Translation of Classical Chinese document in the UK

[arbitrarymoon]

I have a document (personal genealogy) which is written in Classical Chinese that i'd like to have translated into English. I've made enquiries with a few translation companies/services that deal with Modern Standard Chinese but they have been unable to take on the work for lack of staff knowledgeable in Classical Chinese.

Could anybody recommend a company or individual who might be able to help?

[skylee]

kenny2006woo, Daan

[creamyhorror]

skylee

[Daan]

If there are any translation companies at all that can do this for you, I'd think they'd probably be based in China. I can't think of any Western companies that offer Classical Chinese > English translation services. Hardly surprising, though, as there is probably no market at all for this kind of work. There's some people around here with the necessary skills, though, including kenny2006woo, skylee, and perhaps myself.

I'd be interested to know about more about the text you would like to have translated. How long is the piece, i.e. roughly how many characters? Can you give us an indication of the period in which it was written? And is there any background information available about the document?

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for recommending me, Skylee and Daan.

Personally, I would not suggest the OP entrust the document to a Chinese translation agency in that Chinese agencies are notorious for bad CE translations.

Daan and Skylee would be the right people for the job. I, as a translator, usually work into Chinese only.

[Gymnosopher]

My friend is a native Chinese interpreter and translator working between the UK and China, don't know whether she'd feel up to classical Chinese though has been reviewing it recently so perhaps drop her an email with a sample to see.

Her website is www.evaxu.com and there's a contact form on there.

Best of luck to you!

[Lugubert]

Don't you think that there are university teachers who might appreciate some extra cash?

[skylee]

Which?

[jbradfor]

Just curious: how do you know it is written in Classical Chinese? For a personal genealogy I would think that would be quite strange? Formal Chinese maybe, but Classical?