Reading Notes of Chapter 11 - 13 of The Translator's Guide to Chinglish​

无敌幸运星

I. Core Concepts Summary​
(I) Chapter 11: Misuse of Articles​
Chapter 11 centers on the common misuse of articles in Chinglish. Chinese lacks a grammatical article system, which often leads Chinese learners of English to overlook or misuse the definite article “the” and the indefinite articles “a” and “an”. In English, articles play a crucial role in specifying whether a noun refers to something specific or general, countable or uncountable. For example, translating “我喜欢读书” as “I like reading book” is incorrect because “book” is a countable noun; it should be “I like reading books” (plural form without an article to refer to books in general) or “I like reading a book” (singular form with the indefinite article to refer to any single book). Another common mistake is overusing “the”, such as “The water in the bottle is cold” when referring to water in a general context; in this case, “Water in the bottle is cold” without “the” before “water” would be more appropriate if the focus is on the water's property rather than the specific water.​
(II) Chapter 12: Unclear Pronoun References​
Chapter 12 addresses the problem of unclear pronoun references in Chinglish. Chinese often allows for more implicit and flexible pronoun usage, relying on context for clarity. However, English requires explicit and unambiguous antecedents for pronouns. For instance, in the sentence “Tom told Jack that he should study harder,” it's unclear whether “he” refers to Tom or Jack. To make it clear, it should be rewritten as “Tom told Jack that Jack should study harder” or “Tom told Jack that Tom himself should study harder”. Also, using a pronoun without a clear antecedent, like “They say it will rain tomorrow,” without specifying who “they” are, is a typical Chinglish problem. English speakers would prefer “People say it will rain tomorrow” or mention the specific source, such as “The weather forecast says it will rain tomorrow”.​
(III) Chapter 13: Lack of Parallel Structure​
Chapter 13 focuses on the lack of parallel structure in Chinglish. English emphasizes parallelism in expressions, especially when listing items, comparing things, or using correlative conjunctions. In Chinese, the structure of coordinated elements can be more flexible. For example, “She likes reading, singing, and to dance” is incorrect because “reading” and “singing” are gerunds while “to dance” is an infinitive. The correct form should be “She likes reading, singing, and dancing” to maintain parallelism. Another example is when using correlative conjunctions like “not only... but also...”. A Chinglish sentence such as “He is not only good at math but also plays basketball well” is wrong. It should be “He is not only good at math but also good at basketball” to keep the structure parallel.​
II. Detailed Problem Analysis with Abundant Examples​
(I) Chapter 11: In - depth Analysis of Article Misuse​
Omission of Articles​
Omission of articles is very common. For example, “Child needs love” is incorrect. It should be “A child needs love” (using the indefinite article “a” to refer to any child) or “Children need love” (using the plural form without an article to refer to children in general). When referring to unique things, the definite article “the” is often omitted, like “Sun rises in east”. The correct version is “The sun rises in the east”. Another case is with proper nouns used in a specific sense. “I went to hospital yesterday” is wrong; it should be “I went to the hospital yesterday” because here “hospital” refers to a specific hospital.​
Incorrect Use of “The”​
Overusing or misusing “the” also occurs frequently. For example, “The people should work hard for country” is incorrect. It should be “People should work hard for their country” as “people” is used in a general sense and “country” needs a possessive determiner. Also, when using “the” with plural nouns to refer to a general class, it can be misused. “The computers are useful tools” is better expressed as “Computers are useful tools” when talking about computers in general.​
(II) Chapter 12: Thorough Examination of Unclear Pronoun References​
Ambiguous Pronoun Antecedents​
Ambiguity often arises when multiple nouns could potentially be the antecedent of a pronoun. For example, “The teacher told the student that he was wrong” is unclear. It could be rewritten as “The teacher told the student, ‘You are wrong’” or “The teacher told the student that the student was wrong”. In a more complex sentence like “The book and the pen were on the table, and it was new”, it's not clear whether “it” refers to the book or the pen. It should be “The book and the pen were on the table, and the book was new” to clarify.​
Vague Pronoun Usage without Antecedents​
Using pronouns without clear antecedents is a typical error. For instance, “They all say this movie is good” without specifying who “they” are. It could be “Critics all say this movie is good” or “Viewers all say this movie is good”. Another example is “It is said that it will be a difficult task” where the first “it” is an empty subject, but the second “it” has no clear reference. It should be “It is said that the project will be a difficult task” to make the meaning clear.​
(III) Chapter 13: Comprehensive Analysis of Lack of Parallel Structure​
Non - parallel Lists​
In lists, non - parallel forms are common. For example, “The course includes reading books, writing essays, and to take exams” is incorrect. It should be “The course includes reading books, writing essays, and taking exams” to keep all elements in the gerund form. Also, when listing different types of actions with different verb forms, it causes confusion, like “She spent her weekend cleaning the house, watched TV, and went shopping”. The correct version is “She spent her weekend cleaning the house, watching TV, and going shopping”.​
Incorrect Use with Correlative Conjunctions​
When using correlative conjunctions, parallelism must be maintained. For example, “He not only likes music but also art” is wrong. It should be “He not only likes music but also likes art” or “He likes not only music but also art”. Another case is with “either... or...”. “You can either stay at home or to go out” is incorrect; it should be “You can either stay at home or go out”.​
III. Personal Insights and Improvement Strategies​
(I) Personal Understanding​
Studying these three chapters has made me realize that Chinglish problems in article usage, pronoun references, and parallel structure are direct results of the differences between Chinese and English language systems. The absence of an article system in Chinese makes it hard for Chinese learners to internalize the rules of English articles. The more implicit nature of Chinese pronoun usage contrasts sharply with the strict requirements of English for clear antecedents. And the flexible sentence structures in Chinese often lead to neglect of parallelism in English writing.​
(II) Improvement Strategies​
For article misuse, I will make a summary of the rules for using “a,” “an,” and “the” and create a collection of common phrases and sentence patterns with correct article usage. I will practice identifying and correcting article errors in Chinglish sentences daily. To address unclear pronoun references, I will be more cautious when using pronouns, always ensuring that the antecedent is clear and unambiguous. I will rewrite sentences with ambiguous pronouns to make the meaning clear. Regarding the lack of parallel structure, I will pay close attention to parallelism when writing lists, comparisons, or using correlative conjunctions. I will review and revise my writing to check for and correct non - parallel structures, and also study well - written English examples to learn how to maintain parallelism effectively.