Cantonese interpretation services are your key to unlocking Hong Kong.

 

As a former UK colony, Hong Kong boasts one of the highest English proficiency rates in East Asia, where English comprehension levels are notoriously low. However, even though English historically played a crucial role in Hong Kong society, its importance nowadays has significantly diminished, and many Hong Kongers do not speak English at a satisfactory level. So, if you’re in Hong Kong and need to communicate with locals, you may just need Cantonese interpretation services.

​

Here at TranslationServices.com, we can help you navigate the bustling city of Hong Kong with our pinpointed Cantonese interpretation services. And it’s not just Hong Kong—if you’re in Macau or a Cantonese-speaking area of southeastern China, we have people on the ground there who can help you. Our mission is to help English speakers seamlessly navigate Cantonese-speaking areas, whether they’re there on business, for research, for exploration, or for any other reason.

 

If you’d like a free quote for our Cantonese interpretation services, send us a message now!

 

What is Cantonese, and how is it different from Mandarin?

 

Cantonese and Mandarin are both considered “Chinese,” but they’re so different that they’re mutually unintelligible—this is largely due to pronunciation differences, but there are also glaring grammatical differences. Cantonese is the star of the Yue group of Sinitic languages, spoken in southeastern China and the two autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in overseas communities throughout the Chinese diaspora. The language boasts an estimated 80 million native speakers.

​

Cantonese and Mandarin share many similarities: they’re closely related Sinitic languages with highly analytic structures, featuring minimal inflection, a lack of tenses, and a logographic writing system with thousands of unique characters. However, they’re not the same, not even in writing. Since Cantonese often uses different vocabulary from Mandarin, the languages often use entirely different characters to express the same ideas. Other grammatical differences include word order: in Cantonese, the direct object comes before the indirect object (e.g., “I give the book to you”), whereas in Mandarin, the indirect object always comes first (e.g., “I give you the book”).

 

Cantonese also features a habitual aspect marker to indicate general or habitual actions, with no counterpart in Mandarin. Clearly, then, Mandarin interpretation services won’t cut it—you need dedicated Cantonese interpretation services in Cantonese-speaking areas.

 

Interpreting Cantonese for you in person or online

 

Whether you’re in Hong Kong, Macau, southeastern China, or anywhere else in the world, you may require high-quality Cantonese interpretation services. Our interpretation team is available regardless of your location, happy to provide either in-person or remote services. On-site interpretation services offer more reliability—no need to worry about your network connection—but remote interpretation services are a convenient option for many people.

​

With skilled Cantonese interpreters stationed across Hong Kong, Macau, southeastern China, and the Cantonese-speaking diaspora, we have someone on the ground no matter where you are in the Cantonese-speaking world. But what if you’re somewhere outside the Cantonese-speaking world and require Cantonese interpretation services? No worries—for the right price, we’ll fly one of our Cantonese interpreters out to meet you.

​

Of course, with remote Cantonese interpretation services, location is no object—all you need is a reliable internet connection. Our Cantonese interpreter will join your call, whether over Zoom, Skype, the telephone, or another communication medium; and they can interpret your meeting, interview, or conversation comfortably over the internet. With our Cantonese interpreters scattered around the world, you won’t have to worry about time zones either.

 

Simultaneous or consecutive Cantonese interpretation: which do you prefer?

 

We offer both simultaneous and consecutive interpretation services for Cantonese. Simultaneous interpretation is best for those giving a presentation, participating in a multilingual conference, or airing a TV broadcast. Here, our Cantonese interpreters will translate the spoken material in real time, with just a slight delay from the original speech.

​

Consecutive interpretation is better for interactive communication with fewer parties—say, a small business meeting or conference or a one-on-one interview. Here, our Cantonese interpreter only translates the information after the respective speaker has finished—typically just one sentence at a time. Which type of service is best for you depends on your needs, but since we offer both, you can rest assured you’ll be receiving the right Cantonese interpretation services for you. 

 

Don’t worry about technical language with our Cantonese interpreters.

 

If your communication involves complex, technical topics, don’t stress. All you have to do is let us know in advance. With a Cantonese interpretation team as large as ours, it’s easy to find interpretation professionals with expertise in all sorts of secondary fields. No matter your specialty, we’ll match you with the right Cantonese interpreter for the job.

​

Message us today to discuss how you can make the most of our Cantonese interpretation services.