Translation Job

I got myself a one-shot project translating six Chinese articles to English. It felt good to be working as a translator again. Working with languages is something that I am passionate about, and I already have experience translating documents from Chinese to English.

It is easier for me to translate from Chinese to English since I am more fluent in English and can fix the grammatical syntax of the sentence. I still find myself having some difficulty expressing myself in Chinese, which is why I am reluctant to translate English documents into Chinese. But I hope that I'd eventually learn to translate the other way.

Here is one of the sample articles I translated. It's not a business article, and there are no top secret company information. So I decided to publish it and get comments (hopefully) from people who are fluent in both Chinese and English.


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中国七夕
China's Seventh Month Festival
(Pertaining to the Chinese Valentine's Day)

中国五千多年的 历史造就了中 国 许许多多的传统节日，不必说众所周知的春 节、元宵，也不必 说那为纪念伟大诗人屈原而赛龙舟、吃粽子的端午 节，单单这有着浪漫色彩的“七夕节”，就赋予中国文化无穷无尽的魅力。
With five thousand years of history, China has created a lot of traditional festivals/celebrations. This does not include the publicly known Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, as well as the commemoration day of famous poets, the Dragon Boat Festival, etc. But the most colorful and romantic festival is the 7th Month festival, which is filled with the local culture's charm and allure.

在我国，农历七月初七的夜晚，天气温暖，草木飘香，这就是人们俗称的七夕节，也有人称之为“乞巧节”或“女儿节”，这是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日，也是过去姑娘们最为重视的日子。
Based on the Chinese Lunar calendar, the 7th day of the 7th month is a time when the climate is warm and temperate, the grasses and trees are fragrant. This is the Chinese Valentine's day (also the pleading for favors day). It is also the known as the festival for young women. Traditionally, this is China's most romantic and colorful festival, it is also the most important festival for young women.

在晴朗的夏秋之夜，天上繁星闪耀，一道白茫茫的银河横贯南北，银河的东西两岸，各有一颗闪亮的星星，隔河相望，遥遥相对，那就是牵牛星和织女星。
In this evening bordering Summer and Autumn, the sky is filled with stars. One can see the whole stretch of constellations from East to West. These are numerous constellations; the most popular of them (for this festival) are that of the Goat Herder and the Seamstress.

　 七夕坐看牵牛织女星，是民间的习俗。相传，在每年的这个夜晚，是天上织女与牛郎在鹊桥相会之时。织女是一个美丽聪明、心灵手巧的仙女，凡间的妇女便在这一天晚上向她乞求智慧和巧艺，也少不了向她求赐美满姻缘，所以七月初七也被称为乞巧节。
The Valentine's Festival resolves around the popular story of the Goat herder and the Seamstress. Based on folktales, every year this evening the two of them are reunited. The Seamstress is a beautiful and smart spirit. On this special night, women would pray for her and ask for wisdom and skill. Many of them would also ask for a beautiful and fulfilling marriage. That is why this occasion is also known as the "pleading for favors festival".

　 人们传说在七夕的夜晚，抬头可以看到牛郎织女的银河相会，或在瓜果架下可偷听到两人在天上相会时的脉脉情话。
People believe that on the eve of the Valentine's festival, one can look up to the heavens and see the goat herder meeting the seamstress. Others believe that they can overhear the two lovers exchange sweet words.

　 女孩们在这个充满浪漫气息的晚上，对着天空的朗朗明月，摆上时令瓜果，朝天祭拜，乞求天上的女神能赋予她们聪慧的心灵和灵巧的双手，让自己的针织女红技法娴熟，更乞求爱情婚姻的姻缘巧配。过去婚姻对于女性来说是决定一生幸福与否的终身大事，所以，世间无数的有情男女都会在这个晚上，夜静人深时刻，对着星空祈祷自己的姻缘美满。
In this romantic night, women would look up to the sky, offer melons and pray to the heavens. They would ask the Seamstress to bless them with wisdom and talent, as well as a love and a fulfilling relationship. During those times, countless men and women would pray for love filled and peaceful marriages, since marriage is an important life-long event.

在当代，许多年轻人把这一天当作中国情人节，他们都会在这天晚上，对着天空，许下自己最美好的心愿和祝福。
In present times, a lot of young people treat this day as the Chinese Valentines day. They would pray to the heavens asking for their heart's desire and good fortune.