I. Overview
Inter CATTI (short for Chinese Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters, International) is organized by China International Communication Group (CICG) and regarded as an important component of China Translation Proficiency Evaluation System. It has been listed as a key project to build up China’s international communication capability and open to all candidates worldwide including those in China.
Different from CATTI (Level 1-3), which is targeted at professional translators and interpreters along with high-level students majoring in translation and interpretation from academic institutions, Inter CATTI is mainly designed for non-professional translators and interpreters in need of certain translation or interpretation abilities in their study and future work. Inter CATTI is now regarded as the evaluation system for "X + Foreign Languages" ability in the new era.
II. Target Candidates
1. Freshmen or sophomores majoring in English in colleges or universities; people majoring in other areas who are interested in Chinese-English translation and interpretation; outstanding senior high school students from international high schools;
2. non-professional translators and interpreters in need of certain Chinese-English translation or interpretation abilities in their work;
3. People from enterprises and institutions in need of certification of their foreign language abilities in case of work assignment selections abroad and professional title promotion;
4. Foreigners interested in learning Chinese culture and language learning.
III. Test Composition and Grading
Same as the division of CATTI (Level 1-3), Inter CATTI is also divided into 2 separate types, namely written test and oral test.
The oral test consists of 2 parts as listening comprehension and oral expression, and the total score is 100 points;
The written test consists of 2 parts as single sentence translation and passage translation, and the total score is 100 points.
Test-takers will get their transcripts within one month after the test. Those who have scored 60 points and above in either oral test or written test will correspondingly get their certificates of interpretation or certificates of translation. Those who have scored 60 points and above in both oral and written tests will get interpretation certificates and translation certificates at the same time.
IV. Academic Committee
Consultant:
Huang Youyi: Director of CATTI English Expert Committee, Director of National Senior Professional Titles (T&I) Evaluation Committee, Director of National Committee for MTI Teaching Guidance, Executive Vice Chairman of the Translators Association of China, former deputy director and editor in chief of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration.
Academic Committee:
Chairman of Committee:
Chen Mingming: Associate Director of CATTI English Expert Committee, Associate Director of National Senior Professional Titles (T&I) Evaluation Committee, Vice Chairman of the Translators Association of China, ex-ambassador to foreign countries, and former director of the Department of Translation and Interpretation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vice-chairmen of Committee:
Wang Weimin: Leading expert of CATTI and National Senior Professional Titles (T&I) Evaluation Committee.
Jin Yan: Director of CET Test Committee under Ministry of Education, and professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Yan Ming: Head of TBEM Brand 8 Team of Test for Business English Majors Management Center under Ministry of Education, and Vice President of Heilongjiang University.
Other committee members: 20 authoritative experts in T&I industry both at home and abroad.
V. Test Mode
The test is generally taken in form of Internet-based test at home. Candidates will take the test by using their own laptops at home or in offices and other enclosed spaces.
Based on the requirements of schools or institutions where candidates collectively sign up for the test, the test can be taken as a Lan-based test. In this case, candidates will be allowed to take the test together by using either their personal laptops or computers provided by the test organizers.
VI. Test Validity
The certificate is an employment-oriented certificate, essential for recruiting common translators and interpreters by enterprises and institutions both at home and abroad. It demonstrates the foreign language proficiency of non-professional translators and interpreters dealing with businesses relating to China. In some countries, Inter CATTI certificate is even considered as a job license.
Inter CATTI certificate is listed as requisite for admission into the foreign language talent pool system. The Inter CATTI certificate has been included in the talent pool established by China Academy of Translation of CICG for the development of foreign language talents and other special talents. The talent pool is designed to select professional and technical foreign language talents for the industry construction and development of our country.
The certificate is a certificate for further education and promotion. In China, it is regarded as a prime reference for admitting students from junior college to university, and admitting postgraduate students. It is an important reference for proving the foreign language ability of those in professional title promotion and of those to be selected for further studies abroad. Inter CATTI certificate is also essential for some foreign universities to admit Chinese students.
The certificate is also a test available for middle school students. It is currently the only global test of foreign language proficiency open to middle school students organized by authorities relating to the foreign language industry.
VII. Grading Ability Requirements and Job Suggestions (Corresponding separately to interpretation or translation)
Certificate holders who get 80-100 points should be able,
To have a relatively solid foundation in language and a better bilingual ability both in Chinese and English;
To master more than 4,500 English words and over 3,000 Chinese characters;
To be familiar with the daily communications between China and English-speaking countries and regions;
To accurately understand source materials in different industries, and especially have a comprehensive understanding of the materials in his or her own field;
To quickly grasp the key points of source materials, and understand the implications of source materials so as to convey the message between Chinese and English in a relatively accurate and fluent manner;
The certificate recipient is suitable for doing more formal translations in the institutions or enterprises focusing much more on dealing with businesses relating to China. He/she can be engaged in relatively formal translations or interpretations in negotiations, conferences, accompanying interpretations, written translations and secretarial work.
Certificate holders who get 70-79 points should be able,
To have a relatively solid foundation in language and a better bilingual ability both in Chinese and English;
To master more than 4,000 English words and over 2,000 Chinese characters;
To be familiar with the settings of daily communications between China and English-speaking countries and regions;
To accurately understand source materials in relevant industries, and especially have an overall and deep understanding of the materials in his or her own field;
To quickly grasp the points of view of the materials, and understand the implied meanings of the materials, judge the intention and distinguish the facts of the materials so to accurately convey messages by translating or interpreting between English and Chinese accurately and fluently in the fields that he/she is engaged in or familiar with;
The certificate recipient is suitable for doing relatively formal translations in government departments, institutions and enterprises focusing much more on dealing with businesses relating to China. He/she can get engaged with relatively formal translations or interpretations for conferences, accompanying interpretations, written translations and email exchanges. It is suggested that he/she work in such industries that bilingual translation and interpretation abilities are necessary as aviation, customs, public services, catering, tourism, and hotel services.
Certificate holders who get 60-69 points should be able,
To have a better foundation in language and the basic bilingual ability both in Chinese and English;
To master more than 3,500 English words and over 1,500 Chinese characters;
To be familiar with the settings of daily communications between China and English-speaking countries and regions;
To understand source materials in relevant industries, and be familiar with the materials in his or her own field;
To grasp the points of view of the materials, and judge the intention of the materials so to accurately convey messages by doing simple translations or interpretations in an relatively accurate and fluent manner between English and Chinese in the field of his/her own, or in common social occasions.
The certificate recipient is suitable for doing simple translations in government departments, institutions and enterprises focusing much more on dealing with businesses relating to China. He/she can get engaged with relatively simple translations or interpretations for conferences, accompanying interpretations and others. It is suggested that he/she work in such industries that bilingual translation and interpretation abilities are necessary in public services, catering, tourism, and hotel services. He/she is able to live a daily life in countries where Chinese or English is necessary.
Certificate holders who get 45-59 points should be able,
To have a basic foundation in language and the preliminary bilingual ability both in Chinese and English;
To master more than 2,500 English words and over 1,500 Chinese characters;
To be familiar with the source materials in his or her own field;
To grasp the key information of the materials, and be able to do simple and daily translations or interpretations between English and Chinese in the field that he or she is familiar with or in common social occasions.
The certificate recipient is suitable for doing simple daily translations, accompanying interpretations, etc. He/she can work in such industries in need of general bilingual ability of translation and interpretation as public services, catering, tourism and hotel services. The certificate can also be regarded as a reference of language proficiency in case of non-translation professional title promotion and working abroad. With the help of translation tools, he/she can live a daily life in countries where Chinese or English is needed.
Certificate holders who get 30-44 points should be able,
To have certain foundation in language;
To master more than 2,000 English words and over 500 common Chinese characters;
To make simple daily communication with others in common social occasions and undertake simple Chinese-English translation and interpretation with the help of translating tools.
The certificate recipient is suitable for doing much simple Chinese-English translations and interpretations in industries such as public services, catering, tourism and hotel services. With the help of translation tools, he/she is able to make tourist travels or business trips in countries where Chinese or English is needed.
VIII. CATTI Professional Version
Professional Version of Inter CATTI, also known as Foreign Language Application Ability Test for Professional and Technical Personnel, is designed to customize the test content for different industries in accordance with their specific requirements so as to provide services for ministries, commissions, enterprises and institutions in evaluating foreign language application ability of their professional and technical personnel, and to provide certification of foreign language proficiency for personnel in their professional title promotions and overseas assignment selections.
IX. Registration
Candidates could register on lishuizhu.cn.
