University translators serve Hangzhou Asian Games

The Asian Games News Service (AGNS), official news outlet of the organizing committee, is responsible for critical media work during the Asian Games.

Hubei University's School of Foreign Languages was invited to lead the Chinese language team, sending 16 faculty and students to participate in AGNS at the 19th Asian Games in 2023.

Over three weeks, these 16 Hubei University teachers and students worked with 23 counterparts from Zhejiang University, Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, translating and proofreading news and reports of the event.

Li Jiaying, a 2020 undergraduate majoring translation at Hubei University's School of Foreign Languages, received an email in late April confirming her selection to the Hangzhou AGNS translation team.

Back then, Li was preparing for a nationwide English-debating competition, organized by the Beijing-based Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. She jumped right into the translation work shortly after the competition.

"To be a qualified translator for the games, you at least should become a fan of sports," Li said. "So I spend a lot of time studying event rules, reading related news, familiarizing myself with the tactics specific to the competitions."

Lv Qi, one of the instructors, divided the 16 students into three groups during the initial training session. Each group was tasked with gathering bilingual professional terminology and background information about the games, including event rules, event history, and the introduction of outstanding athletes.

AGNS necessitates a high level of interdisciplinary expertise. "Language and translation skills are required, as well as knowledge of sports and international communication,” said Lv.

Lv noted that Only a few of the 40 events at the Hangzhou Asian Games, such as football, could be considered 'familiar' to the students. “So, it can be challenging for them to become acquainted with other events in a short time."

The team leader, Xing Weikang, a second-year master's student majoring in translation, took on challenging tasks such as softball, canoeing, and e-sports.

Xing spent the entire summer studying and practicing in the library. He painstakingly combed through 500-page competition reports, accumulating translation terms from both domestic and international media sources, as well as reports from central and local media.

This team, with an average age of under 25, compiled a glossary of nearly 50,000 bilingual terms during the two-month preparation period. The glossary covers 40 major events, 61 sub-events, and 481 minor events for the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The Hubei University team contributed over 4,500 translated articles in the AGNS Chinese language section during the Asian Games, averaging 300 translated articles daily. At its peak, the team handled up to 400 articles per day, translating each piece in 5-10 minutes and proofreading it in 3-5 minutes.

Their ability to quickly adapt to the work pace, get into a groove, and excel at their tasks reflects the translation team's professional expertise and accumulated experience.

Over the years, the interpretation team of Hubei University has expanded their business scope to translation and public speaking, serving the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games, and others.

Starting with fewer than ten interpreters, this group has gradually grown into a team of more than 60 members who excel in interpretation, translation, and communication,

Source: China Youth Daily; trans-editing by Guo Yao