WITH Chinese online literature continuing to attract millions of overseas readers, translators are in high demand to convert these works into different languages.

For example, they are translated into English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Arabic, according to a report last year by the consultancy iResearch.

Rachel Chan Suet Kay, a research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, or KITA, at the National University of Malaysia, said capable freelance or amateur translators, who form communities with their own rules for translation, play a key role in attracting international readers to Chinese online literature.

As global bilingual or even multilingual talent, these translators play a highly important role in spreading interest in Chinese online literature as well as its adaptation for televised dramas, Chan said. She added that translators also help spread Chinese culture and history worldwide, as they often engage with readers to answer questions.

The number of overseas readers of Chinese online literary works is expected to exceed 850 million in Southeast Asia, Europe and North America in the future, according to a report last year by market watcher iResearch.

Translator “etvolare,” who only shared her online user name, is an American Chinese living in Taiwan. She used to work in the finance and banking industry in New York, but after finding that her real passion lay in translating online literature, she established the website volarenovels in 2015.

She said people with bilingual backgrounds such as herself have a unique advantage in translating Chinese web novels, adding: “A lot of people usually start off as hobbyists. They are fresh college graduates or even high school students.”

Since it was launched, volarenovels has become one of the biggest English-language websites for translated Chinese works. As of September the site offered nearly 50 titles for readers globally, with 30 to 40 translators from all over the world, including Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

To concentrate more on translation, “etvolare” stepped down from a management role at the site. Her own works that have been translated, including “Sovereign of the Three Realms” and “Return of the Swallow,” receive more than 7 million views per month.

“Thyaeria,” a translator in Singapore, developed an interest in such work in 2014 while reading the Chinese web novel Martial God Asura. Too impatient to wait for the English-language chapters posted by other “fan translators,” he tried to read the original story in Chinese and started to translate as a hobby.

At first, “Thyaeria,” as an overseas Chinese, found it hard to read the original Chinese-language versions and had to rely on an audiobook to help him understand the characters. He translated only one or two chapters for fun, but then received many requests, and even donations, from other readers online who wanted to see more of his work. As a result, the accounting student found that the job not only fueled his interest in Chinese online literature but also provided a satisfying income.

According to “etvolare,” translations are difficult because Chinese and English are very different in terms of grammar, context, idiomatic usage and writing style.

She said stories in which the protagonists seek self-improvement and even immortality are especially popular. “These are really hard to translate ... the story often touches on Taoism or Buddhism, the translator’s in for a wild ride then.”

Some Southeast Asian translators have an advantage, as they are exposed to English through having close ties to Chinese culture.

Chan, from KITA, said many people in Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, are educated in Chinese. “This includes not only those of Chinese ethnicity but other ethnicities as well.”

China Literature, one of the country’s largest online literature companies, said it recruits more than 70 percent of its translators from Southeast Asia. Webnovel, the company’s platform for English-speaking readers, featured more than 500 translated Chinese web novels as of September.

But “etvolare” said that as English is usually not the mother tongue of many people in Southeast Asia, these translators face the challenge of ensuring that their work reads well.

To check his own translation, “Thyaeria” has been working with an editor from the United States.

According to “etvolare,” work on web novels also differs from regular translation, which can be mostly verbatim, as the translator needs to be a good storyteller who can rewrite the narrative to ensure it is easily understood by readers.

Translating Chinese online literature not only centers on web novels. As it has expanded overseas, the genre has become more diverse, being adapted for movies and television programs, games, as well as animation works and comics.

WuxiaWorld is a popular web novel translation forum established by Chinese American Lai Jingping, better known by his online username “RWX.”

In September, WuxiaWorld announced the launch of Wutopia Comics to translate works produced in Mandarin and take Chinese entertainment and culture to the international community. The website was established in cooperation with Chinese manhua (comics) content provider and distributor Kuang Sheng.

KITA’s Chan said that as South Korean pop culture has become popular globally due to fan support, she expects a similar development for Chinese online literature.

“If these ‘fan’ translation platforms were to be monetized, such as providing a platform where publishers or drama producers can engage or outsource translation talent for a fee, it would be a good source of income for global bilingual talent,” Chan said.

Nury Vittachi, co-founder of the Asia Pacific Writers and Translators Association, noting the availability translation powered by technologies such as artificial intelligence, said human translators are still needed, as the “capability of machines” is limited to news sources or business news announcements. (China Daily)