Chinese Dialects and Translation
Two of the most recognized Chinese spoken dialects (regional versions) are Mandarin and Cantonese. Chinese is the native language for over one-fifth of the world. One advantage when working with the Chinese language is the fact that in many areas, English is also taught. You will find many Chinese speakers are bilingual.
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin is the main dialect of the Chinese living in northern and southwestern China. Mandarin is considered to be the official spoken language of the Chinese.
Cantonese Chinese
A variety of spoken Chinese spoken in and around the cities of Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau. Standard Cantonese is the official Chinese spoken language of Hong Kong and Macau. It is also spoken by some overseas Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, United States, Australia, and elsewhere around the world.
Spoken Chinese
There are different Chinese dialects but the written form is more standardized and is divided into two main categories, either Simplified or Traditional. If you are translating documents for English to / From Chinese speakers will easily recognize either the Simplified or Traditional.
Chinese Translation software Provides Both Languages
Traditional Chinese
Chinese character set used in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. More formal Chinese characters that had been the standard for years and is still used in some areas. The Traditional character is the original character that has more brush strokes.
Simplified Chinese
Chinese character set used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. These Chinese characters have less brush strokes making it an easier pattern than the Traditional. Simplified Chinese characters was adopted by the People's Republic of China to help promote literacy.
Typing Chinese Characters
Pinyin is a form of typing the Chinese language through phonetic rather than typing the actual Chinese characters. Pinyin (sounds forming syllables) allows anyone to learn the Chinese Language through phonetics rather than Chinese Characters. You can type this on any Qwerty (English keyboard). Learn how to type Chinese.
We often receive requests for Cantonese Translation software or Mandarin Translation software and the good news is Traditional and Simplifed translation software covers both of these forms of Chinese.
Chinese Fonts / Characters
When working with translation software you will need to have Chinese Fonts installed. This is now a part of Microsoft windows and can easily be installed. Learn how to install Chinese fonts.
Learning Center: Chinese Language Translation - Help on translating Chinese to English and English to Chinese
