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Chinese / Year 9 and 10 / Communicating meaning in Chinese / Mediating meaning in and between languages
Curriculum content descriptions
apply strategies to interpret and translate non-verbal, spoken and written interactions and texts, to convey meaning and intercultural understanding in familiar and unfamiliar contexts (AC9LC10EC05)
Elaborations
- analysing Chinese texts alongside their English translations to identify the challenges of translating culture, and developing strategies to overcome these challenges, by asking, “What is lost in translation?”, “Why can’t we just translate word for word?”, “Why do contexts matter?”, for example, examining why, “How’s it going?” is difficult to translate into Chinese
- comparing word choices for public signs across languages, and discussing ways language is used to convey rules, expectations, and permission, for example, comparing 闲人免进 to ‘Staff Only’
- translating intended meaning of an interaction by avoiding literal (word for word) translations, for example, mediating a response to a compliment such as 你的衣服真漂亮 with 哪里哪里, and recognising that meaning may be implied rather than stated explicitly, for example, the use of 吧 to indirectly reject or refuse others in 我能来看看你吗？...不太好吧？
- exploring ways to interpret and explain key concepts and cultural practices identified in Chinese interactions such as 面子, and experimenting with how to give 面子 in interactions with others
- exploring the contexts and implications of terms used to identify others, for example, 华侨, 华裔, 大陆人, 华人, 中国人, 少数民族
- explaining meaning of scripts and lyrics, and recognising how feelings/emotions are expressed in subtle ways, using stylistic devices or symbolism, for example, 月亮代表我的心
- identifying and responding to intended and unintended meanings conveyed in interactions, for example, noticing contradictions between what is being said and the posture, movement, gesture and expression of participants, and asking, “How do I interpret the real meaning?”, “Are the speakers just being polite or are their words genuine?”
- considering the uses of different measure words in Chinese, for example, 小勺 and 茶匙, 斤 and 克, when comparing several Chinese translations of the same recipe
- translating information about aspects of life in Australia to Chinese-speaking readers overseas, considering the audience’s cultural experiences to determine what concepts they would find difficult to understand, and exploring ways to elaborate on ideas to ensure clarity of meaning, conveying nuances of word formation and contexts such as 澳白咖啡 ‘flat white’
- exploring the ways in which English words and phrases are incorporated into everyday communication in Chinese in digital media, for example, finding English expressions of emotion used in chat forums and texts messaging 去 happy 吧, and Pinyin abbreviations replacing characters L P = 老婆
General capabilities
ScOT terms
Chinese languages, Nonverbal communication, Cultural contexts, Cultural interaction