中式英语之鉴

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Chapter 1  The Translator's Guide to Chinglish

  After reading Chapter 1 of The Translator's Guide to Chinglish, I'm struck by how eye - opening it is. Joan Pinkham, drawing on her extensive experience in translation, especially her work in China, zeroes in on the core problems of Chinglish.
  The chapter mainly deals with unnecessary nouns and verbs in Chinglish. It points out that Chinese - English translation is often burdened with redundant words. For instance, "make an improvement" can simply be "improve", and "conduct an investigation" can be replaced by "investigate". These wordy phrases are deeply influenced by Chinese syntactic structures. In Chinese, we might use more descriptive verb - object combinations for emphasis, but in English, such usage just dilutes the message.
One of the most important lessons from this chapter is the significance of simplicity in English writing. Concise language doesn't just make sentences shorter; it makes the ideas clearer. Pinkham's advice is to always question whether each word is truly necessary. By doing so, we can transform convoluted Chinglish into more natural and fluent English.
I also realized that understanding these differences requires more than just grammar knowledge. It demands a deep - seated familiarity with English thought patterns. We need to break away from the habit of direct word - for - word translation from Chinese and start thinking in English.
Overall, this chapter has been a great starting point. It has given me practical tools to identify and rectify the Chinglish in my translations and writings. I'm looking forward to applying these insights and continuing to explore the rest of the book for more in depth learning.