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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
Chinglish (simplified Chinese: 中式英语; traditional Chinese: 中式英語; pinyin: Zhōngshì Yīngyǔ) is a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English and refers to spoken or written English which is influenced by Chinese[1]. There are an estimated 300 to 500 million users and/or learners of English in the People's Republic of China[2]. The term "Chinglish" is mostly used in popular contexts and may have pejorative or derogatory connotations[3]. Other terms for the variety of English used in China include "Chinese English," "China English," and "Sinicized English." [4].
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English first arrived in China in the 1630s, when British traders arrived in South China. Chinese Pidgin English was spoken first in the areas of Macau and Canton, later spreading north to Shanghai by the 1830s[5]. Chinese Pidgin English began to decline in the late 19th century as standard English began to be taught in the country's education system; English was made the country's main foreign language in 1982[6].
In Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the city authorities attempted to eliminate bad English on public signs and replaced it with better and correct English.[7] Signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" were changed to read "Caution - slippery path". [8]
In Cantonese pronunciation, some consonants are nowadays changed into other, for example N is often pronounced as L. Voiced sounds (/v/ and the /ʒ/ sound - eg. 'pleasure') cause difficulty. In speech, there is also a tendency to add the sound "see" or "chi" at the end of certain singular letters, such as the letters "S" and "H" ('es-see' and 'ay-chi' respectively).
Similarly, there are no syllable codas (consonants at the end of syllables) in Mandarin with the exception of the "n" and "ŋ" sounds. When encountering such codas, a Mandarin speaker will either modify the consonant to form a separate syllable, or drop it altogether. Thus, for example, CCTV presenters pronounce the letters "L", "M", and "N" as [aɪ lə] ("ai-le"), [aɪ mu] ("ai-mu") and [ən] ("n") respectively, while in Taiwan, the letter "L" is frequently pronounced [ɛ lɔ].
As all varieties of Chinese are tonal languages, Chinese speakers sometimes apply tonal attributes to English, which is normally a stress-based language. Stressed syllables are generally given higher and falling tones over unstressed syllables. This imparts a "staccato" quality to the accent, a feature shared by speakers of other tonal (or pitch-stressed) languages.
Examples include "to put in Jingzhang Expressway" instead of "to Jingzhang Expressway"), and the use of "emergent" to mean "emergency" or "urgent". As another example, when something is explained, the English learner may respond with "Oh, I know," while the appropriate response would be "Oh, I see." This is because "知道 zhīdao" is usually translated as know regardless of context. "When did you first recognize him?" is also sometimes used for "When did you first meet him?" because "认识[認識] rènshi" is usually translated as recognize as in "I recognize him from last week's party."
The English words see, watch, read and look at are all represented by the Chinese word “看 kàn", and may be used interchangeably. The situation of speak, say and talk is similar. Phrases like "Can you say Chinese?", "I am watching a book", and "Tomorrow I will look a movie" may be common.
Another example is "turn on/off" versus "open/close". In Chinese, "turn on" (in the sense of operating a switch or a machine) and "open" are rendered by the same character, and so are "turn off" and "close". The two terms may be used interchangeably.
"Welcome you" is one of the more noticeable cases of Chinglish, especially on mainland China. This is used as a direct translation in Chinese, "歡迎". It can mean "welcome to," "we invite you to" or "you are welcome to", and is used more as an incentive to the activity introduced or as a form of "thank you". Its use is almost always cordial, inviting, or otherwise positive. Example:
Chinglish reflects the influence of Chinese syntax and grammar[9]; in Chinese, verbs are not conjugated (either for tense or pronoun), and there is no equivalent word for "the." Therefore "the" is often either overused or not used at all.
Comma splices can occur frequently. This is because in Chinese writing, the comma (逗號 "，") is sufficient to terminate a clause, with no need to follow with a conjunction. The equivalent of full stop (句號 "。") is usually reserved for the end of an idea, which theoretically may continue for an entire paragraph.[citation needed]
Certain unique discourse features exist in written China English, such as "inductive" structure and a preference for a "problem-solution" pattern.[10].
The following are several examples of Chinglish found on signs:[8]
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Chinglish (comparative more Chinglish, superlative most Chinglish)
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Chinglish
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Chinglish is the way that English learner whose first language is Chinese use English words in a Chinese language way.
It often happens when those people learning a new language and can not prevent from thinking in an old way.
For example, when people asks another to go out with him/her. In English : Will you go out with me? In Chinese language way: Will you go out and play with me?
So the chinglish can make the English speaker feel confused.
   | Ever Heard of Chinglish? - Ever heard of Chinglish? |
| | BBC News (15/10/06) - Beijing stamps out poor English - BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Beijing stamps out poor English |
| | The Chinglish Files - The Chinglish Files by olr |
| | The Chinglish Files by olr - The Chinglish Files by olr |
| | "Star War: Episode III, The Backstroke of the West" - winterson.com: episode iii, the backstroke of the west |
| | To Take Notice of Safe - To Take Notice of Safe |
| | "rahoi.com" - Now with 10% more manglish |
| | Star War The Third Gathers: The Backstroke of the West - Star War The Third Gathers: The Backstroke of the West - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki |
| | "rahoi.com" - May I take your order? |
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