In the middle of the twentieth century, the People’s Republic of China made the decision to simplify the written form of the Chinese language in an effort to make it easier for the general populace, both for native and non-native speakers. It was at that point that two distinct versions of Chinese were introduced into general use: Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
Simplified Chinese is a fairly modern language, springing into existence in 1949. The Chinese Government hoped to promote literacy and language learning, and decided to make the language more accessible by reducing the number of strokes needed to form a character. Today, Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and in Singapore, but the Chinese-speaking world has not abandoned Traditional Chinese entirely.
Traditional written Chinese is used broadly in Hong Kong and Taiwan nowadays. As its name indicates, this is the traditional form of Chinese that has been used over thousands of years and countless generations across China. Although the mainland uses the simplified version, Hong Kong and Taiwanese citizens use the traditional version of the language, due to a political separation that kept them apart from the mainland.
Likewise, there are two spoken styles of Chinese language: Cantonese and Mandarin. Mandarin is the official language of China, and the language most used by Chinese expatriates around the globe. Mandarin is used widely in Mainland China where simplified written Chinese is also used, as well as in Taiwan and Singapore. Cantonese is used largely where traditional written Chinese is used: in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
But what really is the difference between Traditional and Simplified Chinese? When Simplified Chinese was first created, the idea was that there would be no difference in the languages themselves, but only in the methodology used to create the form of the Chinese characters. Simplified Chinese characters use fewer strokes and are just easier to write than Traditional Chinese characters. However, Simplified Chinese has evolved over time, as languages are wont to do.
It is the Internet age that sped up the evolution of Simplified Chinese. New words have sprung up out of modern times — words like “internet,” “hard drive,” “smart phone,” “software,” and so on. Naturally, these new words are expressed differently in Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
The other primary influence on the development of Simplified Chinese has been the political unrest between the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong and Taiwan over the last several decades. This fissure has created some small variations in how different dialects and written forms of Chinese are used. These small variations make Chinese a particularly challenging language for a translator, as they must understand precisely where the document is coming from in order to translate it effectively. Is it in Mandarin or Cantonese? Is it Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese? And, further, is it for the Simplified Chinese used in an isolated political region? It’s a lot to consider.
But ultimately, the Chinese language and all its subsequent dialogues represent a long and storied history of written and spoken language that dates back thousands of years. Such a history is worth respecting and studying, particularly now when Chinese is among the most widely spoken languages on the planet.
