中式英语之鉴读书笔记1

zwt

Reader: 曾维庭
Reading Time: 3.12-3.15
Reading Task: Part 1: Unnecessary Words

The first part focuses on identifying and deleting unnecessary words in English expressions, aiming to help learners break free from the constraints of Chinglish and achieve concise and idiomatic English writing.

First of all, we should omit unnecessary nouns and verbs. Chinese often adds category words such as "situation", "field", "work", etc. to enhance the integrity of the expression. However, such words are often redundant in English. In addition, some verbs, such as "make", "have", "give", etc., have vague meanings, and the actual action is borne by the following nouns. We can directly turn the nouns into verbs.Secondly, omit unnecessary modifiers. The meaning of certain modifiers is already implicit in the word being modified, making the modifier redundant at this time. Some degree adverbs and determiners, such as "very" and "quite", often weaken the force of the expression. At this time, we should choose more precise words when expressing.Thirdly, we should pay attention to redundant doublets and repetitive expressions. For example, in synonymous repetition, Chinese is used to emphasizing through the stacking of synonyms, but English needs to avoid redundancy. In addition, structural repetition also requires special attention.Finally, when expressing, we should try our best to avoid repeated references to the same thing. Chinese tends to reproduce the theme through pronouns or synonyms, but English needs to be kept concise.

The redundancy in Chinglish mostly stems from the direct transfer of Chinese expression habits. This difference requires learners to have an in-depth understanding of the semantic boundaries of English words instead of mechanically corresponding to Chinese structures. The book emphasizes "omit what can be omitted", but we need to be wary of semantic ambiguity caused by excessive simplification. For example, some redundant modifiers in formal texts may be retained due to stylistic requirements. Therefore, the principle of conciseness needs to be flexibly applied according to the context.English takes verbs as the core, while Chinglish often relies on the piling up of nouns, resulting in long and obscure sentences. The book advocates the transformation of nouns into verbs to enhance the dynamism and clarity of the expression. Learners are prone to stay in their "comfort zone" and rely on conventional collocations. Improvement requires a lot of reading and imitation to internalize idiomatic expressions. Most of the examples in the book involve political texts, but the principle of language conciseness applies to all styles of writing. This perspective reminds learners that they need to adjust their language strategies according to the audience.

The first part provides us with a systematic methodology for deleting redundant words, but its core value lies in guiding us to reflect on the differences between Chinese and English thinking. By practicing the principles in the book, we can gradually get rid of the inertia of Chinglish and achieve the leap from "correct" to "idiomatic".