英语论文_中式英语

1、On the Reasons andCountermeasures for Chinglish in English LearningAbstract: The teaching of English as a foreign language in China has become a nationwide endeavor pursued at all academic levels, from the kindergarten to the University. In the past ten years there has been an explosion in the devel

2、opment of public school English programs and private English language schools throughout China. As more and more people begin to learn English and use English, an unsatisfying problem appears, that is Chinglish. And the causes are numerous and diversified, which include linguistic, cultural, social

3、and so on. In this paper, we will talk about Chinglish in English learning. This is a complex problem, but now more and more people have noticed this. Making clear the forms of Chinglish and why there is so much Chinglish will help us to solve this problem. Therefore, this paper focuses on the forms

4、 of Chinglish, the linguistic factors that lead to Chinglish, the difference of China English and Chinglish and some suggestions. And when this problem has been solved properly, not only the English writing skill but also the quality and the efficiency of English teaching and learning will be improv

5、ed.Key words: Chinglish, reasons, countermeasure, culture, mother language，中式英语形成的原因以及在英语学习中克服中式英语的对策 摘要：在中国，从幼儿园到大学，英语教学已经成为一种流行趋势。在过去十多年中，无论是在一般学校还是私立学校，英语教学都有了极大的发展。随着越来越多的人学英语，用英语，也产生了一个令人不容乐观的问题，那就是汉语式英语的大量出现。产生这一问题的原因是多种多样的，有语言学方面的，也有文化、社会等方面的原因。在这篇论文中，我们将会谈论英语学习中的汉语式英语。这是一个复杂的问题，好在现在越来越多的人已经注

6、意到了这个问题。弄清汉语式英语的各种不同形式和它产生的缘由将能帮助我们解决这个问题。在这篇论文中将着重介绍英语学习中汉语式英语的不同形式，产生这个问题的语言学方面的原因，中国英语与中式英语的区别及一些避免汉语式英语的建议。当汉语式英语得到有效避免的时候，不但英语写作水平会随之提升，而且英语教学和英语学习的质量和效率都会得到提高。关键词：中式英语，起因，对策, 文化, 母语, Introduction As society develops, English has become a necessary tool in todays competitive world. Therefore, m

7、ore and more people are engaged in English learning. However, with an impressive command of English vocabulary and good mastery of grammar as well as phonetics, which, to some extent, are even beyond the native speakers capacity, they are confronted with quite a few problems when they are talking wi

8、th native speakers or writing in English. They usually make the foreigners confused by their speech or writing. No matter how they rephrase or paraphrase, the native speakers action will remain the samethey either shrug or shake their heads. Finally both of them have to end embarrassingly. What had

9、happened to the Chinese speakers? Why the language they use sounds alien to the foreigners? To retrace the cause, I find that most of the Chinese learners mistakes are not made due to their lack of grammar or vocabulary knowledge but a “new” language they useChinglish, an excrescence of Standard Eng

10、lish. Chinglish refers to the irregular language form created by English language learners in China due to the influence of mother tongue and culture 1. We can sense that Chinglish is everywhere, and has an absolute negative influence on cross-cultural communication. Whats worse, Chinglish will neve

11、r disappear by itself. Chinglish, a hybrid English form with Chinese characteristics, deteriorates translation in its accuracy and expressiveness. As an interlanguage and with its own features, Chinglish is objective and unavoidable for Chinese learners of English in certain period 2. By contrastive

12、 analysis, we can conclude that thought pattern discrepancies and mother tongue interference are the basic reasons of Chinglish, and we can see the forms of Chinglish clearly. Since Chinglish seriously affects the translation quality, we must reduce or avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, both t

13、eachers and students should be well aware of this irregular language and try hard to correct it as much as possible so that they can speak and write in an English way. In order to make the English learners become more efficient in conveying their points of view both in speech and writing without bei

14、ng affected by Chinglish, I write this thesis tries to probe into its cause, mistakes of various levels and finally, I will come up with some possible suggestions.1 What is ChinglishChinglish is a common phenomenon that exists in Chinese-English translation. The major cause of Chinglish is the diffe

15、rences between the Chinese and English languages. Though English is being popularized in China, not many people are really proficient in it, and that is why Chinglish becomes a serious problem that hampers intercultural communication.1. 1 Definitions of ChinglishChinglish is a portmanteau of the wor

16、ds Chinese and English and refers to spoken or written English which is influenced by Chinese. There are an estimated 300 to 500 million learners in china. Somebody explained that Chinglish refers to the irregular language form created by English language learners in China due to the influence of mo

17、ther tongue and culture. It has the character of China and also is called Malformation of English.3 This is a kind of prevalent phenomenon appeared in English learning. Although it is temporary, it also is inevitable. With English becoming more and more popular in China, more and more linguistic exp

18、ressions arise. In the early of mid-20th century, Chinglish is known as “pidgin” English.1. 2 History of Chinglish English 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 no

19、rth to Shanghai by the 1830s.4 Yangjing 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.Chinese Pidgin English began to decline in the late 19th century as standard English began to

20、be taught in the countrys education system. English language teaching has been widespread throughout modern Chinese history, it was became the countrys main foreign language in 1982.51. 3 Status in quo of Chinglish I believed every Chinese have not forgotten the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing

21、, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the city authorities clamped down on the usage of Chinglish and replaced it with Standard English. But in fact not everyone can speak Standard English, some people say Chinglish let foreigner can not understand very well all the same. This is the first time we

22、 communicate with foreigner without distance, at the same time; it makes opportunity for checking our English. However, we can see Chinglish in every place, for example, in public place, hotel, travel industry sites, museum and so on. We can also say where there is road, where there is Chnglish.In t

23、he Beijing International Airport, we can see a sign in emergency export “No entry on peacetime”. We translate it into Chinese, that is “和平时期不能入内”。In fact it means that we can not enter it usually.Peacetime and usual time are two different concept, if we meet some stubborn foreigner, they will think

24、that means they can enter there when war occurred. What is more, the striking sign in a bookshop in Beijing “welcome again That is to say you can get an opportunity to welcome, but now we give you another opportunity to welcome you again. But in fact, they want to say that you are welcome to come ba

25、ck again. When we walk in the street, we can see so many signs at which we dont know whether we should laugh or cry. For example,“欢迎你到” Chinese say “welcome you to .”, but foreigner say “welcome to.” “.非常喜欢”，we say “very like”, but foreigner say “like.very much”. “永远记住你”，we say “remember you forever

26、”, but foreigner say “always remember you”. Because no one can live forever.“车门”, we say “the door of the car”, but the foreigner say “the cars door”. Like these examples we can see many in our life.6But it is a shame that we can see Chinglish in our life all the same. Chinglish is very common in Ch

27、inese students English learning, English writing, and translation and so on. Because the Chinese students are so familiar with their study habit of writing in Chinese practice that they often put it into practice in English writing. This is a big obstacle for Chinese students to learn English well.

28、When Chinese students who lack in a real English environment learn English, they easily tend to ignore the differences between the two languages. We see an example, some students write a sentence, “Under the help of his teacher, he made great progress”. Most Chinese think that is right, very smooth.

29、 However, we should say it like this “With the help of his teacher, he made great progress”. This is according with English expression. As another example, when something is explained, the English learner may respond with “Oh, I know”, while the appropriate response would be “Oh, I see”. This is bec

30、ause “知道 zhidao” is usually translated as “know” regardless of context.1. 4 Chinglish and China EnglishChina English is a kind of acceptable English, but it has the character of Chinese culture and in consistence with international English. We know China English is not a kind of transition English w

31、hile we begin to learn English. It is stabile about its theory and syntax. When the culture of the society is developing, China English is developing also. People begin to accept these developing China English in order to serve for communicating with foreigner. China English is a kind of Chinese fla

32、vored English, always used for expressing the Chinese special things, such as Open-door policy, Socialism with Chinese characteristics, Market-oriented economy and so on.7 However, Chinglish, that is Chinese English, is a derogatory term. It is not accord with English usage. There is difference betw

33、een China English and Chinglish whereas there is similar point between them. They both express the Chinese special things, have Chinese character. But China English have been accepted by people, it becomes wider in using and formation than Chinglish. It is helpful for Chinese culture to enter foreig

34、n countries.2 Forms of Chinglish Since the 1990s, some nondescript English words appeared in china, which may be considered as Chinglish. For example, ML (make love), PK (player kill), WC (water closet). What is more, we can see Chinglish in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and overextens

35、ion of analogy.2. 1 PronunciationSome words are often exchanged or mixed for the same words. This is because the two words have the same pronunciation, such as temple and temper. Sometimes, an English word pronunciation was not correct and it may become Chinglish, for example, English name, such as

36、Allen, Ellen, Aileen, and Shirley, Shelly, Cherry.82. 2 Vocabulary Vocabulary is the base of language learning. At the same time, Chinglish appeared Due to most people have not varies of English expressions and idioms, a lot of Chinglish appeared in English study. It is difficult to understand for f

37、oreigner. 2.2.1 Chinglish namesSome Chinese pick non-traditional English names. Such names may be derived from vocabulary they learned in their early English lessons, including names such as Apple, Space, Can, Sea, Moon cake, Magic, Koala, Spider, Thunder, Cloudy, Airy, Rainbow, Table, Bird, Eleven,

38、 Hive, Ice, Puppy, Well and other names of animals, plants, weather phenomena, household appliances, and days of the week or months. They might choose products they like as their name, such as Cola or Nautical, or other more advanced words that may be picked for their sound or meaning such as Victor

39、y, Nation or even Cemetery and Satan. Often names have a wrong spelling such as Windy as opposed to Wendy and Sherry instead of Cherry.2.2.2 Lexical deficiency It seems easy to find out that Chinglish often appears in the form of lexical redundancy, which arises when students fail to understand the

40、exact meaning and usage of an English word. 9Such as: (1) 书桌（课桌） Chinglish: a book desk (a writing desk) Correct: a desk(2) 舞会 Chinglish: a dance party Correct: a dance Misunderstanding meaning and usage of a word brings about a kind of unbearable Chinglish. Take a look at the following sentences:(1

41、)我每天都用英语写日记。Chinglish: I write a diary in English everyday. Correct: I keep a diary in English everyday. (2)大雨过后，河流上涨。Chinglish: The river rose after big rains.Correct: The river rose after heavy rains. (3)这个城市人口很多Chinglish: The population of city is very many.Correct: The population of city is very

42、 large.2. 3 Overextension of analogyWhen one of the sound, spelling, meaning, syntax of English as same as mother language, learner always make mistakes. For example, xiang想，this word often made us confused. Because “xiang” has a lot of specific meaning, such as, “思考,打算,梦想”Some people think it simpl

43、y and overextend the meaning of the word. Then say “I think to be an understanding musician.” In fact, we should translate it like this “I want to be an understanding musician.”2. 4 Grammar Chinglish also was caused by the grammar. Examples include: (1) using me is instead of I am (such as Me is Jac

44、k) (2) using awkward gerunds (such as No Noising) (3) excessive use of the when not needed (such as The China is bigger than the France, The France is bigger than the Switzerland) (4) excessive use of to, the use of to with modals, preserving to in infinitive f orm even when unnecessary (e.g. I must

45、 to go) (5) confusion of -ed and -ing adjectives (e.g. I am very boring vs. I am very bored; I was surprising vs. I was surprised) The above examples reflect the influence of Chinese syntax and grammar; in Chinese, verbs are not conjugated (either for tense or pronoun), and there is no equivalent wo

46、rd for the. So we should pay more attention to the difference between Chinese and English.3 Reasons for ChinglishIn order to know Chinglish better, we should investigate the reasons for Chinglish. We know Chinglish is harmful to our English learning, so realize that reasons for Chinglish are helpful

47、.3. 1 Foreign culture Because people can not know the background of foreign culture very well when they use English, they often use it according to Chinese usage. That is always Chinglish.Language is close to culture. Language is a part of culture, and plays a vital role in culture. So some socialis

48、ts think that language is keystone of culture. No language, no culture. From another side, language is affected by culture and reflectes culture. Broadly speaking, language is the symbol of nation, not only containing the history background of a nation, but also manifesting the nations outlook on li

49、fe, way of thinking and way of life Foreign language learning requires us not only a mastering of sound, vocabulary, grammar, but also knowledge of social culture, way of thinking, way of life and so on. We should acquire “the language of their mind”. If not, chinglish were produced.3.1.1 Way of thi

50、nking The difference between English and Chinese thinking is the basic reason for Chinglish. Language and thinking are the key factor for people communication. There is close connection between them. Language is the carrier of thinking, it reflects the way of human thinking, psychological characteri

51、stics and national culture. Thinking is the soul of language, leading and controlling the use of language.Chinese incline to pursue literary talent and use many flowery words. However, English tend to use simple sentence to express their thinking. They always think that there are redundant words in

52、sentence, not repeated lines in picture, not redundant accessory in machine. For example, we need translate a Chinese sentence, “为了推动中英关系的发展，中国需要进一步了解英国，英国也需要进一步了解中国.” We can translate like these.A: To promote the development of Sino-U.K relations, China needs to know the U.K also needs to know Chin

53、a better.B: To promote Sino-U.K relations, China needs to know the U.K better and vice versa.At sight the two sentences, we know A may be OK from Chinese and English grammar, but this complex sentence was affected by Chinese thinking. Let us look at B, you will find B can contain the Chinese meaning

54、 and delete the redundant words making the sentence according with English usage. Another example, when we depict scenery, Chinese will use many modifiers, but English student will use few modifiers. If a Chinese sentence is given, “两岸树木葱茏，鲜花繁茂，芳草萋萋” Let us look at the sentence.Trees, flowers and gr

55、ass, a picture of natural vitality, thrive on both banks.We will find this sentence is very simple, but can convey the Chinese meaning. Although these modifiers make the sentence very wonderful, if we translate it straight, it will appear Chinglish. 3.1.2 Word usage Chinese pay more attention to art

56、istic conception, but English take important information. We can see it from the relationship between sentences and sentences. English like using many conjunctions to connect two sentences, but Chinese students using few. In addition, English students usually use many subordinate clause, absolute co

57、nstruction, prepositional phrase, gerund and so on in order to show the subordinate construction. Nevertheless, Chinese student always use coordinate construction and only have few kinds of ways to express.10 For example, 陕西是中华民族文明的发源地之一，陕西是中国五千年文明的缩影，陕西是所有炎黄子孙的根基. We can translate like these:A: Sha

58、nxi is one of the birthplaces of the civilization of the Chinese nation; Shanxi is the miniature of the 5000 years civilization of china; Shanxi is also the root of all people of Chinese descent.B: Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of the civilization of the Chinese nation, the miniature of the 5000

59、years civilization of china and is also the root of all Chinese descendents.In sentence A three parallel structures and no relative words are used, Chinese student are accustomed to the sentence, but English student can not accept. They will translate the sentence like B. It is well known that Chinese thinking is according with the ti