Every year on April 20^th, the UN celebrates Chinese Language day. The event was established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization. As mentioned in this translation blog before, the other five official UN languages are: Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and English.

This date was chosen as the date for the Chinese language to pay tribute to Cangjie, which corresponds to Guyu in the Chinese calendar. According to a legend when Cangjie invented Chinese characters, the deities and ghosts cried and it rained millet; the word Guyu literally means “rain of millet”.

JR Language joins the celebration and takes this week of April to acknowledge the amazing job that our Chinese translatorsand interpreters carry out for us every day. Thank you for your loyalty and work ethic. Without your effort and knowledge we will not be able to provide high quality Chinese translation for our clients.

To Celebrate Chinese day we offer 15% discount for Chinese Translation this week.

Happy Chinese Day!

The words, “Happy Chinese New Year!” harken back for me some of my most cherished memories of my childhood.  We watched in awe as a gigantic, bright and colorful lion creature pranced playfully about engaging and entrancing us to the point we forgot there were over two dozen human legs dancing under the lavish costume. The sight of close friends and family arriving filled us with joy, and the sounds of the elders’ hearty laughter were contagious. And of course, all that food!  We feasted on enough delicious dumplings and spring rolls that could’ve lasted us for months.

The Chinese New Year is the longest holiday in the Chinese calendar, typically lasting up to 15 days. It begins on the first day of the first lunar month. The holiday is celebrated by well over 1 billion people in Asia, in several countries that include Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. To Asians who are not of Chinese descent, the holiday is also known as the Lunar New Year. It is also aptly named the Spring Festival, celebrated in China. The Lantern Festival often concludes the New Year celebration with a massive display of illuminating, bright red lanterns in streets, stores and homes. The color red is symbolic of fire, which is believed to ward off bad luck and evil spirits. It is a constant theme throughout the celebration, thus it is not uncommon for celebrating individuals to dress head to toe in red or decorate their homes accordingly. The giving of red envelopes takes place most often during family gatherings, and is meant to demonstrate the close bond and kinship between the elderly and child.

Regardless of how one chooses to recognize the holiday by name, the Chinese New Year is widely celebrated as a time for family reunion. It is also a time of giving thanks to our elders and honoring our dearly departed ancestors because they were the ones who provided the younger generation with the tools and foundations for a good life.

Each Chinese New Year is assigned an animal from the Chinese horoscope. This year, we say farewell to the Dragon and welcome in – the Snake.

As one of the main goals of this blog, we like to share with our readers the wonders of every culture to increase tolerance and understanding among people from different backgrounds to ease communication and interaction. Our translation agency deals with Chinese translations and Chinese culture every day, thus we have developed an understanding for aspects of the culture that were foreign to us in the beginning. We welcome and cherish any opportunity that allows us to learn and celebrate different traditions from any culture. This weekend we rejoice in this Chinese celebration!

The JR Language Team celebrates this Sunday, February 10^th, this beautiful custom with our Chinese translators:  Happy Chinese New Year!

The news about Apple not anticipating the tremendous demand for products in China made me think about how pent up demand in China is a huge opportunity for American companies looking to expand.

By 2015, China will surpass the United States in ecommerce market size, to RMB 2 trillion (US$320 billion) according to the Boston Consulting Group. The middle and affluent classes are rapidly changing their purchasing behavior to include new sales channels such as the internet, creating opportunities for recognized brands, and for market pioneers that can establish a brand in the current emerging landscape.

At JR Language Translations, we see a growing trend with our clients who realize this opportunity, and ask us for help to enter into the Chinese market. From universities marketing to aspiring students who are looking for an American education, to small businesses exporting products and services to China, the trend has been growing at double digits for the last three years.

The typical cycle starts with the translation of a few brochures and case studies, then the translation of a website, to the complete localization of contracts and service manuals. Some clients are not aware of the different dialects and writing forms of Chinese, so we always work with them to select the most appropriate for their target market.

On the other hand, many companies are still thinking about what to do, leaving the opportunity for growth on the table for other businesses to establish their foothold. We see these times as a second opportunity to jump in early into the Internet.

Tell us about your experience with the Chinese market, or if you have questions contact us and we may be able to help.