L2 Chinese-to-Spanish Professional Translation in China A Study based on Job Advert and Survey Analysis

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Published: Dec 15, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/lincu-2025-si-0426
Keywords:
L2 translation scientific and technical translation professional translation Chinese-to-Spanish translation survey-based study

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Yifan Miao
Wenzhou Business College
Patricia Rodríguez-Inés
Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Helena Casas-Tost
Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Abstract

L2 translation has a long history in China. Following economic reforms in the late 1970s, the country’s government encouraged translation into foreign languages in specialized fields. Nonetheless, there are very few studies of L2 translation in China, and fewer still of specialized L2 translation. This article presents a descriptive study of L2 profesional translation in China’s translation market, based on data from two sources: (1) job adverts for Chinese-to-Spanish translators; and (2) a survey of translation companies that work with Spanish in China. The results show that there is a large volume of L2 Chinese-to-Spanish translation, encompassing a wide variety of areas of specialization, a key one of which is scientific and technical translation.

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How to Cite
Miao, Y., P. Rodríguez-Inés, and H. Casas-Tost. “L2 Chinese-to-Spanish Professional Translation in China: A Study Based on Job Advert and Survey Analysis”. Linguaculture, vol. 16, no. Special Issue, Dec. 2025, pp. 107-36, doi:10.47743/lincu-2025-si-0426.
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Vol. 16 No. Special Issue (2025): Language(s) and (re)translation in a changing world
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Yifan Miao, Wenzhou Business College

Yifan MIAO is a lecturer in the School of International Studies at Wenzhou Business College. She holds a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research focuses on translator training, second language (L2) translation, and Spanish as a foreign language. She has translated books in the fields of art, science, and psychology, and has published articles on diverse topics, with a particular emphasis on L2 translation. She is a member of the FORTI (Translator and Interpreter Training) and ECOTRAD (Eco-sustainability in Translation Studies) groups and has participated in several regionally, nationally, and internationally funded projects.

Patricia Rodríguez-Inés, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Patricia RODRÍGUEZ-INÉS is a senior lecturer in the Department of Translation, Interpreting and East Asian Studies of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research interests include translator training; corpus linguistics applied to translation; and translation competence, its acquisition and its levels. She has been a member of the PACTE research group and chair of the TREC researcher network. She has participated in 21 regional, national and international funded projects, the most recently completed being the European project EFFORT (Towards a European Framework of Reference for Translation), which she co-coordinated. She is the author of over 50 publications about translator training, corpora and translation competence. She is the principal investigator of the FORTI (Translator and Interpreter Training) and ECOTRAD (Eco-sustainability in Translation Studies) groups, and currently leads the TRANSFORMATEC project.

Helena Casas-Tost, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Helena CASAS-TOST is a senior lecturer in the Department of Translation, Interpreting and East Asian Studies of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research focuses on teaching Chinese as an additional language and on translation from Chinese into Catalan and Spanish, with a particular emphasis on audiovisual translation. With over 20 years of teaching experience, she has authored more than 40 publications, including books, book chapters academic and articles in leading journals in the fields of Translation Studies and Chinese language and applied linguistics. She has participated in several international and state-funded projects and is currently a member of TXICC and GELEA2LT research groups. She currently co-leads the state-funded project Generatese2LT.

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