Born in times of change

The Science and Technology Translators Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (STTACAS) was created in September 1986. Right from the beginning, one of its purposes was to establish academic connections with international organisations. For that reason, a year after its foundation, STTACAS became a member of the International Translators Federation (FIT).

Nowadays, there are approximately 14 local branches of this translation association, spread all over the Chinese territories.

STTACAS offers a wide range of services in the areas of translation and interpreting – and others related – with “its professional competence”. The Chinese organisation has established partnerships which allow it to cooperate regularly with many institutions that focus on translation, research, higher-learning but also corporate enterprises – translation companies, for example – both in China and abroad.

In the early 1980s, China went through many cultural changes, allowing its population to be more open to what was happening beyond the country’s borders. The transformation originated by these changes affected the whole population, with many professions gaining a new meaning and weight within society. Translation was no exception. On the contrary, the country’s new life led to the establishment of a true academic community related to translation and interpreting.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences, the mother organisation of STTACAS, played an important part in those times of change. At that time, some of the translators association’s future founders and members – already well-known as scholars – became protagonists, thus reaching the masses and increasing the acknowledgement of the importance of translation.

The translation association’s activities can go from the organisation of numerous kinds of symposiums and workshops about translation and interpretation to the sponsorship of various types of foreign language training courses as well as the dissemination of the experience of teaching foreign languages. In collaboration with the University of Science and Technology of China and its graduate school, the translators association trains all types of qualified translation personnel.

STTACAS organises regular seminars and meetings that comprise both theory and the practical side of the profession. Moreover, the association is involved in the organisation and management of international conferences. From the actual idea to the simple provision of services and facilities, STTACAS works together with the Centre for International Scientific Exchanges of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In addition, the organisation offers translation and consultation services. Presently, there are 15 languages in which STTACAS can provide translation and interpretation: English, French, Russian, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Romanian, Arabic, Uigur, Esperanto, Indonesian and Czech.

Another of the activities in which the translation association is involved is the compilation and publishing of academic books and materials on translation. STTACAS can provide information and literature on the management of high-tech industries. It is also responsible for the publishing of several academic journals, such as the Chinese Science and Technology Translators Journal and the CAS Newsletter.

In a nutshell, STTACAS’ work concerns a commitment towards the engagement in all vocational activities related to translation and interpreting, both in China and all around the world. The association is willing to help and support the establishment of affiliated organisations and to participate in their activities as well as provide them with guidance concerning the organisation of events and their general tasks.

Keep in mind that Chinese is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Standard Chinese is a standardized form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese, perhaps the most popular of the language’s variants. There are approximately 1.3 billion Chinese speakers in the world.

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