Pleco Chinese Dictionary Instruction Manual : Cheng & Tsui English-Chinese Lexicon of Business Terms
Compiled by Andrew C. Chang
张介州 编
Copyright © 2002 by Cheng & Tsui Company.
Increasing trade and interaction with Chinese-speaking areas of the Pacific Rim highlight the necessity for greater communication and understanding between the rest of the world and native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. Consequently, Business Chinese has been incorporated into the traditional language curriculum of many colleges and universities offering Asian studies.
There is no scarcity of English-Chinese dictionaries for native speakers of the Chinese language. However, there is a lack of suitable materials for non-native Chinese speakers. This lexicon is specifically designed to serve as a reference book for students of Business Chinese and for people working in a business setting related to China. It is a comprehensive volume, for it encompasses terms covering a wide range of business topics such as banking, finance, insurance, international trade, real estate, stocks and bonds, and business-related legal jargon. In addition, a substantial body of generic vocabulary used in the business context is included. This lexicon is self-contained in the sense that English entry words are arranged alphabetically, with the Chinese equivalents (in simplified Chinese characters) shown side by side. Also, all the Chinese terms and expressions are phoneticized in the pinyin system. Therefore, it is easy for the user to locate the target English term, along with the corresponding Chinese term and its pronunciation. Many key words or main entries contain multiple definitions conveying the different uses for the word in different contexts in which it may occur, thus giving the lexicon a multi-dimensional character. Also included are some frequently used English colloquial expressions for additional reference.
The advent of the Internet and the emergence of e-business has changed the map of the business world dramatically. The proliferation of Web-enabled business utilizing new information technology (IT) for delivery of goods and services has widened the horizon of business activities. As a result, a new dimension has been added to business vocabulary used in cyberspace. In the face of this new reality and in order to keep abreast with the new business trends, a small section dealing with IT and e-commerce has been added to reflect the current state of business and the economy.
Obviously this is a daunting task for anyone to take on, for it requires an expertise that covers a wide spectrum of business disciplines and managerial science. I am very fortunate to be associated with a graduate school of international business at which teaching and learning management science as well as discussion about business trends is our daily routine. With the existing dictionaries and reference books that provide a frame and core information, it was relatively easy for me to build on and develop a handbook that reflects more realistically the current state of globalizing business and international economy. Furthermore, my previous research on business Japanese and the subsequent publication of a more detailed English-Japanese Dictionary of Business Terms and Usage prepared me to launch this seemingly overwhelming project with a much smoother start.
In sum, this book is essentially a practical handbook that summarizes and organizes essential business words and terms into a single volume for fast and easy access.
I am grateful to the following persons for their help in updating the original manuscript: Fun Shun, Xu Hui, Lin Chia-i, and Wu Hsiang-ying, all former and current graduate assistants at this school, for their painstaking formatting job of the entire manuscript and addition of appendices.
My special thanks go to two exchange scholars from China: Ms. Xiaoe Liu of the University of International Business and Economy (UIBE), Beijing, and Prof. Kouqing Li of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE). Their advice and input was highly valued and their generosity in offering their expert knowledge during their stay on this campus for research and studies is deeply appreciated.
I am especially indebted to Prof. James E. Dew, former professor of Chinese language and linguistics at the University of Michigan and former director of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Languages Studies (also known as the Stanford Center) in Taipei, Taiwan. He graciously accepted the task of editing the manuscript in his retirement. His profound knowledge of the Chinese language, together with his extensive experience in the preparation and publication of Chinese teaching materials, has been an invaluable and ready source of advice and guidance, with the result that this book is substantially enhanced in terms of both its content and layout.
In spite of all of the professional help received and every effort that I have put into this project in assuring its accuracy and correctness, some errors and omission are obviously inevitable. For these I will be solely responsible, and I would appreciate the understanding and indulgence of the readers as well as their comments and suggestions so that I can incorporate their feedback for improvement in the future.
Andrew C. Chang
Professor of Chinese/Japanese
Department of Modern Languages
Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management
Glendale, Arizona
Summer, 2001
Main entries are printed in boldface type and followed by Chinese equivalent terms in characters and pinyin. Secondary entries are indented and printed in italics.
In order to save space, the main entry term contained in each secondary entry is represented by a tilde " ~ " in mid-line position. For example, in:
acceptance
~ agreement
the symbol " ~ " stands for "acceptance," and the secondary entry should thus be read "acceptance agreement."
For brevity and clarity, a number of notational conventions have been adopted. Examples are given below for illustration:
1. Chinese equivalents (and frequently, multiple equivalents) after each English entry are given in Chinese characters followed by pinyin with tone marks for pronunciation of the Chinese. A main entry is often followed by one or more secondary entries illustrating the Chinese equivalents. E.g.:
abut (v.) 连接/ liánjiē, 接触 / jiēchu
~ting building 连接的建筑物 / liánjiē de jiànzhùwù
This indicates that the word "abut" may be translated into Chinese by either of two near synonyms, 连接/ liánjiē and 接触 / jiēchu, and the more appropriate one should be chosen for a given context.
2. While two Chinese terms that are essentially synonymous are separated by a comma (as above), a semicolon is used to separate terms whose meaning and contextual usage are clearly different. E.g.:
assign (v.) 分配 / fēnpèi; 转让财产 / zhuǎnràng cáichǎn
This indicates that the word "assign" has two different Chinese equivalents depending on context.
3. Terms enclosed within parentheses are optional and may appear or not without changing the essential meaning of the longer expression. E.g.:
easing (n.)
~ of money (market) (市场)银根松 / (shìchǎng) yíngēn sōng
This indicates the parenthesized word "market" or "市场 / shìchǎng" is optional.
4. Square brackets enclose terms that are alternatives to the preceding word, where either choice is acceptable. E.g.:
accounting (n.)
~ book
~ entry 会计分录[入账] / kuàijì fēnlù [rùzhàng]
This indicates that either term, “分录” or “入账”, is appropriate, and the two terms are thus interchangeable.
5. The arrow sign, "→" indicates that the reader should refer to other appropriate entries.
adj. adjective
adv. adverb
n. noun
L. Latin
v. verb
pref. prefix
prep. preposition
[证] 证卷 / stock
[法] 法律 / law
[会] 会计 / accounting
[不动] 不动产 / real estate
[保] 保险 / insurance
[税] 税务 / tax
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