Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 012: Priya Lalwani Purswaney

Priya is originally from India, but has now lived in Taiwan for 27 years. She works as a simultaneous interpreter. Listen to this episode to find out:

- What brought Priya to Taiwan in the first place

- Her initial impressions of Taiwan

- How she began learning Chinese and what approach they took

- Why she recommends an intensive approach to learning Chinese

- Why she thinks knowing Indian languages like Hindi helps in learning Mandarin

- Which sounds in Chinese she finds many English speakers have trouble pronouncing

- How she transitioned into working as a translator / interpreter

- Why she prefers interpreting over translating work

- How preparation for interpreting works

- The various types of translating options available, and the skills required for each

- Consecutive, whispering / simultaneous without equipment, simultaneous with equipment

- How interpreting is done for more niche languages (relay interpreting)

- The process that goes through translating sentence by sentence

- Why she recommends putting kids through the local education system up to Grade 3 or so before switching to an international system

- When she recommends learning to write characters and when it isn't

- Why she recommends Hindi speakers (Indians) learn using zhuyin (bo po mo fo) over pinyin