雷立克

[Kenny同志]

This is a transliteration of the name of a professor from the University of Newcastle Newcastle University. He visited Xiamen University in 1944 and might have belonged to the same generation as Joseph Needham. Any idea what his English name was?

 

I thought it was Rennick, but Google seemed to suggest I was wrong.

[imron]

I can't help with the transliteration, but it's worth keeping in mind that any English source material won't refer to Xiamen University.  At that time it was known as the National University of Amoy.

 

Also, just for clarification, a bit of googling in Chinese tells me you are referring to "Newcastle University" in the UK, rather than "University of Newcastle" (which is in Australia).

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for the information, Imron. I will see if I can find anything useful with this new information.

[陳德聰]

I would have thought of a surname like Lerrick?

[imron]

Unfortunately I don't think you're going to have much luck.  I found this page which lists Chinese names of western scholars, and which lists both 葛德石 and 李约瑟 (who are listed alongside 雷立克 here), but not 雷立克.

[roddy]

See here -he's a professor of English lit. See also last page here - source in the footnote might help, if it can be found. 

 

If you're just getting paid the ordinary rate for this translation, it's probably not worth chasing. But I think your best bet is to contact the university and ask if there's any way to get a list of professors of English lit, 1944. How many can there be?

 

This kind of stuff is fun. Couple of months back I ended up emailing some ornithologist to thank him for a recording of a birdsong he'd put online years earlier. 

 

And this: http://alumni.xmu.edu.cn/xiaoy/literaryworld/20130425/2117.html

[Kenny同志]

Many thanks for your help, everybody. I appreciate it.

 

This is very frustrating. I will get in touch with the university and see if they can provide me with any clue.

 

If you're just getting paid the ordinary rate for this translation, it's probably not worth chasing. 

Good point. And yes, I've started doing Chinese > English translation, just to make ends meet. So embarrassing, isn't it?

[889]

Find a copy of the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook from the 1940s and look under University of Durham. There should be a complete faculty listing.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for your suggestion, 889. I would give it a try if I was at Beijing University. 

[Kenny同志]

They said it was Rerik - not even a full name, but I couldn't find any professor with that name from Newcastle University.

[PinyinHarry]

Kenny I think the name is Ray Rickettsia. I only found one mention of him on Google -

 

http://www.swewe.net/word_show.htm/?1150892_1&Xiamen_University

[Kenny同志]

You're amazing, Harry! That's it. Thank you!

[Kenny同志]

You're amazing, Harry! That's it. Thank you!

I will drop them a note.

[PinyinHarry]

Glad to be of assistance Kenny!

[roddy]

Good work! How'd you track it down?

[roddy]

Hang on a minute! That page is Google translated (or at least that name is). Rickettsia is a type of bacteria, not a surname. Pending further sources, I'm retracting my amazement. 

[imron]

Kenny I think the name is Ray Rickettsia.

I would say it's absolutely not this.

 

This is the translation provided by Google Translate.  I went down that rabbit hole when looking for the answer and came to the conclusion that it was not the person you are looking for.

[Kenny同志]

That page is Google translated (or at least that name is). Rickettsia is a type of bacteria, not a surname. 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback, Roddy and Imron. I will retract the message I sent to the PM last night.

 

This kind of thing is so time-consuming that I am constantly tempted to charge more. I wonder, why not those clients compile a full bilingual glossary of proper names and highly specialised words for their translators. This would not only save the translator a great deal of time but also help to improve the overall quality of the translation.

 

 

 

@Harry

Don't worry about this, Harry. It's fine. Your help is greatly appreciated. : )

[imron]

I wonder, why not those clients compile a full bilingual glossary of proper names and highly specialised words for their translators

Some do.  The company I worked for several years back in Beijing did regular translation of news items from Chinese media and kept a bilingual glossary of names, companies, government institutions, products and more.

[Kenny同志]

That’s good to know. Unfortunately, I have not had the luck to work for such a company.