中式英语之鉴 part two

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Part 2  focuses on the optimization of sentence structure, systematically analyzing the typical syntactic issues in Chinglish. Through numerous comparative examples, the author reveals how Chinese thinking interferes with English expression, such as the "noun plague" phenomenon—overuse of abstract nouns leading to lengthy sentences (e.g., simplifying "realization of mechanization" to "mechanization"). The proper placement of modifiers is also emphasized, pointing out that dangling modifiers (e.g., changing "Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful" to "Walking down the street, I saw the beautiful trees") and unclear pronoun references (e.g., specifying the subject in "he was wrong") can cause ambiguity. Additionally, the book proposes the principle of grammatical consistency in parallel structures (e.g., correcting "reading, hiking, and to dance" to "reading, hiking, and dancing") and the necessity of explicit logical connectors (e.g., using "because" to link cause-and-effect relationships), both targeting the transfer of implicit logic from Chinese. These analyses advocate for the deletion of redundant elements (e.g., removing the unnecessary "future" in "future plans") and simplification of structures (e.g., replacing "have a restrictive effect on" with "restrict"), promoting the construction of concise sentences centered around verbs.
This section reflects a systematic summary and practical guidance for Chinglish issues, such as translating "拍马屁" as "lick the boots" instead of a literal translation, which retains cultural imagery while conforming to English idiomatic habits. Its case - driven teaching approach (e.g., using "dump" instead of "break up" for "甩了女朋友") provides translation practitioners with an intuitive error - correction template. However, its limitations lie in the superficial theoretical explanations, such as the lack of in - depth linguistic analysis of the cognitive mechanisms behind nominalization, and some translations (e.g., translating "扫帚星" as "jinx") may be contextually limited due to cultural differences.