老外眼裡的中式英語PK標準英語

2011-03-31 00:21

在各個英語學習論壇上，經常可以看到有關Chinglish（中式英語）的文章，但一般都是中國人寫的。不過我看到一篇長文，也是有關Chinglish的，但卻是美國人寫的，很有意思。這篇長文的標題是Chinglish 2 English（從中式英語到標準英語），作者是浙江大學的美國外教Chuck Allanson，內容則是Chuck在中國五年任教期間所聽到、所看到的各種Chinglish說法。

比如Chuck第一次來中國，下飛機後，負責接待他的東北某大學英語系陳老師說：您剛到，我們吃點飯吧。我們要點Chinese dumpling（餃子）和Chinese beancurd（豆腐），您看可以嗎？Chuck以前從未聽說過這兩種東西，但出於好奇，就說可以，結果飯菜端上來一看，原來就是ravioli（餃子，來自義大利語）和tofu（豆腐，來自日語）。Chuck當時心裏暗想，這兩種東西，國際上早已經有通用的說法（ravioli和tofu），他們中國人為什麼還要用那種生僻的說法呢？以後Chuck跟陳先生混熟了，就問他，當初你為什麼不說ravioli和tofu呢？陳先生聽了大吃一驚，連忙解釋說，我真的不知道這兩個詞，而且我們的《英漢詞典》上也沒有這兩個詞。

於是Chuck開始意識到，中國的英語教師、英語課本、甚至英語詞典肯定存在問題，否則不可能發生這種事情。在中國五年的任教期間，Chuck收集了大量的Chinglish說法，從中挑選出一組最常見的，編寫了上面提到的那篇長文。下面就是這些Chinglish說法，其中每行第一部分是漢語說法，第二部分是Chinglish說法，第三部分則是英語的標準說法。

① 歡迎你到... ② welcome you to ... ③ welcome to ...

① 永遠記住你 ② remember you forever ③ always remember you（沒有人能活到forever）

① 祝你有個... ② wish you have a ... ③ I wish you a ...

① 給你 ② give you ③ here you are

① 很喜歡... ② very like ... ③ like ... very much

① 黃頭髮 ② yellow hair ③ blond/blonde（西方人沒有yellow hair的說法）

① 廁所 ② WC ③ men's room/women's room/restroom

① 真遺憾 ② it's a pity ③ that's too bad/it's a shame（it's a pity說法太老）

① 褲子 ② trousers ③ pants/slacks/jeans

① 修理 ② mend ③ fix/repair

① 入口 ② way in ③ entrance

① 出口 ② way out ③ exit（way out在口語中是crazy的意思）

① 勤奮 ② diligent ③ hardworking/studious/conscientious

① 應該 ② should ③ must/shall

① 火鍋 ② chafing dish ③ hot pot

① 大廈 ② mansion ③ center/plaza

① 馬馬虎虎 ② so-so ③ average/fair/all right/not too bad/OK（西方人很少使用so-so）

① 好吃 ② delicious ③ good/nice/tasty/appetizing（delicious在中國被濫用）

① 盡我最大努力 ② try my best ③ try/strive（try的本意就是try my best）

① 有名 ② famous ③ well-known/renowned/legendary/popular（famous在中國被濫用）

① 滑稽 ② humorous ③ funny/witty/amusing/entertaining

① 欺騙 ② to cheat ③ to trick/to play a joke on/to con/to deceive/to rip off

① 車門 ② the door of the car ③ the car's door

① 怎麼拼? ② how to spell? ③ how do you spell?

① 再見 ② bye-bye ③ bye/see you/see you later/later（bye-bye有些孩子氣）

① 玩 ② play ③ go to/do（play在中國被濫用）

① 麵條 ② noodles ③ pasta（noodles有些孩子氣）

① 據說 ② it is said ③ I heard/I read/I was told

① 等等 ② and so on ③ etc.

① 直到現在 ② till now ③ recently/lately/thus far

① 農民 ② peasant ③ farmer

① 宣傳 ② propaganda ③ information

但是也有不同意見：

Sometimes people forget that English is used in many other parts of the world too, not only in the USA, where Chuck is from.

Where I live, i.e. Sydney Australia, people call Chinese dumplings "Chinese dumplings"; ravioli would be odd, actually.

Most people say "trousers", not just the Chinese do that.

As for 廁所, you say "the toilet" or "the bathroom"; "restroom" sounds funny and old fashioned.

麵條 is precisely "noodles"; pasta refers to Italian food, not Chinese.

"delicious" and "famous" are perfectly ok; although knowing other synonyms would help.

As for "information", it doesn't mean 宣傳 at all.

See what I mean? Chinglish is certainly not desirable; but Americanism is not the solution.

The problem with Chuck's article lies in his failure to differentiate errors that are often made by Chinese, e.g. "welcome you to", and "very like", from variations of English. In other words, he equates correct English words as wrong simply because they are not used where he's from.

That's what I call arrogance - thinking one's own dialect is the standard of the world.

It's unhelpful for English learners because it causes much confusion.

It's inexcusable for someone who is teaching English at university but is so lacking in knowledge about English as a global language.

覺得很有意思，就整理出來，供英語愛好者討論......