Following the lead set by Huawei several years ago, Samsung is now offering smartphone translation services. These AI translation tools have taken giant strides when it comes to breaking down language barriers.
It is not quite the Star Trek universal translator but Huawei’s voice-to-audio translation is real-time and the translation quality is excellent.
However, there are some significant traps with using these apps when working in the China market. In many ways, they are an extension of the problems that occur with human interpreters and translators, so it’s useful to refresh our expectations both in terms of smartphones and the AI-driven translation apps.
AI is great at crunching words, but it doesn’t always get the meaning or the context of those words. There are very important differences in the language used in textbooks appearing in language programmes and phrase books from which AI “learned” its translation skills.
What is learned from the books may not be the same as the language we speak. Language texts often still quote “Ni chi le ma?” (Have you eaten?) as a standard greeting. It went out of common usage after the Great Leap Forward period in 1961.
The few people who continue to use this greeting are perhaps those from the countryside. It’s not exactly the impression you want to give for business.
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Good friends will correct your poor or out-of-date Chinese, just as you will correct their quaint or idiosyncratic English. However, once you move into even slightly more formal circles, it is important to get even the simple phrases correct.
These mistakes are amusing or, at times, an irritating problem on a personal level. If we make mistakes like this in these small matters of language, then the potential for significant misunderstanding is increased as the demands of language become more complex.
AI translation fails to capture these nuances of meaning and intent. AI is smart, but it does not pick up on those delicate cultural cues that can make or break your message.
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It also fails to pick up on regional differences. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.
In Beijing, I would tell the taxi driver “you guai” for “left turn”. In Singapore, it’s “turn left” instead — “guai you”. The result is the same, but the way it’s said marks you in subtle ways, and in China you need every advantage you can get.
When I work in China, I work with a small group of specialist translators when I need to communicate specialised terms used in trading financial markets.
Skilled, but not industry-skilled, translators make mistakes that hinder understanding. Making sure the message is correctly received in business discussions is essential.
It is unwise to place too much reliance on bland, generic translations that just don’t hit the mark. It can be the difference between success or failure.
Language is a tricky beast. It allows us to say exactly what we want to say, but if our ability in the language is weak, then it prevents us from conveying the shades of meaning we intend.
As a listener, we have an obligation to listen more carefully. As a speaker, we have an obligation to think more clearly before we speak.
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Survival is the difference between translation and the unique features of language habits. These nuances are mildly amusing in private conversations, but they become critical in a business environment.
Business in China still largely relies on building personal connections and trust. No conversation is casual. Smartphone AI and AI translation apps are a fantastic starting point, but if you want to really connect with the Chinese market, you need more than just a literal or generic translation.
The solution is to make full use of your human translator or interpreter to ensure what you convey is what you actually mean to say.
Save AI translation for shopping, taxis and restaurants where mistakes have smaller consequences.
Technical outlook for the Shanghai market
Will support hold? This is the critical key question for the Shanghai Index. The index has dipped below the value of the long term support line near 2,720.
This is a weak support level that does not have many historical touch points. It is also above the current value of the downtrend support line C.
If support holds in this area, then traders will look for a rally rebound towards the value of downtrend line D, currently near 2,800.
A successful breakout above this level has a resistance target near 2,900. A breakout above the value of trend line D would signal a new uptrend. If support near 2,720 fails to hold, then the market faces a grim picture.
The long-term historical support is near 2,650. This support line is based on the extreme market dips that occurred in February 2024, March 2020 and February 2016. The market shows little indication of a trend change.
The long-term group of moving averages in the Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) indicator shows an increase in separation.
Investors are actively selling. The short-term group of averages in the Guppy Multiple Moving Average continues to move down and has accelerated the degree of expansion. The long-term GMMA is well separated with no indications of compression.
There was no change in the long-term GMMA in response to the Aug 29 rally. This shows that investors remain sellers in this market, selling not just into any rally, but as a general approach to the market.
These are the conditions for an exhaustion dip and recovery. This is a catastrophic down day with an extreme low that is then followed by a much higher close. This exhaustion candle signals the beginning of the end of the downtrend. Traders are alert for this development.
In the meantime, the expanding degree of separation between trend lines C and D offers increasingly profitable short-term rally trading opportunities. The relentless downward pressure means that rallies are limited.
However, the size of those rallies is growing. Trend lines C and D are moving apart, so the gap between them gets larger and larger. This means that a rally from the value of trend line C has more room to move as the days go by. This creates more rewarding rally trading opportunities.
Daryl Guppy is an international financial technical analysis expert. He has provided weekly Shanghai Index analysis for mainland Chinese media for two decades. Guppy appears regularly on CNBC Asia and is known as “The Chart Man”. He is a former national board member of the Australia China Business Council
