闲聊写作之中式英语1
闲聊写作之中式英语2
闲聊写作之中式英语3
闲聊写作之中式英语4
闲聊写作之中式英语5
闲聊写作之中式英语6
导言
英语表达的核心原则之一是减少重复(repetition)。像 “temporary in nature”, “new innovation”, “help and assistance”这样的表达是典型的中式英语。其实重复本身是不应该被质疑的。当我们要表达强调时，往往会使用重复的方法，重复也是一种经典的修辞手段。但如果滥用重复，不仅起不到强调的效果，反而会让读者感到无聊多余，失去阅读兴趣。这里英文作家Robert Graves和Alan Hodge的话：
“Unless for rhetorical emphasis, or necessary recapitulation, no idea should be presented more than once in the same prose passage ... [R]epetitiveness is nowadays considered a sign of pauperdom in oratory, and of feeble-mindness in narrative.”
重复可以分为三种情况：简单重述（同样的意思用两个词表达）、不言自明的重复（要表达的意思暗含在已表达中）、镜像重复（用肯定、否定表达相同意思）
1
简单重述 (simple restatement)
这类情况与redundant twin很像。后者是重复词，前者一句话中的两个分句表达意思相同。
-We must be clear whether a mistake has really been made and if it has, we must be able to tell whether it is a major or a minor one and whether it is serious or not.
-In industrial production we should maintain a policy of safety first, with prevention of accidents as our main concern.
-We must further strengthen the building of national defense in order to enhance our defense strength.
-It is essential to control environmental pollution so as to protect the environment.
2
不言自明的重复 (self-evident statement)
句子的一部分含义已经包含在另一部分中。不管形式怎么变化，典型的情况是：we must arrive at the station on time in order to catch the train. 以下是更多例句：
-We should reduce taxes on enterprises so as to allow them to retain more of their profits and thus increase their financial capacity.
-China’s socialist system of law has now been basically established, so that the situation in which there were no laws has changed.
3
镜像重复 (mirror-image statement)
同样的意思先用肯定语气表达，再用否定语气表达，或先否定再肯定。
-We should pay close attention to the formulation of annual plans and not neglect it.
-We must maintain our vigilance and never be off guard.
-Financial expenditures should be arranged in order of priority, rather than be given equal status.
策略改进
对于重复，首先要问自己几个问题：原文是有目的地重复，还是套用了中式说法？如果是专门重复表达强调，是否有更好的英文表达？同样的结构在原文中重复了几回？如果使用重复，是不是起到了应有的效果？
如果通过以上问题，你感觉这个重复是多余的，那么可以采用以下策略来改进：
1
找到更深层次的含义 (finding further meaning)
再去看中文原文，对照看英文翻译是否不那么精确。有时候修改到更精确的用词能够避免重复。
A: This shows that all advanced means of communication and communications equipment are controlled by the people, so the difficulties of the past no longer exist.
B: This shows that all advanced means of transportation and communications equipment are controlled by the people, so the difficulties of the past no longer exist.
(means of communication和communications equipment指的一样。但其实前者是强调“交通方式”，后者是“沟通方式”，在中文意义中是不同的。所以可以把means of communication改为means of transportation。)
A: We must continue to strengthen basic research and increase scientific and technological strength and staying power for future development.
B: To enhance our ability to make further advances in science and technology, we must continue to expand basic research.
(increase scientific strength = strengthen basic research 另外，strength和staying power也重复。Strengthen basic research和increase scientific research之间应该是表目的，而不是并列关系。)
2
删减多余的词 (deleting the redundant words)
如果确实重复，删减也是一种办法。
A: He stressed that all State Council departments have an important responsibility in the struggle [against corruption] and said they are in a very important position.
B: He stressed that all State Council departments have an important responsibility in the struggle.
A: Has the political status of the Shanghai workers undergone any change since Liberation? Yes, it has, and the change is an essential, not an insignificant one, for they have changed from members of an exploited class into members of a ruling class.
B: Has the political status of the Shanghai workers undergone any change since Liberation? Yes, it has, and the change is absolutely fundamental, because they are no longer members of an exploited class but members of a ruling class.
3
修改语言 (changing the wording)
有时候删除会失去原文的一些信息，尤其是在法律等正式文本的情况下，需要适当地进行语言修改来避免重复。
A: People of all the different nationalities have made enormous contributions to safeguarding the unity of the motherland and promoting stability and unity and prosperity.
B: People of all the different nationalities have made enormous contributions to safeguarding the unity of the motherland and promoting stability, solidarity, and prosperity.
A: To maintain steady growth of the economy, we must implement a long-term policy of steady economic growth.
B: To keep the economy growing we must implement a long-term policy favourable to steady economic development.
写在最后
对于重复是不是多余，我们需要有自己的判断。有些重复不仅仅多余，它们还会降低整篇文章的质量。如果读者感觉一篇文章总是翻来覆去讲重复的事情，很难继续读下去。
本期编辑：Jude,爱喝各种奇怪口味咖啡，假完美主义
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