Translating Tibetan names into English
Thread poster: Fang Sheng
Fang Sheng
Fang Sheng  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 05:57
Member (2004)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Jan 26, 2007

Hi, I'm translating a book (into English) about traveling to Qinghai and Tibet. It's written in Chinese, with many Tibetan names. The famous ones, such as Lhasa, Golmud, Dalai Lama, all have established English transliration directly from Tibetan. I don't want to translate other Tibetan names with Pinyin. I think it's totally inappropriate and confusing for English readers. Can anyone with knowledge of Tibetan and Chinese languages help me?

 
Blandina Broesicke
Blandina Broesicke  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:57
Member (2006)
Chinese to German
+ ...
Interesting Article Jan 27, 2007

Hello Fang Sheng,
I do not know Tibetan, but came across an interesting article on transcription of Tibetan via the forum for Chinese translators of the University of Hawaii where similiar problems have been discussed before. The article tells about the obvious problem and introduces several transcription systems. Though it is not really a "manual" for your problem it might still be helpful.
... See more
Hello Fang Sheng,
I do not know Tibetan, but came across an interesting article on transcription of Tibetan via the forum for Chinese translators of the University of Hawaii where similiar problems have been discussed before. The article tells about the obvious problem and introduces several transcription systems. Though it is not really a "manual" for your problem it might still be helpful.

http://www.thdl.org/xml/showEssay.php?xml=/collections/langling/
THDL_phonetics.xml&m=all

Good luck!
Collapse


 
Will Matter
Will Matter  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:57
English
+ ...
Look at the 'popup' function Jan 28, 2007

If you look at the link that Blandina kindly provided you can see the word 'popup' on the top right side of the screen. If you click on 'popup' you will see a pulldown menu that has a Tibetan dictionary AND a Tibetan > English translation function. Try this ... See more
If you look at the link that Blandina kindly provided you can see the word 'popup' on the top right side of the screen. If you click on 'popup' you will see a pulldown menu that has a Tibetan dictionary AND a Tibetan > English translation function. Try this http://www.thdl.org/tibetan/servlet/org.thdl.tib.scanner.OnLineScannerFilter?thdlBanner=on HTH.Collapse


 
Fabio Descalzi
Fabio Descalzi  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 06:57
Member (2004)
German to Spanish
+ ...
Try this Feb 3, 2007

Hi Fang,
I am a curious man from South America, fond of helping.

Just visit the following profiles and ask directly these persons who happen to translate from Tibetan into English:<
... See more
Hi Fang,
I am a curious man from South America, fond of helping.

Just visit the following profiles and ask directly these persons who happen to translate from Tibetan into English:
http://www.proz.com/profile/592
http://www.proz.com/profile/102784
http://www.proz.com/profile/609106
http://www.proz.com/profile/31375

If the amount of words to translate is great, perhaps you should just use the Post a Job feature - and offer a concrete translation project to other ProZians. I mean: you make a list of names, and post the job "Please translate this whole list for USD 0.06 each word" or the like.
Sometimes people do collaborate for free - and sometimes they deserve a pay for their services (it depends from the collaboration asked for...)

Hope I have helped you go on.
Regards,
Fabio Descalzi
Collapse


 
Fang Sheng
Fang Sheng  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 05:57
Member (2004)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks so much, Fabio! Feb 3, 2007

These are very important contacts and from their CVs, I can see they are interesting and highly established people. I'm sure this helps a great deal!

 
Rita Kuzder
Rita Kuzder
Local time: 11:57
Tibetan to English
+ ...
Interesting work Feb 5, 2007

Hi Fang Sheng,

I like to help you in this translation as I am Tibetologist, so pls you can send me your questions.

Rita


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Translating Tibetan names into English







Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »