<p>If I'm writing a scholarly article I normally put the Chinese first (Pinyin italicized and before characters) like this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the <em>zǔguó</em> 祖国 ‘Motherland’.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The reason is that for a linguistically inclined and Chinese-reading audience I'd give primacy to Chinese term. But if it's intended for ordinary readers, I'd make the English the primary focus, this way:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the ‘Motherland’ (<em>zǔguó</em> 祖国).</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-08T21:31:34.187Z
By the way — somewhat off-topic, so I relegate it to a comment — I think "motherland" is a poor translation for _zǔguó_ — I'd prefer "ancestral land" or Fatherland, myself.
brannerchinese
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-08T21:40:35.553Z
'Fatherland' makes me think of Nazi Germany, while 'Motherland' reminds of 'Mother Russia'. 'Ancestral land' doesn't sound like native English
ShanZhengYang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-08T22:00:56.230Z
"Fatherland" is close to what is used in most European languages, quite apart from the German case. Ancestral land is certainly good, standard English — and it matches the internal sense of the Chinese — so even if it's unfamiliar in this particular case I'd prefer it. One could also try "homeland", not quite as good.
brannerchinese
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-13T05:19:00.150Z
"homeland" usually translate to 家园
thinwa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-30T09:30:59.660Z
I don't understand why "motherland" is inappropriate for 祖国. If that's what it should be in English, then we will have no reason to deny it.
Winfred Huang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-08T21:31:09.230Z
2015-11-08T21:31:09.230Z
brannerchinese
<p>For instance, I would like to write the following sentence about China:</p>

<p>"Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the 'Motherland' ".</p>

<p>By "Motherland", I mean 祖国 ( zuguo / zŭguó).</p>

<p>This is an academic article, and I would like to include both the Chinese characters and the pinyin. What style should I use?</p>

<translation><mandarin><characters><academic>
What is the correct style/format when including Chinese translations in academic articles?
# What is the correct style/format when including Chinese translations in academic articles?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-08)

For instance, I would like to write the following sentence about China:

"Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the 'Motherland' ".

By "Motherland", I mean 祖国 ( zuguo / zŭguó).

This is an academic article, and I would like to include both the Chinese characters and the pinyin. What style should I use?

**Tags:** translation, mandarin, characters, academic


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-11-08. Score: 3

If I'm writing a scholarly article I normally put the Chinese first (Pinyin italicized and before characters) like this:

> Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the *zǔguó* 祖国 ‘Motherland’.

The reason is that for a linguistically inclined and Chinese-reading audience I'd give primacy to Chinese term. But if it's intended for ordinary readers, I'd make the English the primary focus, this way:

> Many songs were written to praise the Chinese Communist Party and the ‘Motherland’ (*zǔguó* 祖国).

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: By the way — somewhat off-topic, so I relegate it to a comment — I think "motherland" is a poor translation for _zǔguó_ — I'd prefer "ancestral land" or Fatherland, myself.  
> **username_0**: 'Fatherland' makes me think of Nazi Germany, while 'Motherland' reminds of 'Mother Russia'. 'Ancestral land' doesn't sound like native English  
> **username_1**: "Fatherland" is close to what is used in most European languages, quite apart from the German case. Ancestral land is certainly good, standard English — and it matches the internal sense of the Chinese — so even if it's unfamiliar in this particular case I'd prefer it. One could also try "homeland", not quite as good.  
> **username_2**: "homeland" usually translate to 家园  
> **username_3**: I don't understand why "motherland" is inappropriate for 祖国. If that's what it should be in English, then we will have no reason to deny it.  

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