Innovative undertaking

Question

Hi, This is my first question here.What do you think “innovative undertaking” mean to you? Is it a idiom?The reason I am asking is I believe it should mean “doing something that requires innovation or creativity”. Some Chinese English teachers are very firm that it is a phrase and it means “to start a business/an enterprise”. Thank you!

Nhật Bình · Accepted Answer

AplusCanada“doing something that requires innovation or creativity

creativity-demanding tasks.

CalifJim · Answer

AplusCanadaThe reason I am asking is I believe it should mean “doing something that requires innovation or creativity”.

Correct. It is not an idiom. Here's an example that uses the dictionary definitions:

The story of Elizabethan England now on exhibit at the British Museum is the most innovative undertaking in the museum arena yet seen in the 21st century.

AplusCanadaSome Chinese English teachers are very firm that it is a phrase and it means “to start a business/an enterprise”.

I did some quick research on this, and it seems that the scholarly articles that use the term "innovative undertaking" with that or a similar meaning are written by Chinese authors writing in English. It turns out that the Chinese word for 'undertaking' can be translated into English as 'business' or 'enterprise'. I could not find anything definitive on "innovative undertaking", but from what I did find, various similar Chinese character groups translate as "startup business", "new enterprise", or something similar.

My conclusion, without proof, is that the expression "innovative undertaking" has been co-opted by Chinese authors through a word-for-word literal translation to English to mean something like "the starting of a business" in spite of the fact that it still has its normal dictionary meaning as illustrated above in my first example.

CJ

Innovative undertaking

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