中式英语之鉴Chapter 7 阅读笔记

我母静恒

Reading Time: An hour
Reading Task: Chapter 7
Summary of the Content:
This chapter points out that English is a language based on verbs, emphasizing conciseness; while Chinglish is rich in abstract nouns, resulting in vagueness and obscurity. It focuses on the causes and solutions of the noun plague.
There are three major types of the noun plague:
1. Redundant nouns can be deleted without affecting meanings, such as accelerate the pace of——accelerate
2. Empty nouns which only express vague meaning should be replaced by verbs, such as pay attention to promoting——promote
3. Category nouns can usually be deleted, such as opposing the practice of——opposing
Then it discusses the harm of abstract nouns. The overuse of abstract nouns conceal the subject and logic of a sentence. The purpose of using abstract nouns is usually to make the text more scientific and formal, but it’s just the opposite to what one wishes. Besides the overuse of abstract nouns distracts readers’ attention, making them decode over and over again. The principle of modification is to replace them with verbs or gerund, and using adjectives or adverbs to replace noun phrases.
Furthermore, it talks about the special issues of using verbs as adjectives. Chinglish users usually use a series of nouns to modify a noun, which leads to confusion of ideation.
1.  Convert nouns into verbs or gerunds（e.g. soil erosion control——control soil erosion).
2.   Add prepositions or conjunctions to clear the logical relation (e.g. economic recovery period period of economic
reform).
3.    Use hyphens（e.g. two-noun combinations)
4.   Elaborate on explanations (e.g. local specialties company——company for the export of local specialties).
The principle of modification is to reconstructs sentences with verbs at the core to enhance dynamism and clarity, remove redundant nouns and concretize abstract concepts, and avoiding noun stacking and clarifying inter-word relationships through grammatical adjustments.
By reducing noun dependency and strengthening verb expression, the simplicity and readability of English translations can be significantly improved.

Evaluation:
1. Theoretical value: This chapter systematically reveals the noun abuse phenomenon in Chinese English, puts forward the core concept of "noun plague", and analyzes its causes (redundant, empty, and abstract nouns). It disassembles the problems of redundant, empty, and abstract nouns as well as noun strings one by one, and combines a large number of examples of Chinese-English comparisons, so that different types of noun pathologies are clearly defined. It also points out the common misuse of abstract nouns by native speakers, revealing the influence of power discourse on language style (e.g., preference for ambiguous expressions in government and academic texts).
2. Cross-cultural value: This chapter deeply reflects the differences in thinking between Chinese and English, which is instructive for language teaching and translation practice. It emphasizing the conflict between Chinese "parataxis" and English "hypotaxis" (e.g., the juxtaposition of nouns without conjunctions in Chinese requires explicit logical connections in English). It also exposes the power discourse behind the misuse of abstract nouns, and guiding learners to reflect on the interaction between language and society and culture.

Reflection：
This chapter made me aware of the essential difference between Chinese and English: Chinese is rich in nouns, while English relies on verbs. As a Chinese speaker, I realize that I unconsciously "pile up nouns" in my English writing, resulting in bulky and abstract sentences. This is not only a grammatical problem, but also a reflection of mindset.
I was most inspired by the author's "verb substitution method". In the past, I have always been obsessed with the use of "advanced vocabulary" in my writing, resulting in the misuse of abstract nouns. Through this chapter, I learned to transform noun structures into verbs. It shifts my expression from "static" to "dynamic".