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Chinglish Vs English
更新时间：2008-1-23 点击：372 次 来源：火星英语 |
(1) Wrong: The old man made a living by catching fish.
Correct : The old man made a living by fishing.
(2) Wrong: Please hurry to walk or we'll be late.
Correct : Please hurry up or we'll be late.
(3) Wrong: Sue went to the shops to buy things for me yesterday.
Correct: Sue went shopping for me yesterday....
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(Incorrect understanding of words)
(1) Wrong: When I reached my wallet to find my money, I found it invisible.
Correct: When I reached my wallet to find my money, I found it missing/gone.
(2) Wrong: As the price for the jacket was too expensive, I decided not to buy it .
Correct: As the price for the jacket was unreasonable/too high, I decided not to buy it .
(3) Wrong: I feel very painful in my right hand.
Correct: I feel great pain in my right hand...
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Another kind of Chinglish in the form of redundancy occurs when students are not aware that Chinese is a verb-abundant language while English is a preposition-and noun-oriented one.
(1) Wrong: He ran out when it was raining hard.
Correct: He ran out into a heavy rain.
(2) Wrong: He looked at her and felt surprised.
Correct: He looked at her in surprise.
(3) Wrong: We were shown in by those who wore uniforms.
Correct: We were shown in by those in uniforms....
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unnecessary repetition also causes Chinglish
(1) Wrong: Our country is a great country with a long history.
Correct: Ours is a great country with a long history.
(2) Wrong: Fish must stay in water. If they don't, they will die.
Correct: Fish must stay in water or they will die.
(3) Wrong: He gave a lot of reasons for being late to class, but the reasons he gave didn't convince us.
Correct: He gave a lot of reasons for being late to class, but none of them was convincing....
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3. Syntactical Incompetence
3.1 English sentences with inanimate subjects can be very vivid and expressive. Failure to observe this linguistic phenomenon often leads to tasteless, monotonous Chinese-stereotyped English sentences. Compare the following pairs of sentences:
(1) Wrong: She was very miserable and her heart broke.
Correct: Misery tore her into pieces.
(2) Wrong: She was so jealous that she became desperate.
Correct: Jealousy drove her to despair.
(3)Wrong: Because the cost of the medicine was reduced, people all over the country were able to use it in treating with many diseases.
Correct: The reduced cost made possible the nationwide use of the medicine in treating many diseases...
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3.2 Ignorance or negligence of the correct syntactic structure and idiomatic collocation or usage in English:
(1) Wrong: His English knowledge is adequate for the job.
Correct: His knowledge of English is adequate for the job.
(2) Wrong: I'd like to have the newest news on Afghanistan.
Correct: I'd like to have the latest news on Afghanistan.
(3) Wrong: The bankruptcy of his father has made him impossible to go on studying.
Correct: The bankruptcy of his father has made it impossible for him to go on studying...
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3.3 A good command of the comparative degree of English adjectives and adverbs can help reduce occurrence of Chinglish.
(1) Wrong: He had so much money that he would not be able to spend it in his whole life.
Correct: He had more money than he would possibly spend in his life time.
(2) Wrong: I have read your novels but I didn't think you could be so young.
Correct: I read your novels and expected to meet an older man.
(3) Wrong: Human bodies are the only source of blood in hospitals so that its amount is very limited.
Correct: More blood is needed in hospitals than human bodies can supply...
3.4 The English causative verb "make" in its structure "make somebody do something" is often abused by Chinese English students because there is an identical structure in Chinese to express the same idea.
(1) Wrong: Her red face made me see through his mind.
Correct: Her red face told me what she was thinking about.
(2) Wrong: The sight of these pictures made me remember my own childhood.
Correct: The sight of these pictures reminded me of my own childhood.
(3) Wrong: A sudden shout made him stand up.
Correct: A sudden shout brought him to feet....
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Sometimes a change of perspectives in expressing ideas from Chinese into English will help do away with Chinglish.
(1) Wrong: Don't mind other people's business.
Correct: Mind your own business.
(2) Wrong: Do you need any help?
Correct: May I help you?
(3) Wrong: Don't pay attention to the dog.
Correct: Leave the dog alone. |
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