Even when speaking the same language, we can easily misunderstand each other.

In life, there are many ways we can misunderstand each another, but when living in a foreign culture I have come to realize that the number of those ways can seem to increase exponentially.  I have been working with a Chinese colleague, Doris, on editing Chinese to English translations of series of texts about  China’s role in the development of east Africa.  When I was first given this assignment, I was worried about how I would give feedback to my Chinese colleagues.  After all, “face” is an important issue here.  How do you criticize someone’s work without making them lose face? 

The work has been tedious at best.  First, let me give you a sample of the kind of writing I have been asked to fix.  Please feel free to skip to the end of the quote as soon as your head starts to hurt.

“In the process of promoting cooperation with East African countries, it is necessary to proceed from the two aspects of promoting cooperation with specific countries and promoting and unifying East Africa market, and we need to comprehensively smooth and optimize the cooperative relationship between two sides. At the national level, East Africa is made up of six independent sovereign states. Up to now, these six member states have all completed signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with China, and we have achieved 100% full coverage of China-Africa cooperation for all member countries. However, from the perspective as a whole, the six member states are moving towards deep economic and social integration under the leadership of the EAC. In the future, it is expected to realize a unified East African market dominated by market allocation, enabling the production factors such as manpower, technology, capital and materials to flow between countries in a barrier-free way. In addition, the current EAC member states have also joined the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and also participated in the construction of the newly opened African Continental Free Trade Area. In the future, the six countries will become an organic component of the wider free market on the African continent. In this case, in order to enhance the economic dependence between the six countries and avoid the loss by internecine struggle among the six countries due to their same economic structure and product exports. Therefore, in the process of that China is comprehensively deepening the cooperation with East Africa, it is necessary to tease the cooperation plans of the EAC and all member countries, give full play to the comparative advantages of each country, combine the actual conditions of each country, foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, and try to avoid the emergence of homogenization cooperation, so as to clear the latent dangers for the deep development of East Africa integration and long-term cooperation between China and East African countries.”

            I have done my best to point out the problems with the text.   Specifically, I have identified comma splices, run on sentences, verb tense agreement problems etc.   Finally, because I felt that my advice was not helping much, I sent the following two We-chat messages to Doris. 

“Hi Doris.  I actually had time today and worked on the text.  I am really sorry to tell you this, but I don't understand large parts of it.  I feel that the only way I could help you get a text that his comprehensible would be to sit down with the writer and ask them to tell me what they want to say.” 

“I have noticed that when my students write awkward things, I can meet with them and ask, "What are you trying to say?"  They typically respond in very clear English with what they mean!  Then I say, "Ah ha, now I get it!  Let's write it down!"”

I should add that I had just helped two fourth year students win second prize in a national essay writing competition.   I was amazed that with just five one-hour sessions over five weeks I was able to greatly improve their writing.  I was feeling confident that my offer for face to face coaching would pay off. 

A couple of days later Doris sent me the four following images:

She added the following:

“David, these are the signs to be used in I-harbor.”  (This is a new campus.)

“Please check whether they are appropriate.”

“Also, whether there are other problems.”

I panicked.  I really thought I was being criticized.  I had gone too far and was making Doris lose face with her colleagues.   To try to avoid further conflict, I took the latest translation work and rewrote it, line by line, guessing at the meaning of the text.   I give a few examples below.

“In the process of promoting cooperation with East African countries, it is necessary to proceed from the two aspects of promoting cooperation with specific countries and promoting and unifying East Africa market, and we need to comprehensively smooth and optimize the cooperative relationship between two sides.”

In the process of promoting cooperation with the East African countries, China must proceed by individualizing the nature of the cooperation with specific member states.  In addition, China should work to promote and unify the East African market to foster a smooth, cooperative relationship.

“At the national level, East Africa is made up of six independent sovereign states. Up to now, these six member states have all completed signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with China, and we have achieved 100% full coverage of China-Africa cooperation for all member countries.”

East Africa is made up of six independent states.  Up to now, these six member states have all signed with China the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation under the “Belt and Road” Initiative. At this time, we have achieved full coverage of China-Africa cooperation for all member countries. 

“However, from the perspective as a whole, the six member states are moving towards deep economic and social integration under the leadership of the EAC.”

When the EAC states are considered as a whole, it is apparent that under the EAC leadership, they are moving towards deep economic and social integration.

A couple of days later I heard again from Doris.  She asked me to call her.  She told me that she did not mean to criticize me and that she really wanted me to simply check those signs that were to be used at a new campus.  She wanted to be sure that the spelling, grammar and tone of the new signs were all appropriate.  She said that the signs were supposed to help keep the noise level down at the new I-harbor campus.  I told her I was relieved.  I also told her I thought the signs were fine.  Would I really criticize anything else now?

Later said that she understood the misunderstanding and that it made her laugh. She felt sorry that she scared me. 

Why was I so afraid?  I think there are things in China’s history that are frightening.  I have no interest in picking a fight with anyone here.  So, how to do you give criticism, correct or edit a colleague’s text without causing a stir?  Am I being too much of a perfectionist in my editing?  I don’t want my "pursuit of excellence to be the enemy of good enough".  Finally, who is really going to read these texts?  I have tried to find out, but have not gotten any clear answers.  Maybe they are just fulfilling a bureaucratic booklet need and I shouldn’t worry about how good they are.  I don’t have answers to these questions yet.  I may never have them.  

At this point, this is still a work in progress.  I will keep you posted as to how the project develops and what happens next.