Redundant Twins

辰什么辰

Reader:王婷
Reading Time:3.10-3.16
Reading Task:Redundant Twins

Summary of the Content:
“Redundant twins” are word pairs with overlapping meanings, common in Chinese
but redundant in English:
Nouns: “views and opinions” → “views”
Verbs: “discuss and debate” → “discuss”
Adjectives/Adverbs: “firm and resolute” → “firm”
The chapter emphasizes that Chinese parallelism often translates poorly, urging translators to choose one precise term. Examples include “assistance and help” → “assistance” and “rectify and improve” → “rectify.”

Evaluation:
Pinkham’s analysis highlights cultural differences in language use: Chinese values balance, while English prioritizes economy. Her examples from government texts (“measures and steps”) show how twins create verbosity. The chapter’s pragmatic advice— “If one word suffices, use it” —is vital for avoiding awkward repetition.

Reflection:
In group projects, I’ve written "each and every member" without realizing “each” suffices. This chapter reminds me to question twin phrases like “final and conclusive.” In English, precision matters more than symmetry, so “end result” is better than “final result.”