Simplified Chinese, sometimes referred to as Mandarin, which is a spoken language, is a written form of the language. It was created by the government of mainland China about 40 years ago to promote public literacy. Simplified Chinese uses about 30 to 40 percent fewer characters, with fewer strokes. This form of Chinese is used primarily in mainland China (People’s Republic of China) and Singapore. So if the document you need translated is going to the mainland or Singapore, it will most likely need to be an English to Simplified Chinese translation.
Traditional Chinese, on the other hand, is the pre-reform character system that is used by most Chinese speakers outside of mainland China. Examples include Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia. If your document will be used in these Chinese-speaking regions, it should be translated from English to Traditional Chinese.
For Chinese readers in the U.S. or Canada, the common practice is to translate a document to both forms of written Chinese. Most Chinese speakers in the West use Traditional characters. But there is a growing Chinese immigrant population that was educated in post-reform mainland China. This population is therefore more accustomed to the simplified character system. We provide both Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese character translations.
To learn more about ALTA’s specialized Simplified Chinese translation services, contact us at 800.895.8210 to speak with a project manager. Quotes are always free.
