǒuxuè, gǒuxuě, gǒuxiě

2. 接地气 jiē dìqì

3. 外协 wàixié

4. 翻车 fānchē

5. 屌丝 diǎosī

6. ASMR /ˌeɪɛsɛmɑːr/

7. keyboard warrior /ˈkiːbɔːd ˈwɒrɪə/

8. feels /fiːls/

9. doomscrolling /duːm ˈskrəʊlɪŋ/

10. dog whistling /dɒɡ ˈwɪs(ə)lɪŋl/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 巨嬰 jùyīng

2. 天菜 tiāncài

3. 背鍋 bēiguō

4. 奇葩 qípā

5. 山寨 shānzhài

6. ghost /ɡəʊst/ (v.)

7. misinformation /ˌmɪsɪnfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/

8. disinformation /ˌdɪsɪnfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/

9. neurodiversity /ˌnjʊərə(ʊ)dɪˈvəːsɪti/

10. unicorn /ˈjuːnɪkɔːn/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 備胎 bèitāi

2. 薅羊毛 hāoyángmáo

3. 奧利給 àolìgěi

4. 賣萌 màiménɡ

5. 魔性 móxìng

6. salty /ˈsɔːlti/

7. hopeium /ˈhəʊpɪəm/

8. copium /ˈkəʊpɪəm/

9. mic drop /mʌɪk drɒp/

10. game changer /ɡeɪm ˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒə/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. flag

2. 丧文化 sàngwénhuà

3. 带节奏 dài jiézòu

4. 吐槽 tǔcáo, tùcáo

5. 飒 sà

6. patient zero /ˈpeɪʃ(ə)nt ˈzɪərəʊ/

7. rat-licker /rat ˈlɪkər/

8. blursday /bləːzdeɪ/

9. revenge bedtime procastination /rɪˈvɛn(d)ʒ ˈbɛdtʌɪm prə(ʊ)ˌkrastɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/

10. side hustle /sʌɪd ˈhʌs(ə)l/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 舔狗 tiǎngǒu

2. 安利 ānlì

3. 田園女權 tiányuán nǚquán

4. 文藝青年 wényì qīngnián

5. 暴風哭泣 bàofēngkūqì

6. binge-watch /bɪn(d)ʒ wɒtʃ/

7. snowflake /ˈsnəʊfleɪk/

8. fracking /ˈfrakɪŋ/

9. hot take /hɒt teɪk/

10. brain fog /breɪn fɒɡ/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 干货 gānhuò

2. 云监工 yúnjiāngōng

3. 不约而同 bùyuē'értóng

4. 打call dǎ-kōu, dǎ-kāo

5. 车厘子自由 chēlízi, chēlízǐ

6. clickbait /ˈklɪkbeɪt/

7. plogging /plɒɡɪŋ/

8. non-binary /nɒn ˈbʌɪnəri/

9. hangry / ˈhaŋɡri/

10. fatberg /ˈfatbəːɡ/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 逆行者 nìxíngzhě

2. 开车 kāichē

3. 拟车无据 yíchēwújù

4. 真香 zhēn xiāng

5. 杠精 gàngjīng

6. Dracula sneeze /ˈdrakjʊlə sniːz/

7. influencer /ˈɪnflʊənsə/

8. post-truth /ˌpəʊs(t)ˈtruːθ/

9. columbusing /kəˈlʌmbəsɪŋ/

10. catfish /ˈkatfɪʃ/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 雞湯 jītāng

2. 看戲 kànxì

3. 佛系 fóxì

4. 辣眼睛 là yǎnjing

5. 自媒體 zìméitǐ

6. red-pill /rɛdpɪl/

7. anti-vaxxer /ˈantivaksə/

8. youthquake /ˈjuːθkweɪk/

9. cringe /krɪnʒ/

10. echo chamber /ˈɛkəʊ ˈtʃeɪmbə/

View Details

Words of the Week 006

1. 彩虹屁 cǎihóngpì

2. 飯圈 fànquān

3. 白嫖 báipiáo

4. C位 sēi-wèi

5. 涼涼 liángliáng

6. dox(x)

7. rewild(ing)

8. bailout

9. vocal fry

10. deepfake

View Details

In this episode I share the second part of the Guardian poll which asked readers to select words to describe this year (2020) and the one coming up (2021). Chinese translations are provided where necessary.

Words for 2021

1. better /ˈbɛtə/
2. hope /həʊp/, hopeful /ˈhəʊpfʊl/
3. worse /wəːs/
4. uncertain /ʌnˈsəːt(ə)n/
5. recovery /rɪˈkʌv(ə)ri/
6. renewal /rɪˈnjuːəl/, regenerative /rɪˈdʒɛn(ə)rətɪv/
7. apprehensive /aprɪˈhɛnsɪv/
8. optimistic /ɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/, sanguine /ˈsaŋɡwɪn/
9. tentative /ˈtɛntətɪv/
10. transformative /transˈfɔːmətɪv/

View Details

Words to Describe 2020

The Guardian asked its readers which words they would use to describe 2020. Let me share them with you — you might find them useful.

1. sht /ˈʃɪt/ (also shthouse /ˈʃɪthəʊs/, shtshow /ˈʃɪtʃəʊ/, shtstorm /ˈʃɪtstɔːm/)
2. f*cked /fʌkt/
3. exhausting /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪŋ/
4. challenging /ˈtʃalɪn(d)ʒɪŋ/
5. unprecedented /ʌnˈprɛsɪdɛntɪd/
6. devastating /ˈdɛvəsteɪtɪŋ/
7. clusterf*ck /ˈklʌstəfʌk/
8. frustrating /frʌˈstreɪtɪŋ/
9. meh /mɛ/
10. overwhelming /əʊvəˈwɛlmɪŋ/

View Details

From Dark Materials to Mukbangs

Words of the Week

1. 黑料 hēiliào
2. 社畜 shèchù
3. 瑞思拜 ruìsībài
4. 尬舞 gàwǔ
5. 懷孕 huáiyùn as in 耳朵怀孕了 (ěrduo huáiyùn le)
6. twerk(ing) /twəːkɪŋ/
7. cancel culture /ˈkans(ə)l ˈkʌltʃə/
8. fear of missing out /fɪə ɒv ˈmɪsɪŋ aʊt/ (FOMO) (/ˈfəʊməʊ/)
9. spill the tea /spɪl ðə tiː/
10. mukbang /ˈmʌkbɑŋ/

View Details

Words of the Week

1. 上头 shàngtóu

2. 实锤 shíchuí

3. 渣男 zhānán

4. 鱼塘 yútáng

5. 海王 hǎiwáng

6. social death /ˈsəʊʃ(ə)l dɛθ/

7. whataboutery /wɒtəˈbaʊtəri/

8. gaslighting /ˈɡaslʌɪtɪŋ/

9. dark pattern /dɑːk ˈpat(ə)n/

10. photobomb /ˈfəʊtəʊbɒm/

View Details

Between Languages is a podcast about the fun of translating from one language to another.

In this first episode, we begin our examination of recent additions to the Chinese and English languages. Do they have equivalents in the other language? Tune in to find out!

Words of the Week

1. 凡尔赛文学 Fán'ěrsài wénxué

2. 鸡娃 jīwá

3. 列文虎克 Lièwénhǔkè

4. 打工人 dǎgōngrén

5. 内卷 nèijuǎn

6. social distancing /ˈsəʊʃ(ə)l ˈdɪstənsɪŋ/

7. travel bubble /ˈtrav(ə)l ˈbʌb(ə)l/

8. lockdown /ˈlɒkdaʊn/

9. Karen ("self-entitled person") /kəˈrɛn/

10. virtue signalling /ˈvəːtʃuː, ˈsɪɡn(ə)lɪŋ/