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- Title
"A Slight Knowledge of the Barbarian Language": Chinese Interpreters in Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth-Century America.
- Authors
NGAI, MAE M.
- Abstract
An essay is presented on Chinese immigrant interpreters in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It particularly comments on interpreters in San Francisco, California and examines translators hired by the immigration bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor in the wake of the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The author also comments on racism toward Chinese Americans, upward mobility, and some translators' corrupt practices, including extortion and smuggling.
- Subjects
SAN Francisco (Calif.); UNITED States; TRANSLATORS; EMPLOYMENT of Chinese Americans; CHINESE language -- Translating into English; ENGLISH language -- Translating into Chinese; CHINESE people
- Publication
Journal of American Ethnic History, 2011, Vol 30, Issue 2, p5
- ISSN
0278-5927
- Publication type
Essay
- DOI
10.5406/jamerethnhist.30.2.0005