浅析汉英翻译中的中国式英语

A Brief Analysis of Chinglish inChinese-English TranslationInvestigatorHe CaixiaBeijing TV UniversitySubmitted on 12 May 2011In fulfillment of the course Practical Project Design浅析汉英翻译中的中国式英语研究者王小全中央广播电视大学提交2011年5月12日完成的课程设计实践项目AcknowledgmentI am mostly grateful to Professor Guide and MissZhang ,without whose support this project would not implemented.I am also grateful to my colleagues.Last but not the least , big thanks to my mother and father ,without whose support ,I would not have self-confidence to finish this project.AbstractTranslation is a well-structured transformation of both source language and target language; it is not a simple job of duplication. Chinese has its own character. When it is translated into English, it is necessary to follow the English rules. After all, Chinese and English are of fundamental difference. Not all vocabulary has equivalence in other language. As for the sentence structure, it is not the same as well. What‘s more, Chinese and English indicate different connotation because of the culture. It‘s difficult to make a compromise in the translation. Therefore, Chinglish easily occur. The manifestation includes: incorrect location of meaning, incorrect sentence structure and lacking of normalization. But generally, all these mistakes are interfered by mother tongue. Therefore, it‘s necessary to tackle the problem of Chinglish. To illustrate the problem of Chinglish, this paper will demonstrate a lot of example so as to evaluate the causes and suggestions of how to avoid or reduce it, with a purpose to bring translation nearer to a standard of faithfulness and smoothness.Key words: Chinglish；causes；culture；faithfulness；smoothness.浅析汉英翻译中的中国式英语【摘要】汉语和英语是两种不同的语言。

在汉英翻译中,由于英语学习者不注意对汉英两种语言的历史,文化,风俗习惯不同的学习和掌握,只习惯于英语的汉语解释,养成了简单的、机械的、僵化的学习方法和生搬硬套、逐字逐句的汉语式的英语表达方式.从而使得译文过于拘泥原文的字句，导致译文生硬，晦涩难懂，不符合英语习惯用法，让读者读后感觉译者只是在机械翻译，译文带有明显的汉语痕迹，这样的译文就是通常所谓的Chinglish（中式英语）Chinglish是影响译文质量的主要原因之一，这篇论文举例探讨Chinglish产生的原因、历史，表现形式及解决方法，从而避免汉语式英语,使汉英翻译达到忠实通顺。

【关键词】中国式英语；成因；忠实；通顺CONTENTSI. Introduction (1)1.1The Definition of Chinglish............ (1)1.2 History of Chinglish (1)1.3 Siginificance of avoiding it (1)II.Cases....................................................... .. (2)III. Causes of Chinglish (4)3.1 Cultural Differences (4)3.2 Usage of Voca bularies (5)3.3 Incorrect location of meaning (6)3.4 Difference between two language (6)3.5 Incorrect Sente nce Structure (7)IV. The Ways to Avoid Chinglish (8)4.1 Culture –Awareness (8)4.2 Three standards in Translation (8)4.3 Consulting Dictionary (11)4.4 Taking Context into Consideration (11)V. Conclusion (12)References (13)Acknowledgements (14)I IntroductionChinese and English are quite different. However, when native speaker of Chinese learn English, they tend to lose sight of the difference between the two. This is particularly the case when it comes to Chinese –English translation, because they have formed the habit of trying to write in English what they would in Chinese. As a result, Chinglish, an awkward mixture in which ideas conceived in Chinese are ungrammatically expressed in English, runs riot in their translation. The main cause of Chinglish is, of course, the linguistic interference. To remove the negative influence of the native tongue, therefore, remains a task of paramount important for students of English major in China.1.1The conception of Chinglish and root of its appearanceWhat is Chinglish?Chinglish is a combination of the words Chinese and English and refers to spoken or written English which is influenced by Chinese (Wikipedia). There are an estimated 300 to 500 million users and/or learners of English in the People's Republic of China. The term ―Chinglish‖is mostly used in popular contexts and may have pejorative or der ogatory connotation. The terms ―Chinese English‖ and ―China English" are also used, mostly in the academic community, to refer to Chinese varieties of English It is that we create English based on the habit of Chinese such as linguistic structure or even in the tradition and culture and the words‘ straight translation. It does not appear in the Chinese-English dictionary.1.2HistoryEnglish first arrived in China in the 1630s, when British traders arrived in South China. Chinese Pidgin English was spoken first in the areas of Macao and Guangzhou, later spreading north to Shanghai by the 1830s ―Y angjing Bang English‖in Chinese derives from the name of a former creek in Shanghai near the Bund where local workers communicated with English-speaking foreigners in pidgin (broken English) Chinese Pidgin English began to decline in the late 19th century as standard Englishbegan to be taught in the country's education system. English language teaching has been widespread throughout modern Chinese history-- it was made the country's main foreign language in 1982. At that time, the English learners usually heard the word ―Chinglish‖. In Qing dynasty（1840）, the British invaders brought the English to China, many people wanted to learn English, but they didn‘t have enough time to do, so they just understood their physical meanings from the British conversations. And in the practical, they couldn‘t avoid the influence of the mother language-Chinese. So they just used fewer words to express the meanings, the Chinglish was invented by them.1.3The significance of avoiding itChinglish offers a humorous and insightful look at misuses of the English language in Chinese street signs, products, and advertising. (Oliver, 2007).A long-standing favorite of English speaking tourists and visitors, Chinglish is now quickly becoming a culture intergraded into Chinese. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese government was determined to wipe out incorrect English usage of Chinglish and replaced it with Standard English. Among other examples, signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" may read "Caution - slippery path". Other notable examples include: "Oil gate" (accelerator), "confirming distance" (keep space, distance verification), and so on.II.S ome funny Chinglish examples in Chinese-English translation 给你点颜色看看！！Give you some color to see see!!机房重地Engine room is serious place.走着瞧！Go and look!好好学习，天天向上good good study, day day up不三不四no three no four马马虎虎Horse horse tiger tiger你问我，我问谁？You ask me, I ask who?没钱没门No money no door咱俩谁跟谁阿we two who and who？怎么是你，怎么老是你How are you? How old are you?杀一警百kill one police hundred彼此彼此You me you me知之为知之，不知为不知...Know is know no know is no know来点音乐Come some music五讲四美三热爱5 talks, 4 beauties & 3 loves表妹Watch sister人山人海People mountain, people sea. （In English there is an expression ―sea of people‖, but not ―mountain of people.）我的电脑坏了My computer is broken. (My computer is down or my computer corrupted)All examples above are quite funny, but the English speakers get confused when reading them. If this kind of chinglsih cannot make any sense to native speakers, what‘s the purpose of translation? Translation is a well-structured transformation of both source language and target language; it is not a simple job of duplication.III Causes of ChinglishChinese has its own character. When it is translated into English, it is necessary to follow the English rules. After all, Chinese and English are of fundamental difference. Not all vocabulary has equivalence in other language. As for the sentence structure, it is not the same as well. What‘s more, Chinese and English indicate different connotation because of the culture. It‘s difficult to make a compromise in the translation. The refore, Chinglish easily occur. The manifestation includes: incorrect location of meaning, incorrect sentence structure and lacking of normalization. Incorrect location of meaning usually results from literal translation and unnecessary words. But generally, all these mistakes are interfered by mother tongue.3.1Cultural DifferenceLanguage has nationality that born with its nation and survive with it. Therefore special nations have their given language: there is no language without characteristic in the world as there is no race without characteristic. So, every language is not fully similar to each other, every race has its language. Take a same sugar for instance, Chinese call it ―红糖‖ just in order to distinguish with white sugar; English call it ―brown sugar‖ because its color is brown. Then why is there a different name between things of one? The answer is that they are effected by cultural gene that references human‘s way of thinking, the spoken way of habit, and traditional culture…etc. People who are surviving in different culture will have their given culture including the origin of histo ry, place of nationality, the development of society, and the style of politic and economy. So, in Chinese-English translation, Chinese will be influenced by their culture, language structure and the way of thinking. Chinese usually translate it in the way based on thehabit of Chinese such as linguistic structure or even in the tradition and culture and combine vocabularies‘ straight translation. Then we call it Chinglish.3.2Usage of vocabularies in Chinese—English translationMore and more vocabulary with the feature of Chinglish came out. After the reform, new vocabularies came out. They just exist in China. We did not find the corresponding words in English, so we just translate them word to word. So the Chinglish came out. (1) ―三讲‖ (讲学习，讲政治，讲正气)Chinglish: emphasize the need to study, to have political awareness and to be honest and upright.English: emphasize on three things: study, politics and integrity(2) 国际关系民主化Chinglish: International relations should be democratized.English: Democracy should be practiced in the international relations.3.2.1 Misuse of wordsIf Chinglish caused by inexact understanding of the meaning of word, as appears in the above sentences, is still understandable, misunderstanding of word brings about a kind of unbearable Chinglish. Let‘s see the following sentences.(1)When he reached his hand into his pocket for his wallet, he found it invisible. (missing; gone; lost)(2)As the price for the coat was too expensive,I can‘t buy it. (high)(3)Hi, Mary. Come along. I will first send you home in my car. (take)(4)I feel very painful in my left leg. (Great pain)3.2.2 Unnecessary repetitionsUnnecessary repetition also causes Chinglish The following repetition sentences in translation show clearly the negative influence of the native language.(1)English grammar is very difficult and few writers have avoided making mistakes in grammar. (Here ―grammar‖ should be replaced by ―it‖)（2)Our country is a great country with a long history and a large population.(Use ―Ours‖ instead of ―Our country‖ here)(3)Fish must stay in water. If they do not, they will die. (Use ―or‖ to compound the sentence.)(4)He gave many reasons for his failure, but the reason he gave did not convince people. (It should be ―but none of them was convinced‖).To get rid of Chinglish, students have to be made aware that Chinese is, for the most part, a logically compact language while English strictly compact in its structure.Unnecessary repetition is a deadly enemy to good written English. English verbs and nouns seldom repeat themselves in the same sentences, which are why conjunctions, pronouns and other substitution or introductory words are more frequently used in English than in Chinese.3.3 Incorrect location of meaningChinglish often appears in the form of redundancy which arises when students fail to understand the exact meaning of an English word. For example, Chinese students are inclined to say redundan cy ―a book desk ―or ―a writing desk‖ instead of simply ―desk‖. They do not know ―a dance‖ and ―a study‖ in English mean exactly ―a dance party‖ and ―a study room‖ in Chinese. Similarly, it is not uncommon to find the following redundant sentences in Chinese—English translation by Chinese students.(1) The old man lived by catching fish. (Fishing)(2) I can‘t afford to buy the color TV set for the time being. (afford)(3) Please hurry to climb up the mountain to help him. (hurry up)(4) My mother has gone to the shops to buy things. (shopping)3.4 Chinese a verb-redundant language while English a noun-oriented one.Another kind of Chinglish in the form of redundancy occurs when students are not taught that Chinese is a verb—redundant language while English a noun---oriented one. The following wordy sentences will serve to exemplify my point.(1) He ran out when it was raining hard. (into a heavy rain)(2) I looked at her and felt surprised. ( in surprise)(3)The meeting ended and everybody was bitter. (in bitterness)(4)We were shown in by two young men who wore black uniform.(in blackuniforms)Chinese students of English must be helped to discover that English prepositional phrases in many cases have the same semantic function as Chinese predicate verbsplus their objects. A good knowledge of this fact will provide Chinese students with a very useful means of becoming effective and idiomatic in their translation3.5 The incorrect sentence structureThe incorrect sentence structure also play an important role for Chinglish translation, as it can be seen from the following examples.3. 5.1 Bad arrangement in short phrasesThe words：来信写道Chinglish：The letter writesEnglish：The letter readsThe words：取得成就Chinglish：Make achievements scoreEnglish：attain achievementThe words：革命接班人Chinglish：Successors to the RevolutionaryEnglish：revolution successorsThe words：革命事业接班人Chinglish：Successors to the revolutionary causeEnglish：the Successors in the revolutionary cause3.5.2 Complete ignorance or negligence of the correct syntactic structure(1) The bankruptcy of his father has made him i mpossible to go abroad for further stud ies. (Here ―him‖ must be replace by ―it‖)(2) His English knowledge is very rich. (The correct sentence structure here should be ―His knowledge of English is very rich.)(3) The ―red guard‖ robbed all the books of the old professor.(The right collocation here has to be ―The ‗Red Guards‘ robbed the old professor of all his books.(4) I want the newest information. (Idiomatically speaking, the sentence should be ―I want the latest information,)To eliminate Chinglish of this sort, students should be keenly conscious of the differences in syntactic structures and word collocations between English and Chinese,and adapt the Chinese mind to English ways of expressing ideas.IV The Ways to Avoid ChinglishChingish is one of the major problems affecting the quality of Chinese-English sentences translation; we should make every effort to reduce and avoid it, and bring translation nearer to a standard of faithfulness and smoothness. Here are some suggestions.4.1 Culture –awarenessEvery language has its culture background, when we translate Chinese to English, we should first and foremost taking culture into consideration, to do this, we can add some necessary background wordsThree cobblers with their wits combined equal zhuge liang the mastermindDon‘t try to s how lu ban off your proficiency with the ax before lu Ban the master carpenter4.2 Three standards in Chinese —English translationTranslation standard is summed up in―信、达、雅‖which put forward by Yan Fu in the 19th century, which has always been a rule to the translators in translation. In this standard, ―信‖means ―faithful(to the original)‖. Obviously, ―faithful‖is the most important among the three, and it is the first responsibility to a translator. However, there are disparities between one language and another – disparities in the lexicology, in the linguistic structure or even in the tradition and culture.How to achieve the real faithfulness in a possible sense? A faithful translation in good formality with is not only the original context, but also the original form and style.However, as I have motioned before there are disparities between Chinese and English, not only in lexicology and in linguistic structure, but also in tradition and culture. To achieve such an effect we should do well in two aspects. On the one hand, faithful to the original does not mean to give an equivalent correspondence to each word literally. While doing this we should take these factors into consideration –idiomatic translation; the false faithfulness resulted from obligatory categories; different classifications in different cultures. On the other hand, faithful to the original also requires the translator to bring to the readers the feeling-tone of the original.To maintain that there is always an equivalent correspondence in one language that can match the one in another, which is a naive thought. And what a translator should do is to try every means to achieve the real faithfulness in a possible sense. That means a translation should be in good formality with the original context, form and style. What a translator should be faithful to is not the meaning of the odd words but that of the grammatical structure which is made up by these words. Take a short letter for example. ―昨奉大函，诵悉一是。