English

Gene Hsu’s research and practice encompass ethnomusicology, translation, interpreting, languages, and intercultural communication, aiming to facilitate East–West cultural exchange and connect people across linguistic and cultural boundaries through vocal performance and song translation.

She has presented her research at academic and professional conferences worldwide and published articles in international journals. Gene integrates academic research and performance, translating and performing East Asian songs across languages while preserving their musicality and cultural meaning. Her independent project, Music and Translation, received the CIOL certificate for its innovation and academic excellence.

Active on international stages and with her original songs released on global music platforms, Gene uses singable song translation and research-based performance to promote East–West cultural exchange, reduce linguistic and cultural barriers, and connect people and cultures worldwide.

She was awarded the “Excellent Gold Award (Voice – Pop Music)” at the Final of “The 6th Hong Kong International Music Festival”, recognising her outstanding vocal performance.

Since 2017, she has specialised in subtitling translation, as well as proofreading, revision, and editing for television programmes, films, and documentaries, ensuring linguistic accuracy and high-quality localisation.

Traditional Chinese

Gene 的研究與創作涵蓋民族音樂學、翻譯、口譯、語言與跨文化傳播，致力於透過聲樂表演與歌曲翻譯促進東西方文化交流，連結不同語言與文化背景的人群。

她曾於世界各地的學術與專業研討會發表研究成果，並於國際期刊發表論文。Gene 將學術研究與表演實踐結合，跨語言翻譯與演唱東亞歌曲，同時保留音樂性與文化意涵。其獨立計畫《音樂與翻譯》因創新性與卓越學術成果，獲頒 CIOL 證書。

活躍於國際舞台，並於全球音樂平台發行原創歌曲，Gene 透過可演唱的歌詞翻譯與研究導向表演，促進東西方文化交流，降低語言與文化隔閡，並連結全球人群與文化。

她曾於「第六屆香港國際音樂節」總決賽中榮獲「傑出金獎（流行音樂 – 聲樂組）」，以表彰其傑出的聲樂表現。

自2017年起，她亦專精於電視節目、電影及紀錄片的字幕翻譯、校對、修訂與編輯，確保語言精準與高品質在地化。

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📜 Paper/Article Publications

2025

December

“Chinese: over-simplified?“, Winter Issue, Vol 64, No. 4, The Linguist (paper edition and electronic version), p. 33.

Archive: please click here to check the archived file of the condensed version of this piece published by The Linguist.

NOTE: “Chinese: over-simplified?” is a condensed excerpt from the piece. Owing to word-count limitations, they weren’t able to publish the full article.

📖 Read the full article “Demythologising Traditional and Simplified Chinese in Three Dimensions” from the link here.

November 25

Academic article: Demythologising Traditional and Simplified Chinese in Three Dimensions

July 23

MultiLingual, written by Gene Hsu

Article title: A Call for Inclusion: Why Linguists Deserve to Choose Their Target Language(s).

MultiLingual’s Facebook post about this article: “Should your native language always be your only target language as a linguist?“

2024

i. December 20

Yifeng Blog, ATA CLD, written by Gene Hsu, edited by Ben Murphy and Sijin Xian.

Article title: My Journey to the West USA – The 65th ATA Conference

ii. June 3

Summer Issue, Vol 63, No. 2, The Linguist (paper edition and electronic version), pp. 11-13.

Article title: Make It Sing? — Gene Hsu considers approaches to song translation and proposes a comprehensive way to discuss the process.

Archive: Research Article “Make It Sing?”

Click the picture to check the article

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📝 Professional Blogs

July 12, 2024: Blog article “Make it sing?” posted at The Linguist Blog

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📖 Research/Professional Presentations

2025

i. March

Americans Translators Association (ATA) Chinese Language Division (CLD) Café March 2025 (short course)

Presentation topic: From Strokes to Stories – Unveiling the Wonderful World of Traditional Chinese Characters

2024

i. October

Americans Translators Association (ATA) The 65th Conference, USA

Presentation Topic: Audiovisual Translation – Subtitling strategies used between Traditional Chinese and English in film translation

ii. September

The 60th Royal Musical Association (RMA) Annual Conference & The 150th Anniversary of RMA, UK

Presentation Topic: Music Crosses Time and Space – From Ancient Chinese Poetry to Modern English Song

iii. June

Symposium Programme “WORDS, MUSIC & SILENCE”, UK

Topic: Rendering Music from Classical Chinese Poetry into Modern English Song – A Study Case of SU Shih’s “Prelude to Water Melody”

Archived video for this short talk

Click the picture to check the talk

iv. April

The 2024 American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association (ATISA) Biennial Conference, USA.

Presentation Topic: Interpreting and Translating Music from Ancient Chinese Poem into Modern English Song – A Study Case of SU Shih’s “Prelude to Water Melody”

2023

i. October

The Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) Annual Conference, Canada

Presentation Topic: Music and Translation – A Study of “Singability” of Chinese Versions of the English Song “Do You Hear the People Sing” in the Musical “Les Misérables”

ii. July

London Metropolitan University Staff and Student Research Conference, UK 

Presentation Topic: Musical film translation between English and Traditional Chinese — A Study Case of the Musical Film “Les Misérables”

iii. May

RWS Trados ELEVATE Translation Conference, UK 

Presentation Topic: Subtitling Translation Strategies from English into Traditional Chinese – A Case Study of Les Misérables (2012)

[NOTE: You need to input your business/work email address and required details to watch previous sessions on the RWS website]

Archived video for this presentation

Click the picture to check the paper presentation

2022

October: Conference Presentation at “2022 Taiwan Translation Symposium” 

Presentation Topic: Film Subtitling Translation strategies (English into Traditional Chinese) – A Study Case of the Musical Film “Les Misérables (2012)”

Archived video for the presentation (Traditional Chinese and English descriptions)

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🏆 Research and Academic Awards

2023

Awarded the CIOL translation certification/qualification for the innovative nature and high mark of my independent translation project “Music and Translation”

2022

Certificates of Reverse Mentoring Scheme, Society Committee Member, Groups & Activities Representative and Committee Member, and London Met Student Council Committee Member in academic year 2021-2022, issued by London Metropolitan University Student Union (LMSU), UK

2021

Awarded “International Students House (ISH) and London Met Postgraduate Full Scholarship” by London Metropolitan University (UK)

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