Book Note 6 on《中式英语之鉴》

悦悦悦

Reader: 赵悦
Reading Time: 2天
Reading Task: Chapter11-12
Summary of the Content:
Chapter 11: Parallel Structure
This chapter focuses on the importance of maintaining grammatical parallelism in English, a principle often violated in Chinglish due to Chinese-English structural differences.

Core Concept: Parallel structure requires that coordinate elements (connected by and, or, but, etc.) share the same grammatical form:
Noun Parallelism: E.g., Correct “the improvement of efficiency and the reduction of costs” vs. incorrect “the improvement of efficiency and reducing costs”.
Verb Parallelism: E.g., Correct “to analyze, design, and implement” vs. incorrect “to analyze, designing, and implement”.
Prepositional / Phrasal Parallelism: E.g., Correct “She spent her time in reading, writing, and teaching” vs. incorrect “She spent her time in reading, writing, and to teach”.
Chinese Influence: Chinese relies less on strict grammatical parallelism, leading translators to overlook form consistency. The chapter provides practical editing strategies, such as identifying coordinate conjunctions and matching phrase types.
Chapter 12: Logical Connectives
This chapter addresses the critical role of connectives (e.g., because, although, therefore) in clarifying relationships between ideas, a common weakness in Chinglish.
Functions of Connectives:
Explicit Logic: English requires overt markers for relationships (cause-effect, contrast, sequence), while Chinese often implies them contextually.
Common Issues:
Redundancy: E.g., “Because he was ill, so he didn’t come” (remove “so”).
Omission: E.g., “He worked hard, he passed the exam” (add “so” or “and”).
Misuse: E.g., “Although he is poor, but he is happy” (remove “but”).
Solutions: Translators should identify implicit logical links in Chinese source texts and choose appropriate English connectives, ensuring clarity and coherence.

Evaluation:
Practical Focus: Both chapters offer concrete, actionable advice with abundant real-life examples, bridging theoretical grammar rules and translational reality. The “Chinglish vs. Revised” comparisons make errors immediately recognizable.
Cultural Insight: By explaining how Chinese linguistic habits (e.g., implicit logic, flexible syntax) cause Chinglish, the book helps readers develop awareness of cross-linguistic transfer issues, not just memorize rules.
Holistic Approach: Chapter 11 links parallelism to both grammatical accuracy and stylistic elegance, while Chapter 12 emphasizes that connectives are vital for both logic and readability.
Reflection:
Personal Takeaways
Parallelism as a Stylistic Tool: Before reading, I often prioritized meaning over structural symmetry, resulting in clunky sentences like “She enjoys singing, dancing, and to paint”. Now I actively check for form consistency during revision, improving both clarity and elegance.
Connectives as Logical Signposts: In my translations, I used to underuse connectives, assuming readers would infer relationships (e.g., “He failed the exam, he didn’t study enough” without “because”). This chapter reminded me that English demands explicit markers to avoid ambiguity, especially in professional contexts where precision is critical.
Application in Practice
Editing Checklist: I will create a two-step proofreading routine:
Highlight all coordinate conjunctions (and, or, etc.) and verify parallel structure for paired elements.
Identify sentence boundaries and ensure logical relationships are clearly marked with appropriate connectives (add/remove/change as needed).
Cultural Mindset Shift: When translating from Chinese, I’ll consciously switch from “implicit meaning” mode to “explicit expression” mode, treating connectives and parallelism as essential bridges for English readers’ comprehension.
This reading deepened my understanding of how language-specific structural norms shape effective communication. By addressing both grammatical form (parallelism) and semantic logic (connectives), the chapters provide a powerful toolkit for anyone striving to eliminate Chinglish and achieve professional-level English proficiency.