High-Quality Traditional Chinese Cantonese Translation Services for Any Document

In a word, traditional Chinese is not Mandarin, but either equal to Cantonese.
People who intend to translate traditional Chinese to English tend to find two variants of Chinese confusing. Traditional Chinese is a writing script used both in Mandarin and Cantonese. Its usage relies on one’s reading and writing behaviors and their first speaking language. Taiwanese use traditional Chinese as the official script while speaking Mandarin, whereas people from Hong Kong and Macao also use traditional Chinese as the official script but mostly speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin.

Of course, you can! However, for official and commercial uses, a verbatim translation carried out by machine from simplified Chinese to traditional Chinese will only do a disservice to your purpose. Due to different grammar rules, vocabulary, and idioms, what makes sense in simplified Chinese may look ridiculous in traditional Chinese. If you want something critical, you should avoid machine translation and employ expert traditional Chinese language translation to English or other languages.

In short, most people agree that Simplified Chinese is easier to write.

Though both writing scripts have a lot in common, simplified Chinese characters comprise fewer strokes and are easier and faster to write, but you can still identify the resemblance between the two.

For first-time traditional Chinese learners, they may feel overwhelmed by each character’s considerable amount of strokes. That’s why mainland China simplified traditional Chinese in the 1950s to enhance the literacy rate, and it did. And later, owing to the large population of Chinese descendants, Singapore and Malaysia also incorporated simplified Chinese as one of their official languages.

So to translate Chinese traditional from and to other languages, delve into your intended audience first if you don’t want your plans to fall flat in those regions. Nevertheless, traditional Chinese characters are hieroglyphic and can represent ancient Chinese culture better. For instance, people still prefer to practice Chinese calligraphy with traditional Chinese, whether as a hobby or exhibition.

This is a frequently asked question for people unfamiliar with Chinese, which is normal.

In general, the written script of simplified and traditional Chinese is pretty similar. Yet, due to cultural discrepancies between different Chinese-speaking regions, the lexicon and grammar vary significantly.

Though Mandarin is spoken by mainland Chinese and Malaysian, sometimes they don’t share the same idioms and sayings and may find each other’s speech baffling. Misunderstanding and confusion is the last thing we want in global communication. Luckily, Wordspath works with veteran translators worldwide to eliminate this conundrum.

Choosing specific Chinese translation services depends on which countries or regions you target to expand your business.

Simplified Chinese is the official language in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, where a large population speaks Mandarin as their native language.

In some regions, however, people in the southern provinces of China predominantly speak Cantonese, yet they use Chinese simplified as the official script. Suppose your target region is Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, you traditional Chinese translator for your translation or localization project. Although they all use traditional Chinese as their official script, be conscious of these regions’ specific lexicon and grammar.

Mandarin is spoken in Taiwan among these regions, meaning their traditional Chinese usage largely conforms with the Mandarin expression rules rather than that of the other two regions. Ready to translate Chinese traditional? Get started today.