Challenges Confronting Translators in Multilingual and Multi-Ethnic Singapore

Abstract

Singapore is a cosmopolitan city whose population is multiracial & multilingual. The majority of Singaporeans are functionally bilingual, ie, they know English & a mother tongue of their own; an ethnic Chinese Singaporean thus can speak English & Mandarin Chinese. Translation in Singapore faces certain challenges. Here, we highlight what some of these problems are in the specific instance of translating into English from Malay. There is a tendency among Malays to write in a pseudospoken style & it has generally been acknowledged that spoken Malay is considerably different from written standard Malay. Often the impact of the translation may not be the same as that intended by the original & may be totally misconstrued.