Translation Service in Singapore

There is a notion that Singapore does not need professional translators and interpreters because most Singaporeans are effectively bilingual, and know how to juggle between the different languages and dialects seamlessly. As such, it gives some people sufficient reasons to underrate the importance of professional translation services in Singapore. However, is it true that most of us can speak, write and translate properly from English to Chinese and vice-versa?

If this is true, we wouldn’t have translated “Hungry Ghost Festival” as 匈牙利鬼节 or “Chinese New Year” as 中国农历新年.

Thankfully, errors in the translation of festival names did not dampen the celebrative mood of these festivals by the locals; although the same will not hold true in all other situations.

Regretfully, due to the lack of understanding and a wrong perception of the translation industry, the local communities have not yet considered translation services as a “science and technology”, much less as an “art and culture”. Perhaps due to budget constraints, many companies prefer to have their translations performed in-house by individuals who purport to be effectively bilingual, and this probably explains why we often come across anglicized English to Chinese translations such as, “do not travel alone” translated as 不要单独旅行.

Linguistically, due to the city-state’s abundant historical and cultural heritage, the locals are using a Creole language that is largely derived from English, Malay, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Tamil and to a lesser extent various other European, Indic and Sinitic languages.

But people who speak Creole cannot be considered as bilinguals or multilinguals. In fact, as pointed out by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the forefather of Singapore, “Nobody can master two languages at the same level. If (you think) you can, you’re deceiving yourself.”

Mr Lee Kuan Yew admitted that his insistence on bilingualism in the early years of Singapore’s education policy was “wrong”.

Moreover, the Creole language, as an indigenous and primitive product of an era of spontaneous or premature society is doomed to be replaced or marginalized by dominating Lingua francas such as standard and modern English and Chinese (Mandarin) under a macro-background of globalization and internationalization. It will be hard for the Creole language to meet the needs of the mainstream commercial society. It is believed that translation services, especially English to Chinese translation, has a quiet promising market prospective and will thrive in Singapore and the region.

Nevertheless, a dilemma still exists for the local translation industry, as pointed out by Prof. Eddie Kuo, Academic Advisor to SIM University. The most critical issue is that the translation services sector in Singapore has not yet garnered adequate attention and it still lacks a well-established mechanism for Accreditation, Quality Assurance, Remuneration and Professional development.