With approximately 1.197 billion speakers, Chinese is the most widely spoken in the world! Therefore, there is a large demand for Chinese translation services. When we receive requests for Chinese document translation, we are often asked to translate the document into Mandarin or Cantonese. It is important to note that Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken dialects of Chinese. Such information is important for interpretation projects. However, when we are referencing written Chinese, there are two versions – Simplified Chinese vs Traditional Chinese.
Origin of Simplified Chinese vs Traditional Chinese
In the 1950s – 60s, the government of the People’s Republic of China sought to simplify Chinese characters to promote literacy. Simplified Chinese characters use fewer strokes. Simplified Chinese also reduced the number of characters in common use. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China as well as Singapore and Malaysia.
Traditional Chinese is used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Written Chinese emerged during the Han Dynasty so Traditional Chinese characters have been around for centuries. Traditional Chinese is also used by overseas Chinese communities throughout the world such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. This trend may shift as people migrate from mainland China.
Simplified vs Traditional Chinese – Which Do You Choose?
Take a look at what specific region you are looking to target. If it is mainland China, Singapore, and Malayasia then choose Simplified Chinese. Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.
If you are looking to reach Chinese-speaking communities in the United States, which do you choose? Historically, these communities use Traditional Chinese, However, this is changing as more people immigrate to the United States from mainland China. Signage has traditionally been translated into Traditional Chinese, but recently, institutions such as the New York City Transit Authority have made the switch to Simplified Chinese.
In a previous blog post, we talk about Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act regarding language access in healthcare. Under Section 1557, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) specifies which dialect to use [when one of the languages listed in their top 15 per state has one or more written or spoken dialects.] In the case of written Chinese, they specify Traditional Chinese.
If you are not sure which choice is best for your needs, reach out to your language service provider. We can help guide you in the right direction.
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