《中式英语之鉴》Chapter2读后感

wenyikk

Reader:文心怡
Reading Time:4-5weeks
Reading Task:26-62
Summary of the Content:
Chapter 2 of The Translator's Guide to Chinglish illustrates deeply into the common phenomenon of unnecessary modifiers in Chinglish. It categorizes them into five types: redundant modifiers, self-evident modifiers, intensifiers, qualifiers, and cliches. Through various examples and corresponding revision suggestions, it offers highly valuable references to English learners and translators.
Concerning redundant modifiers, the author clearly points out that many adjectives and adverbs directly borrowed from Chinese are superfluous in an English context. Expressions like "new innovations" (since "innovation" already implies "new") and "advance forecasts" ("forecast" already contains the meaning of "in advance") are cases in point. This makes me acutely aware that when translating and writing in English, we should not merely mechanically translate word for word. Instead, we need to fully consider English usage habits to avoid meaningless repetitions. Self-evident modifiers also merit our attention. For example, in the sentence "we should appropriately raise the purchasing prices of grain and cotton," "appropriately" is redundant because it is generally assumed that things should be done "appropriately." This indicates that we need to be more sensitive to implicit meanings in English expressions and refrain from overstating the obvious.
Intensifiers such as "serious" and "extremely" are often misused in Chinglish. When paired with words that already have strong meanings, they are not only redundant but may also result in ineffective expressions, making the statement weak or overemphasized. Therefore, we should strive to find more precise words instead of relying too much on intensifiers. Qualifiers like "quite," "rather," and "relatively" can make the writer's expression seem hesitant. We should use these words sparingly and only when necessary to avoid undermining the strength of our statements. Cliches, which are overused adjectives and adverbs, have lost their original impact. We should seek fresh alternatives to make our writing more vivid and engaging.
Reflection:
In our daily lives, especially when communicating in English or translating Chinese into English, we frequently encounter problems with unnecessary modifiers. For instance, when writing English essays or preparing English presentations, we may unconsciously overuse words like "very" or "really," making our language less concise and powerful. When translating Chinese slogans or official documents, we need to be particularly cautious about self-evident and cliched modifiers. To improve our English expression skills, we should read more local English materials to develop a good sense of the language and carefully review our writing to identify and remove unnecessary modifiers. Only in this way can we enhance the quality of our English expressions and communicate more effectively.