From August 11 to 27, the "2021 Online Training Course of Beijing for Senior English Translators" organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government and the China Academy for Public Policy Translation of Beijing International Studies University was successfully held. The training course aims to further improve the professional skills of Beijing's foreign affairs officials so that they can better serve foreign-related work of the capital and contribute to the development of the center for international exchanges through quality and accurate translation. At the same time, the course will bring high-quality resources to Tianjin and Hebei, so as to contribute to the overall national diplomacy and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development.

Over 70 participants from Beijing's municipal commissions, offices, bureaus, and districts as well as the Foreign Affairs Offices of Tianjin and Hebei attended.

A Course Filled Up Quickly

Carefully designed curriculum based on practical needs

The training course took public policy translation as the starting point, and featured a carefully designed curriculum and a tailored learning mode combining "study" and "practice" for participants. The course was conducted on three different levels ranging from macro to micro. The first level was the general theory on how to understand the deeper meaning of language and to build a bridge for cross-cultural communication. The second level was to jump out of the fixed pattern of Chinese-English translation so as to get rid of Chinglish expressions. The detailed analysis on the translation of key expressions from important policy documents such as the 19th CPC National Congress Report, and the Report on the Work of the Beijing Municipal Government took the class to the third level. During the class, teachers asked questions from time to time, so that trainees could not only apply what they had learned but also keep focused all the time as if they were about to enter an interpreter booth.

Faculty consists of top scholars and experts

Renowned experts and scholars who have been working in the field of translation for many years were invited to share their insights from different perspectives of their research and practice over the years, which included both in-depth theoretical research and the most intriguing hands-on experience.

Taking the translation of President Xi Jinping's New Year Address as an example, former Ambassador H.E. Chen Mingming, veteran diplomat and translator, lectured on the issues that deserved attention when public speeches with Chinese characteristics were translated into different foreign languages.

As experts who finalize the English translation of the Annual Report on the Work of the Beijing Municipal Government, Ms. Zhang Ying and Ms. Lei Ning, who had both served in the Department of Translation and Interpretation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a long time, shared their experience on how to accurately grasp the connotation of policies and make the voice of China heard.

Ms. Shi Xiaojing and Mr. Bao Chuanyun, senior simultaneous interpreters of the United Nations, shared from different perspectives their thoughts on how to jump out of the fixed pattern of Chinese-English translation and use authentic English expressions.

Mr. Zhu Yuan, news writer and commentator of China Daily, shared his understanding of language and cross-cultural communication based on years of hands-on experience.

Practical and useful content based on the development of the capital

The content of the course was closely related to the current foreign-related work of Beijing, so that the trainees can use what they have learned to solve their problems at work.

For example, when we take a closer look at the translation of the policy "街乡吹哨，部门报到," which is familiar to Beijing citizens, we should avoid translating the word "哨（whistle）" since it might create ambiguity. Instead, we can simply paraphrase it into "quick answer to community calls."

When it comes to "牵牛要牵牛鼻子," a typical Chinese-style sentence, we can literally translate it into "if you want to lead a bull, pull it by the nose ring" because a similar image also exists in English. We can also translate it into "to ensure the success of any change, one must find the right levers to pull" with an idiomatic expression. Through tons of vivid examples and detailed explanations from the lecturers, our trainees learned the skills of translation to their hearts' content.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei join hands for improvement

The training course is also one of the important initiatives to realize coordinated development in foreign affairs of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and to share resources to promote joint training for professionals in the three localities.

Expanding the scope of training to share quality resources

Although the training was held online, it didn't undermine the enthusiasm of the participants. Having so many experts, participants listened to the lectures with avid attention and took notes carefully for fear of missing anything. After class, they still lingered and asked more questions. They were obsessed with the lectures and benefited a lot from them. It is indeed a "quick charge" for their theoretical knowledge, ideological thinking and professional skills.

In-depth exchanges and discussions for common progress in professional skills

Taking the training course as a platform, participants from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei also had in-depth exchanges on topics such as serving major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, using the "window of opportunity" of the epidemic to reinforce basic professional skills, and giving full play to the bridging role that translation plays to promote the development of the International Exchange Center under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.

Participants from the three localities said that they benefited a lot from the training and would take it as an opportunity to further strengthen the exchange and mutual learning among each other. Everything in foreign affairs matters, and every foreign affairs worker is duty-bound to continuously develop their professional skills so as to contribute to the overall national diplomacy, and promote and contribute to the development of Beijing's role as the Center for International Exchanges with concrete actions.

Feedback from our trainees

Wu Meishuang (Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Haidian District)

We not only gained solid theoretical knowledge but also mastered the most practical translation skills from the training. I believe it will help us improve our work performance a lot in the future.

Teng Yuhui (Beijing Women's International Center)

I realized how important the role that translation plays in telling China's stories and conveying China's voice. We need to not only get the literal meanings accurate but also reflect the deeper connotation of the words so that our policies and work can be conveyed more accurately and efficiently.

Liao Tao (Tianjin Foreign Affairs Office)

The training helped us solve many difficulties we have encountered in our daily translation work and provided a great exchange platform for foreign affairs officials in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. I hope there will be more learning opportunities like this in the future!