I read the article about Chinglish written by Leslie the other day, and would like to say something about it. What Leslie writes in his article is really typical Chinglish, and I suppose anyone would make such kind of mistakes if he is subjected to word-by-word translation. I don’t think one would write articles full
of such typical Chinglish mistakes unless he means to set an example of what Chinglish is as Leslie did, but as Chinese, sometimes it is inevitable for us to write in Chinglish style, no matter how well we write. Is it a shame? Should it be
teased? I don’t think so.
I always make mistakes in my writing, either of Chinglish style or grammatical ones, but I am not afraid of that, nor do I feel ashamed of that, as I am just an
English leaner instead of a native English speaker. The point is: I will try my
best when I write, minimize the mistakes in my writing, and try not to make the
same ones after I have been aware of such mistakes.
Take “英语水平” for example, I would translate “英语水平” into “English level” when I was in senior high school，but later I came to know it was typical Chinglish as well, and the more precise translation should be “English proficiency”. There are volumes of simple examples like “英语水平” that one need to pay attention to when writing or translating. It is a good habit to take notes whenever you come across some new and idiomatic expressions, and then “save” them
in your mind. Don't take it for granted when you are not sure how to express the word in English. Look it up in dictionaries. They are your best teachers.
English differs greatly from Chinese either in contents of words and phrases or
sentence structures. Students need to be encouraged to write, to practice as much as they can, no matter how many mistakes they will make, and what kind of mistakes they will make. Only through reading and writing can they really improve their writing skills. Of course, a responsible and competent teacher will be of great help to them.
It’s said that many friends here are students. I just want to tell them: no matter you take English writing as your hobby or merely as your homework, don’t ever be afraid of making mistakes, or get discouraged when your teacher or anyone
else blames you, or laughs at you, for your Chinglish mistakes. You will be able
to make more and more progress and less and less mistakes if you work hard.
Rome was not built in a day.
