translation request

[Tippy]

My Mandarin is very rusty. I am trying to do a poster for a refugee ESL class hosted by an interfaith ministry. many different ethnic chinese groups in the class.

Just a simple sign saying

Wherever you are in your journey of faith, you are welcome here.

Pinyin, simplified and traditional characters would be a great help and any advice on the phrasing appreciated also. thanks

[fanglu]

Why don't you get whoever is running the class to write it?

Edit: It's an ESL class. I should learn to read

[Tippy]

the teachers are volunteers and do not speak chinese since it is not a requirement for an esl instructor. we use pictures and pantomimes, etc. to get basics across at first and go from there. i have noticed there have been linguistic shifts in the PRC phrases and can converse better with the elderly grandparents--my slang needs updating

[Tippy]

i remember wú hé chù is wherever, but i want to get the nuances right for an intergenerational class. any suggestions?

[tooironic]

Faith is quite a loaded word in English. Even translated literally, I'm not sure the full effect would transfer over to Chinese. "Journey of faith" makes it even more awkward. Perhaps you should rethink the wording first.

[889]

I'd agree that "journey of faith" is probably too subtle an English phrase to use here in Chinese. Though it sounds too direct in English, are you simply trying to say, "Regardless of your [religious] beliefs, you are welcome here"?

[Tippy]

yes, you have captured the idea or spirit of what i am trying to convey. i know the cultural differences affect the english phrasing. any suggestions would be welcome. thanks

[Tippy]

i suppose it could be taken to mean your journey through life, the path you've chosen, etc.

but since it is a ministry that is what they asked for--they are not familiar with chinese culture either. bit of a diplomatic semantics quest i guess. appreciate all the responses.

zai zhegge difang for in this place (here)? dou wangle, i'm afraid.

[skylee]

Consider -

無論你有沒有信仰、有甚麼信仰，歡迎你。 (traditional script)

无论你有没有信仰、有什么信仰，欢迎你。 (simplified script)

wúlùn nǐ yǒu méiyǒu xìnyǎng, yǒu shénme xìnyǎng, huānyíng nǐ. (machine translated pinyin)

[Guoke]

不分宗教信仰，一律欢迎

[skylee]

Guoke's is good.

[Tippy]

Thank you all so much!

Duo xie!

[Tippy]

the best chinese cultural version i could come up with was

无论你是谁，我们都欢迎你

[imron]

Guoke's is good.

[Kenny同志]

How about 不论您宗教信仰如何，我们都欢迎？

Edited February 12, 2010 at 06:36 AM by kenny2006woo

[Tippy]

Thank you--that's another good one for interdenominational and I have given it to the class coordinator--appreciate everyone's help and kindness on this site!!