I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 103 English-Chinese Dictionary

Seeing that only the two of them remained in the living room, William Jones stood up and respectfully said to Chen Wenbin:

"...Sir, please allow me to introduce myself again. I am William Jones from Hackney, North London. I am currently studying at Oxford University, majoring in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic. For the past three months, I have been learning Chinese."

I heard from His Excellency Spencer that you are creating a phonetic symbol system for Chinese using the Latin alphabet, and I hope to be your assistant to help you complete this challenging task.

His self-introduction was very proper, and his clothes and hat showed that he came from a wealthy family. However, the problem was that he was trying too hard to imitate the demeanor and tone of an aristocratic gentleman. Therefore, Chen Wenbin could easily tell that he was not a descendant of nobility and probably did not have any powerful backing. He was probably a top student who got into Oxford through his studies.

Combined with Robert's earlier mention that he was a "language genius"... a talented and ambitious academic prodigy who wanted to climb the ladder, this piqued Boss Chen's interest.

In those days, the British were influenced by Protestantism and were basically all academic geniuses, but to be able to get into Oxford University was indeed a talent, so he couldn't help but feel a little fondness for such a talent.

What bosses like best is this kind of hardworking employee who doesn't need to be whipped, but will work hard as long as they are given benefits.

So he smiled faintly:

"...Sit down, William. Since Robert recommended you to me, as long as your abilities meet my requirements, you can stay and be my assistant."

You should know that I now have many businesses and need loyal and capable subordinates to help me manage them.

This was obviously just empty promises, but William Jones perked up immediately, his face beaming with undisguised delight: "Yes, Sir! I will serve you with all my loyalty and ability!"

Although he didn’t know exactly how much money Lord Chen had, he did know about aspirin and malpractice, which were already popular among the British aristocracy, especially the latter, which cost six or seven pounds a single pill at Oxford University… He simply couldn’t imagine how much money Robin’s Pharmacy made!

But one thing he was certain of was that as long as he clung to this powerful figure, he would truly have one foot in London's high society!

"Haha! I hope so!"

Chen Wenbin waved his hand, not taking it to heart. There were too many people trying to defect to him these days, and he had heard a lot of words of loyalty, but he could not easily bring them under his command.

Even if a street hustler like James Hawley were to come to him after he was knighted, he would most likely turn him away.

The reasons are simple: first, those who invest early always enjoy the greatest returns; second, after being granted a title, countless people are watching him, and if he publicly accepts gifts from disreputable individuals, he will only cause trouble for himself.

Someone like William Jones would only be a minor assistant to Boss Chen. Unless he is exceptionally capable or willing to send his wife and children to North America, he would never be entrusted with important responsibilities... Of course, judging from his age, he is probably not married yet.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "...You said you're learning Chinese. Who is your teacher? Does he speak Chinese?"

William Jones answered immediately.

"My Chinese teacher is Professor Thomas Percy, who translated a Chinese novel three years ago and can also speak southern Chinese dialects... In fact, if his wife hadn't been sick, the professor would have come to London to visit you this time."

Chen Wenbin nodded to himself. It seemed that higher education in Britain was quite good; at least there were people at Oxford University who could speak Chinese.

Since that's the case, then we can certainly make good use of these resources...

He stood up and said, "Very well, come with me to the study on the second floor! I need to check your Chinese proficiency."

William Jones knew this was going to be a test, so he quickly stood up, bowed, and said, "As you wish!"

Half an hour later, after some conversation and probing, Chen Wenbin confirmed that William Jones had mastered some Chinese (Cantonese) vocabulary. Although he could not yet have a fluent conversation in Chinese, he could have simple written communication... Keep in mind that he was using traditional characters, and he had only been studying for less than three months!

This is enough to show that this guy is indeed very talented in languages.

So Mr. Chen readily appointed him as his personal assistant, with a monthly salary of £15. However, his job was not to learn Pinyin, but to learn and master Chinese and simplified characters, and then help him compile an English-Chinese dictionary.

This work is too tedious and time-consuming. If Boss Chen were to write it himself in his spare time, it would probably take at least half a year to finish. It would be better to spend some money to have William Jones help him.

To speed things up, he also had the other party write to their teachers and professors, offering them the opportunity to remotely take charge of a portion of the dictionary compilation work, with generous compensation, as long as they were willing to learn Chinese.

With money at his disposal, the process should be faster. As for the quality of the dictionary's translation and compilation, there's no need to worry about that. Chen Wenbin has already completed the translation of some common words and phrases. What remains are some relatively obscure words and phrases and allusions that need explanation, which is perfect for a linguist like William Jones with formal training.

It is worth mentioning that Chen Wenbin's version of the English-Chinese dictionary specifically corrected some words that were translated inappropriately or inaccurately.

For example, the word "jury" was translated as "jury" in the late Qing Dynasty. In fact, this word refers to the "citizens' ad hoc jury" or "gentlemen's jury" in the English/Welsh common law system, which is used to determine the facts of criminal and civil cases. They can directly decide whether the person being tried is guilty or not, rather than being a supporting role for the judge.

Chen Wenbin is a modern man, not a lackey of the Qing Dynasty, so of course he would not shy away from or care about the official power of the Qing Dynasty officials and come up with such an incongruous translation as "jury". Therefore, his translation of "Jury" is "citizens' adjudication group".

In addition, Japanese translations of terms such as "science," "economics," "logic," "history," and "society" are quite good, and he's used to them, so he simply uses them directly.

"...Sir! You actually simplified the complex Chinese characters and even created a phonetic symbol system! My God! I think you are the real linguistic genius!"

After listening to Chen Wenbin's description of Pinyin, William Jones looked at the "Comparison Table of Simplified and Traditional Chinese Characters" in his hand, his eyes filled with amazement.

He was genuinely surprised, not flattering. As a language expert, he knew how difficult these two achievements were... In fact, they were not something one person could accomplish alone!