Dear Sally, Pan, Charles, Jenny etc…
Looks like I’ve caused another maelstrom again, let me collectively answer all your queries here.
When I said your written English seemed bookish, and kind of ‘unnatural’, I meant they’re different from what I encounter in my daily life. I agree that this is simply inevitable since you’re learning English as a foreign language in China. Sometimes when the discussions were related to Chinese domestic matters, as a person looking outside in, I could only find the content foreign.
Charles raised a good point. Chinese English may some day become a norm if there is enough population interacting with English in China. The so called ‘Chinglish’ may just become another branch of English, similar to other non-mainstreamed English such as Singaporean English, South African English etc. During my occasional visits to the Chat room, I noticed that some friends typed: “Go ba.”, “Just kidding la.”, these must be the characteristics of Chinglish which I now became a little accustomed to. Writing American styled English need not be the sole goal of many English learners in China. As long as you craft the wordings of your writing carefully and make it comprehensible to your readers, there’s no need to feel ashamed of being bookish. Dove once mentioned that my Chinese writing is extremely bookish, but so what? Let it be! I never lived in an environment that people conversed in Mandarin (except the summer of 1988 in Taiwan), so I’m proud that I can still write Chinese characters, who cares if my writing’s bookish or verbally unsound? I think if you folks can establish a firm foundation in your written English, regardless of how bookish it may be, and if you subsequently have an opportunity to spend time in North America, your spoken English will improve so quickly that you’ll be far ahead than the rest of the gangs. I know David Canuck has lavishly praised the written English of our two masters, Jenny and Pan, I hope what I said in my previous post did not get construed as the opposite of the ultimate truth, or that I am now perceived as a devil’s advocate! I am always amazed that how English learners in China can achieve such a high level of proficiency in the English language. I always hold you in a very high regard in my mind and I have nothing but lofty admiration and respect for your endeavors and commitment in this regard. The Singaporeans speak English with a local accent but I don’t see them trying to Americanize their official language. In Canada, people from Nova Scotia (the East), Manitoba (the Central), all have different accents compared to the west (Alberta, British Columbia), so even Canadians don’t speak uniform Canadian English. Worse yet, people from Quebec don’t even speak English ;-). I look forward to the day Chinglish gains its recognition in the international society and establishes its footing as a branch of the English language.
I have no problems understanding your written English, although some sentences sure reflect glimpse of Chinese way of thinking. The syntax is somewhat different from what I read everyday on Canadian newspapers and magazines, the wordings are sometimes a bit awkward and ambiguous but I managed to get most of the meaning. I don’t think you need to do your thinking in a pure English way in order to write flawless English. Just pay attention to syntax, in this area, if you gain a lot of exposure to western English written materials, it will certainly help. I feel I can write quite comfortably in English now because I have converted my thinking to English some years ago. I very seldom think in Chinese nowadays. Over ninety five percent of my communication is now done in English day in and day out, and it only gets easier and easier. I never encountered any English books written in China, I mostly read American English books, and I feel it helps my syntax as well as my vocabularies. How do you determine which words to use in isolation and which to use interchangeably? I don’t know the rule, I can only gain that instinct through prolific readings. Once you read enough and see how various authors skillfully craft their masterpieces and beautify their wordings with delicate writing styles, you just simply get assimilated, all resistance being futile.
Let me give you a few examples of the “unnatural-ness” I see in some posts:
* I have a tiny question to you here now.&- I have a quick question for you.
* The very reason why most of us’s English…&- The main reason why most of our English…
* How to think using the western mode&- How to think in western way
I’m not sure if all the sentences with asterisk are grammatically wrong, since I’m grammar-illiterate, I don’t dare to make any comment in this realm. I just feel that they don’t go very smooth, in my gut feelings. The sentences with ampersand sign would be how I’d say it verbally, in a natural way.
As to the bookish part, I don’t see anything wrong with writing bookish English, though it lacks a tad of fluency, it’s certainly elegant and exquisite. What’s more glaring is grammatically incorrect phrases and erroneously punctuated sentences. So, dear Jenny, Charles, Pan, just relax and take it as a complement when people say you write bookish English. You don’t live in an English speaking country and it’s unrealistic to expect anyone not to write bookish English, a little ‘glitch’ here and there in your writing is understandable and totally acceptable, in the humble opinion of yours truly. I sincerely hope what I said in my previous post did not offend anybody. I didn’t mean to step on anyone’s ego.
Charles lauded me to the skies by saying my writing is fluent and explicit, while Sally said it was inspiring and profound. To the former, I smile and say “Thank you”, to the latter, I can only disagree. Dear Sally, if you want to read something profound, go seek it in the delicate writings of Mary, Tim and David. Mine is simply too plain and potato-like, while it may be explicit, it’s rather tasteless. And Charles, I’m not even trying to be modest when I say this ;-)
Mary is a prolific writer in this forum. Her writing is inspiring, impeccable and beautiful. To me, the best way to improve your written English would be to simply study Mary’s post and heed what’s she’s saying. Learn the syntax, study the vocabulary and ponder on the profound thought and life wisdom saturated throughout the articles. In addition, also try to read American English books if you have access to them. I'am convinced that reading makes all the difference.
I used to browse book reviews on the Amazon website, and found some of the reviews written by British and Australians, though they used real English, the writing still sounded funny to me. I think it all has something to do with weather you get used to it or not. And I am not at all accustomed to Chinglish at this point in my life, hence the viewpoint previously expressed.
Cling to that ‘Long March’ spirit when you study English, my dear forum friends, you’re doing well so far and am sure you will continue to improve endlessly. You make me proud!
Last weekend we had a major thunderstorm. My brother and I worked through the rain trying to rush and complete building the fence, we were both sick like a dog the following Monday. I lost my voice for two days and am now coughing my head off. The fence is 90% completed but I still have a long list of projects to tackle yet. I am on a very tight schedule and don’t know how much spare time I will have coming back to this forum in the next little while. I am sure you’ll have heated discussion on this topic. Please pardon my absence and don’t frown if you don’t see my reply.
Live long and prosper.Neil
