EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION

This English-Chinese glossary is not just a list of words and definitions in the two languages. Rather, it strives to provide the discriminating reader with insights into the latest ideas and developments in specialized fields in China and the United States.

 

The glossary should not be viewed as a final product, but as a basic first step in improving communications between the two countries in the planning and urban development fields. The definitions are based on information from many dictionaries and glossaries, which has been modified, when necessary, according to current urban development practice. Every attempt was made to use authoritative definitions, if they existed.

 

In both countries, words are rooted in a rapidly changing professional and national experience. Pro-fessional dictionaries and glossaries are soon outdated by changing practice. For that reason, comments on the currency and accuracy of the glossary are welcomed by both countries. We sincerely hope that the years of combined efforts to compile this glossary will reduce the errors and misunderstandings which come from a literal translation of Chinese and American terms. This bilingual reference work should pave the way for future Chinese-American cooperation and should also be helpful to other countries in understanding Chinese and American urban development theory and practice.

 

The glossary was created as one of the projects in an exchange program between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Chinese Ministry for Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection (MURCEP). The framework for the project is the bilateral Protocol on Cooperation in the Field of Building Construction and Urban Planning. Work on the glossary project began in 1983, as working groups in Beijing and Washington compiled separate lists of terms and began the complex process of culling down over 1700 terms and composing accurate definitions in Chinese and English.

 

One of the difficult tasks faced by both working groups was determining the number of terms to be included in the glossary. Suggestions ranged from 300 to 3000 words. The decision was made by both sides to keep the number of words at a manageable level – around a thousand terms – and to concentrate on ambiguous “soft” terms not covered adequately in the many technical dictionaries in the field. Highly technical construction terms were avoided because they are readily found in architectural and engineering glossaries.

 

The purpose of this glossary is to provide a communi-cation tool useful to both English-speaking and Chinese-speaking experts in housing, urban planning, construction management, and related fields. Every attempt has therefore been made to weigh the relative importance of terms to both sides and to retain terms with definitions specific to the field rather than generic. In addition, the terms that have been selected are accepted and commonly used internationally, or are culture-specific to the United States or China. The country of origin of the term is specified in the definition: if no country of origin is noted, the term as defined is commonly used internationally. Most of the 1036 terms selected are practical in nature and the range of the glossary is broad both in subject matter and language level, encompassing theoretical concepts such as “Central Place Theory,” construction, jargon such as “stickbuilt,” and concepts pertinent to calculation of construction costs in China, e.g., “norm.” Slang and vernacular terms, as well as specially coined translations of foreign concepts, are enclosed in quotation marks.

 

Production of a specialized bilingual glossary by two groups working on opposite sides of the world entailed a variety of formidable challenges. On the broadest level, the working groups were faced with the complex problem of trying to define differences in the meanings of terms that reflect rapid changes in two dynamic cultures, and to match terms in one language to adequately comparable ones in the other. Frequently, misunderstandings and mismatches became apparent only during lively face-to-face discussions.

 

The glossary terms are listed in English alphabetical order, with the English and Chinese entries placed side by side. A Pinyin index is appended. The glossary working groups have sought to find exact or near equivalents for terms, and in cases where no suitable equivalent existed, to coin appropriate terms in English or Chinese. An example is the Chinese term “borrowed view.” The term, “yijing,” which is basic to Chinese landscape architecture, has been rendered in its Pinyin form, as the concept is virtually intranslatable into English. When the meaning of a term varies between the two languages, as in the case of “comprehensive planning,” separate definitions are supplied. In some instances, a general definition is provided, followed by a description of variant meanings in the two countries. In a few cases, very similar terms have been included , one for each country, because of differences in how they are used and what they connote, e.g., “civic building” and “civil building.” The former is a municipal government building and the latter can be any public use building, e.g., a community center or residential building.

 

Many difficult and humorous problems were encountered in translating American jargon into Chinese. For example, the term “balloon mortgage” was rendered in Chinese as “special big tail mortgage,” which conveys the intended meaning of the term. A literal translation of the term in Chinese, “mortgage in the form of an air balloon,” would bring the reader’s mind to a standstill. “Brainstorming” was translated into Chinese as “squeezing-the-brain-juices-session.” One literal translation into Chinese resulted in “brain concussion.”

 

Certain commonly used American terms selected for inclusion by the Chinese working group proved especially difficult to translate, for example, “amenity,” “neighborhood,” and “community,” because they have a broad range of meanings. Other American terms, such as “bottom line,” “underwriting,” and “sale leaseback” were included because they are difficult to understand in the Chinese context. Terms were also offered for the glossary that are special to China, such as “squeeze-in development” and “only-child family.” The suggestions offered by the 250 organizations and individuals throughout China asked to comment on this glossary proved very useful.

 

An additional linguistic problem is the confusing number of English and Chinese language variants in use and in print throughout the world today. To reduce the problems of usage, we have taken American English as our standard. The Chinese in the glossary is that used in the People’s Republic of China.

 

Certain closely related terms have been explained together to give a brief overview of a particular system. In such cases, a “see-reference” instead of a definition under the secondary term sends the user to a key term. Furthermore, interconnections among closely related terms are indicated through the use of cross-references (“See also…”) at the end of the definitions.

 

To help the reader find particular types of terms, eleven subject indexes are provided for the following areas: Housing Types and Uses, Real Estate Finance and Residential Mortgages, Construction Management – Process and Personnel, Construction Estimates and Costs, Bids and Contracts, Area/ Density Measures, Land Use Planning and Zoning, Economic and Community Development, Urban Development Forms, Urban Design and Historic Preservation, and Environment/Infrastructure/Transportation. Acronyms commonly use in American English for certain glossary terms are listed with a “see-reference” to the fully spelled-out terms (e.g., HVAC-See HEATING, VENTILATING, AIR CONDITIONING).

 

This bilingual reference work was undertaken with the intention of strengthening Chinese-American cooperation in housing construction and urban planning projects. The editors hope that the publication of this volume will also serve to expand the international exchange of ideas on the improvement of the urban environment.

Co-Editors

John M. Geraghty

Office of International Affairs

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 

Lin Zhiqun

Director, Bureau of Urban Housing

Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection (MURCEP)