颦儿《中式英语之鉴》读书笔记（三):Unnec. Modifiers
以下文章选自《37度颦儿》
原创：37度颦儿
2020年10月21日
首发于37度颦儿微信公众号
参考书目：《中式英语之鉴》
致敬原作者Joan Pinkham
如需英语翻译，请联系本公众号或本人微信：purefreelancer，资深英语译员，竭诚为您服务。
Five categories
redundant modifiers 冗长多余
self-evident modifiers 不言而喻
intensifiers 强化词 强调词
qualifiers 限定词 修饰词
cliches 陈腔滥调 陈词
1. Redundant modifiers
原中文中的副词形容词在英译文中不必体现出来。
1） obvious redundancies
advance forecasts：forecast当然是advance
female businesswoman Liu Zhihua：businesswoman当然是female
New innovations 创新当然是new
类似的还有：
a serious natural disaster
mutual cooperation
an unfortunate tragedy
residential housing
financial revenue and expenditure
positive guidance
a family relative
Here are some more.
that theory too is a valuable ideological treasure of the Party
改为
that theory too is an ideological treasure of the Party
quadrupling GNP will provide a new starting point from which, in another 30 to 50 years, we shall approach the level of the economiocally developed countries
改为
quadrupling GNP will provide a new starting point from which, in another 30 to 50 years, we shall approach the level of the developed countries
Singapore will bar America's popular female pop star Madonna from staging a show in its territory
改为
Singapore will bar America's pop star Madonna from staging a show in its territory
the Chinese government took all possible eventualities into account when it made this policy decision
改为
the Chinese government took all eventualities into account when it made this policy decision
Chiang was able to complete the all-round encirclement of the Central Soviet Area after having defeated the Fujian People's Government
改为
having defeated the Fujian People's government, Chiang was able to complete the encirclement of the Central Soviet Area
2) Adverbs of time
时间副词通常redundant，如 at present, in the future, in the past，应删除不用，因为英文中可以用动词时态来表示时间。
now the government is working hard to improve taxation
改为 the government is working hard to improe taxation
previously we used to overemphasize the need for class struggle
we used to overemphasize the need for class struggle
3） various
形容词various，a series of, all sorts of, various kinds of通常unnec.中文中需要用它们表示复数，但是英语中名词有单复数形式
more and more of our various construction projects require the efforts of the intellectuals
改为
more and more of our construction projects require the efforts (or: assistance, or: collaboration) of the intellectuals
hundreds of transnational firms have started various businesses in China
改为
hundreds of transnational firms have started businesses in China
4）others
with the final completion of construction, the plant will reach an annual capacity of 100,000 medium-size trucks
改为
with the completion of construction （or: when construction is completed), the plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 medium-size trucks
imports of foreign automobiles have declined sharply this year
改为
imports of automobiles have declined sharply this year
the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will be assured as long as China widely unites the Hong Kong people from all walks of life
改为
the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will be assured as long as China unites the Hong Kong people from all walks of life
they must also have some necessary knowledge about history and geography
改为
they must also know something about history and geography
we should continue to take measures to further improve regular education, adult education, and on-the-job training programs
改为
we should continue to improve regular education, adult education, and on-the-job training programs.
2. Self-evident modifiers
Modifiers are superfluous for the information they provide can be taken for granted.
these nine years constitute a period in which the national economic strength has increased
改为
in these nine years the economy has grown stronger
departments of scientific research should take steps to make a proper readjustment of ...
改为
department of scientific research should readjust...
we should appropriately raise the purchasing prices of grain and cotton, so as to increase the income of the peasants considerably
改为
we should raise the purchasing prices of grain and cotton, so as to increase the income of the peasants considerably
the Congress elected a new leading body, ensuring adequate continuity for our policies of reform and opening to the outside world
改为
the Congress elected a new leading body, ensuring the continuity of our policies of reform and opening to the outside world
the editorial notes that in 1992, China will open wider to the outside world and do an even better job in running the five special economic zones, as well as the new Pudong development zone in China's leading industrial city of Shanghai
改为
the editorial notes that in 1992, China will open wider to the outside world and do an even better job in running the five special economic zones, as well as the new Pudong development zone in the leading industrial city of Shanghai
3. Intensifiers
adj (like serious and great) or adv. (like extremely and certainly) intended to heighten the effect of the words they modify. They should be looked upon with suspicion: more often than not, an English text is better off without them.
1) intensifiers with weak words
inexperienced 反义词 skilled
rich vocabulary 词汇量大
a strong, precise word that by itself will convey the meaning of both the intensifier and the weak word
such as, extremely important = essential, imperative, vital, indispensable, or crucial.
absolutely wanted to = be determined to, be resolved to, be bent on, or insisted upon
the people have a strong aversion to graft, bribery, embezzlement, and other dirty practices
改为
the people detest graft, bribery, embezzlement, and other dirty practices
憎恨贪污、受贿、挪用公款等恶习的人
I think there will definitely be genuine stability and unity
改为
I am certain that there will be genuine stability and unity
I firmly believe that our army will be able to steadfastly maintain its own character
改为
I am convinced that our army will be able to maintain its own character
I am surely tell you that nobody is able to stop the reform and opening up in China from countinuing
改为
I can assure you that no one can stop China's reform and opening to the outside world
the KMT government overestimated its own strength and was thoroughly optimistic as to the outcome of the war
改为
the KMT goverment overestimated its own strength and was confident of the outcome of the war
2) Intensifiers with strong words
It's bad enough to use an intensifier to shore up a weak word, as in the examples just given. It is worse to use one to support a word that can stand perfectly well done.
shore up 支撑 shore up their defences自圆其说
classis example is "great historic" as in "great, historic contributions" "an event of great, historic significance", "a great, historic victory"
其实，the intensifier "great" would be redundant and would weaken the effect.
"historic" is so strong in English, so there's no need to say it's "great". By definition it's great.
The intensifier by which the idea expressed is "implicitly contained" in another word would be redundant.
From the Far Eastern Economic Review, quoting Deng Xiaoping:
if there is serious chaos in Hongkong, the Chinese government would be forced to reconsider...
改为
if serious disturbances occurred in Hong Kong, the Chinese government would then be compelled to reconsider...
"all this conduct has severely damanged the reputation of the medical profession and must be firmly banned," the minister said
改为
“all this conduct has severaly damaged the reputation of the medical profession and must be banned," the minister said
the Civil Aviation Administration of China strongly demanded that the Taiwan authorities take all measures possible to secure the safety of the plane and its passengers
改为
the Civil Aviation Administration of China demanded that the Taiwan authorities take all measures possible to secure the safety of the plane and its passengers
these practices should be totally abolished
改为
these practices should be abolished
during the entire process of reform and opening, we must persistently oppose corruption
改为
throughout the process of reform and opening, we must combat corruption
the broad masses of the people
改为
the masses of the people
or
the masses
the people
a tiny handful of troublemakers
改为
a handful of troublemakers
3) common redundant intensifiers
In any translation that has not been well edited, either by the original translator or by a polisher, a practiced eye will light upon a great number of redundant intensifiers.
所以不用自卑，大家都一样会犯错，使用冗长多余的词语或表达，只要刻意练习，都可以写出更好的版本。
An informal count suggests that the following are the most common
最常见的当属中文中的积极，英译文中常为 active 、actively。官方套话：积极配合，积极开展工作，积极参与，积极沟通等等，英译文应该保留吗？
active efforts should be made to develop small-scale mining
改为
efforts should be made to develop small-scale mining
都努力了，还不够积极吗？废话，哈哈
I think we should actively promote the establishment of a new international political and economic order
改为
I think we should promote the establishment of a new international political and economic order
还能不积极地促进发展不成
同理，vigorously promote, make every effort to promote, use all means to promote, do everything possible to promote, or the like这些也是废话连篇，是不是有点刷新你的认知
另一个典型就是：effective、effectively
to benefit the people by means of an effective control of Yellow River
改为
to benefit the people by controlling the Yellow River
已经能控制了还会无效么
we should effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors
改为
we should protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors
切实保障 翻译成保障就够了
actual (true, real) actually (trully, really)
the people's procuratorates must always pay attention to actual facts
改为
the people's procuratorates must always pay attention to facts
真相还不actual吗
he devised tactics for battle according to the actual situation
改为
he devised tactics for battle according to the particular situation
具体情况而非实际情况
Note that the same goes for "circumstances" and "conditions" which are also objective realities needing no certification by an adj.
successful、successfully
to successfully accomplish the arduous and complicated tasks defined at this congress...
改为
to accomplish the arduous, complicated tasks defined at this congress...
we should keep in mind the days when scientists of the old generation successfully developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs
改为
we should keep in mind the days when scientists of the old generation developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs
4) effect of intensifiers
overtemphasis that is unacceptable in English
It is overdoing it to say that "all social circles are tremendously enthusiastic about providing education".
该句中"Enthusiastic" is emphatic enough, the adverb is simply excessive. Enthusiastic已经足够了，再加个副词就过了哦。
有时候过于强调，反而效果减弱。
“historical exprerience has proved that..."听起来反而像叙述事实一样，令人可信accept is as fact。如果说成“historical experience has convincingly proved that ..."过分强调，反而让人生疑suspicions are arosed。
at other times, the unadorned verb is stronger，不要搞得太花哨，有时候朴实无华的动词就足够了。
拿第一版的美国宪法为例，"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."
他们不说“Congress shall absolutely make no law”, or "Congress shall definitely make no law", or "Congress shall resolutely refrain from making any law"，因为他们默认为absolute。
Chinglish versions
we are confident that we shall assuredly surpass imperialism through peaceful competition
改为
we are confident that we shall surpass imperialism through peaceful competition
I am deeply convinced that the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations can certainly be realized
改为
I am deeply convinced that Sino-Japanese relations can be normalized
we cannot endure turmoil and whenever we encounter it later we will definitely enforce martial law
改为
we cannot endure turmoil, and whenever it arises we will enforce martial law
their speech is very dull and meaningless
改为
their speech is dull and meaningless
the people's living standards are truly rising, the country is thriving, and China's international prestige is genuinely growing
改为
the people's standard of living is rising, the country is thriving, and its international prestige is growing
点评：each of the verbs is more convincing when it stands alone.
5) advice from the experts
William Zinsser: Most adverbs are unnecessary.大部分副词都是多余无用的.You will clutter your sentence and annoy the reader if you choose a verb that has a precise meaning and then add an adverb that carries the same meaning.... again and again in careless writing, strong verbs are weakened by redundant adverbs.
Claire Cook: You probably should delete all intensive adverbs - very, really, truly, actually, and the like. If you've chosen the right word, adding a very defeats your purpose. If you haven't chosen the right word, the very offers poor compensation.强化副词尽量删除不用。不用overuse。if you want to put a very in front of a large, you should consider substituting enormous, huge, gigantic, or massive ... (the intensive adverbs) attenuate rather than strengthen. Consider really terrific, absolutely stunning, truly sensational, extermely vital, and very devastating. The adverbs reduce powerful adjectives to converstational gush, depriving them of their stark force. Almost all writers succmb to these trivializing intensives. Be on guard.
Lauren Kessler and Duncan McDonald: when you intensify an already intense word, be it adjective or verb, you do more than add clutter. You sap the word of its strength. 削弱了强化效果。Once you have chosen a powerful word, you must trust it to stand on its own...
H.W. Fowler: Constant association with an intensifying adjective deprives a noun of the power of standing on its own legs. Thus danger must always have its real, part its integral, and crisis its grave and acute, and understatements must be masterly. The only hope for a noun thus debilitated is for the combination to be recognized as a cliche and killed by ridicule....选对词语，无需过多修饰，词语本身就已达到强调的效果。
Ernest Gowers: Cultivate the habit of reserving adjectives and adverbs to make your meaning more precise, and suspect those that you find yourself using to make it more emphatic. Use adjectives to denote kind rather than degree. By all means say an economic crisis or a military disaster, but think well before saying an acute crisis or a terrible disaster. Say if you like "the proposal met with noisy opposition and is in obvious danger of defeat". But do not say "the proposal met with considerable opposition and is in real danger of defeat". If that is all you want to say it is better to leave out the adjectives and say "the proposal met with opposition and is in danger of defeat".... Strong words like urgent, danger, crisis, disaster, fatal, grave, overriding, prime, paramount, and essential lose their force if used too often. Reserve them for strong occasions, and then let them stand on their own legs, without adjecgtival or adverbial support.
Jacques Barzun: An important subclass of cliches consists of what an English rhetorician has called "adverbial dressing gowns": seriously consider, utterly reject, thoroughly examine, be absolutely right, make perfectly clear, sound definitely interested. All these are cliches and the adverb is the dressing gown: the writer thinks the verb or adjective would not seem decent if left bare. The truth is that the meaning is strengthened by the removal of the automatically remembered adverb. Nothing is easier than to strike it out when it crops up unbidden in your prose. Reread yourself and you will feel how much more firm the tone and final the thought of "I reject the accusation" than the spluttering :"I utterly reject the accusation."
专家们均持有同一种观点：动词本身就非常powerful，没必要用太多修饰词：形容词、副词等，修饰语太多，不但没有起到强化作用，反而削弱了词语本身的力量。
4. Qualifiers
Words like “quite", "rather" and "relatively"
there is nothing wrong with using such words on occasion, when the bald statement would be too absolute without some qualification. However, when qualifiers are used indiscriminately, as they often are Chinglish, they give the reader an impression of hesitancy, timidity, and indecisiveness, as if the writer were unable or unwilling to commit himself to anything definite. 常用这些词，会显得特别中式，给人犹豫不决、胆怯怕事、不够果断的印象。
doubtless understand it
"a reasonably substantial book giving a comparatively complete history of the Party", 这样的表达显得说话人"damn with faint praise."
1）examples
examples of qualifiers that weaken the writer's statement when there is no logical reason for doing so:
we have dozens of thousands of students studying abroad, and it is quite important to create suitable conditions for their work after they come back
改为
we have tens of thousands of students studying abroad, and it is important to create suitable conditions for their work after they return
"dozens of thousands of" is not idiomatic in English 表达不地道
Chinese officials voiced shock yesterday at a decision by the US Export-Import Bank to delay loans for a subway project for the southern city of Guangzhou ... "The impact of this will be quite huge," an official said by telephone
改为
..."The impact of this will be huge," an official said by telephone
"quite" saps the meaning of "huge" 削弱
Zhao's images are somewhat primitively aggressive, forcing themselves on the viewer as if they, together with the strong feelings they convey, must never be ignored and overlooked," critic Geng Jian comments on his art
改为
“Zhao's images are primitively aggressive," says critic Geng Jian, "forcing themselves on the viewer as if they, and the strong feelings they convey, were not to be ignored"
the qualifier is at war with the meaning 自相矛盾
“overlooked” simply duplicates the sense of "ignored" 语意重复
under the most difficult circumstances, Zhou Enlai resolutely and carefully set to work, basically guaranteeing the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an incident
改为
under the most difficult circumstances, Zhou Enlai carefully set to work, guaranteeing (or: ensuring, or: bringing about) the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an incident
I do not think that that part of history [the Cultural Revolution], a fairly significant part of our lives for my generation, has gone with the wind
改为
I do not think that that part of history, which for my generation was a significant part of our lives, has gone with the wind
2) "perhaps", "maybe", "possibly"
Even when they are perfectly legitimate, they can be neatly replaced by "may" or "might". 汉语中的怀疑，在英语中使用动词的某种特殊形式就够了
perhaps it will take a decade to accomplish this
改为
it may take a decade to accomplish this
twelve to thirteen percent of China's people, or more than 100 million of the total, live in cities, and maybe the figure will go up in coming years
改为
twelve to thirteen percent of our people, or more than 100 million, live in cities, and the figure may go up in years to come
experts predict that the reduction of interest rates will lead to a possible loosening of credit this year
改为
experts predict that the reduction of interest rates may lead to a loosening of creadit this year
3) 专家意见
Gowers cites "unduly", "relatively", and "comparatively" as the most fashionable "adverbial dressing-gowns", pointing out that those words "can only properly be used when something has been mentioned or implied which gives a standard of comparison." When thers is no standard of comparison, "their use is merely a shrinking from the nakedness of an unqualified statement."
Strunk and White call qualifiers like rather and a little "leeches (水蛭) that infest (大量出没) the pond of prose (散文), sucking the blood of words."
Fowler brothers, writing in 1906, refer to the indulgence in qualifying adverbs (perhaps, possibly, probably, rather, a little, somewhat, and so on) as a disease of British journalists. They deplore (公开谴责、强烈反对) the "intemperate orgy of moderation" that they find renewed every morning in the daily newspapers.
5.Cliches
中式英语受汉语影响，最爱陈腔滥调、冗长多余。很多形容词副词都纯属多余，毫无意义，可以删除不译。
1）examples
官方报告演讲等常用套辞translators and polishers at units that deal with official reports and speeches are only too familiar with the following formulas, lifted straight out of the Chinese:
艰巨任务 arduous tasks
压倒多数 overwhelming majority
苦心经营 painstaking efforts
科学分析 scientific analysis
正确理解 correct understanding
适当调整 appropriate readjustment
大胆实验 bold experiments
明确界定clearly defined
果断措施 强硬有效措施 firm and effective measures
基本实现 basically accomplished
大力推广vigorously promote
逐步改善 gradually improve
大力发展energetically develop
深化改革 further reform
坚定不移地执行 carry out unswervingly
适当组合 properly combine
认真学习study conscientiously
充分调动 fully mobilize
坚决贯彻 坚决执行 resolutely enforce
坚决杜绝 firmly forbid
2） effect of repetition 重复效应
Professor Cheng Zhenqiu suggests 相比英文，中文喜欢堆砌副词和形容词。政府报告中更是各种修饰语，对此，他警告道，如果翻译成英文，则不要逐字直译，否则译文会显得死气沉沉。强调太多，反而效果减弱。
a government report thick with relentlessly repeated modifiers
deadening 死气沉沉的
如果通篇都是“arduous”， “imperative", "conscientiously", "diligently", "resolutely", "energetically", "vigorously", "unswervingly", "persistently", and "unremittingly" ，读者会很绝望的，再也不想读了throws up his or her hands and stops listening。
小知识：
throw up one's hands 绝望
throw up one's eyes 惊呆
throw in one's hand 放弃
throw one's cap over the mill 不顾一切地干，冒身败名裂的危险去做
throw one's bread upon the waters 行善
throw one's hat in the ring 宣布加入战斗
throw one's weight around 指手画脚 盛气凌人 滥用权势
throw one's whole being into 全力投入 把全部精力都倾注在
throw one's support behind sb 支持某人
throw one's eyes to the ground 眼睛朝下看地面
ubiquitous 似乎无所不在的 随处可见的 十分普遍的
degenerate into 退化成
总之，these overworked modifiers have met the same fate as the overworked verb phrases discussed in chapter 1 :" make great efforts to, " pay attention to", and "do a good job in". 用的太多，反而失去了说服力。used so often that they have lost all power of presuasion.
3) avoiding repetition 避免重复
The easiest way to deal with a cliche modifier is simply to omit it from the English version. 最简单的处理就是直接删除不用，这也是普通接受的解决方式。That is often a perfectly acceptable solution.
如果删除后影响句意表达，则 a fresh variation is enough to reliece the monotony （单调乏味、千篇一律）
arduous task 改为 demanding
vigorous development 改为 intensive
further efforts 改为 renewed
resolute measures 改为 determined
思路就是使用同义词等 alternative renderings （替代表达）
make a rule that the strong adverb "resolutely" was to be allowed no oftener than twice a page, lest it lose its force ( a rule that they were no always able to abide by). 《周恩来选集》英文润色人员定下的规矩：resolutely每页使用频率不得超过两次，以免失去应有的效力（但是这个规定他们自己执行得并不好）
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如需英语翻译，请联系本公众号或本人微信：purefreelancer，资深英语译员，竭诚为您服务。
原创：37度颦儿
2020年10月21日
首发于37度颦儿微信公众号
参考书目：《中式英语之鉴》
致敬原作者Joan Pinkham
如需英语翻译，请联系本公众号或本人微信：purefreelancer，资深英语译员，竭诚为您服务。
Five categories
redundant modifiers 冗长多余
self-evident modifiers 不言而喻
intensifiers 强化词 强调词
qualifiers 限定词 修饰词
cliches 陈腔滥调 陈词
1. Redundant modifiers
原中文中的副词形容词在英译文中不必体现出来。
1） obvious redundancies
advance forecasts：forecast当然是advance
female businesswoman Liu Zhihua：businesswoman当然是female
New innovations 创新当然是new
类似的还有：
a serious natural disaster
mutual cooperation
an unfortunate tragedy
residential housing
financial revenue and expenditure
positive guidance
a family relative
Here are some more.
that theory too is a valuable ideological treasure of the Party
改为
that theory too is an ideological treasure of the Party
quadrupling GNP will provide a new starting point from which, in another 30 to 50 years, we shall approach the level of the economiocally developed countries
改为
quadrupling GNP will provide a new starting point from which, in another 30 to 50 years, we shall approach the level of the developed countries
Singapore will bar America's popular female pop star Madonna from staging a show in its territory
改为
Singapore will bar America's pop star Madonna from staging a show in its territory
the Chinese government took all possible eventualities into account when it made this policy decision
改为
the Chinese government took all eventualities into account when it made this policy decision
Chiang was able to complete the all-round encirclement of the Central Soviet Area after having defeated the Fujian People's Government
改为
having defeated the Fujian People's government, Chiang was able to complete the encirclement of the Central Soviet Area
2) Adverbs of time
时间副词通常redundant，如 at present, in the future, in the past，应删除不用，因为英文中可以用动词时态来表示时间。
now the government is working hard to improve taxation
改为 the government is working hard to improe taxation
previously we used to overemphasize the need for class struggle
we used to overemphasize the need for class struggle
3） various
形容词various，a series of, all sorts of, various kinds of通常unnec.中文中需要用它们表示复数，但是英语中名词有单复数形式
more and more of our various construction projects require the efforts of the intellectuals
改为
more and more of our construction projects require the efforts (or: assistance, or: collaboration) of the intellectuals
hundreds of transnational firms have started various businesses in China
改为
hundreds of transnational firms have started businesses in China
4）others
with the final completion of construction, the plant will reach an annual capacity of 100,000 medium-size trucks
改为
with the completion of construction （or: when construction is completed), the plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 medium-size trucks
imports of foreign automobiles have declined sharply this year
改为
imports of automobiles have declined sharply this year
the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will be assured as long as China widely unites the Hong Kong people from all walks of life
改为
the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will be assured as long as China unites the Hong Kong people from all walks of life
they must also have some necessary knowledge about history and geography
改为
they must also know something about history and geography
we should continue to take measures to further improve regular education, adult education, and on-the-job training programs
改为
we should continue to improve regular education, adult education, and on-the-job training programs.
2. Self-evident modifiers
Modifiers are superfluous for the information they provide can be taken for granted.
these nine years constitute a period in which the national economic strength has increased
改为
in these nine years the economy has grown stronger
departments of scientific research should take steps to make a proper readjustment of ...
改为
department of scientific research should readjust...
we should appropriately raise the purchasing prices of grain and cotton, so as to increase the income of the peasants considerably
改为
we should raise the purchasing prices of grain and cotton, so as to increase the income of the peasants considerably
the Congress elected a new leading body, ensuring adequate continuity for our policies of reform and opening to the outside world
改为
the Congress elected a new leading body, ensuring the continuity of our policies of reform and opening to the outside world
the editorial notes that in 1992, China will open wider to the outside world and do an even better job in running the five special economic zones, as well as the new Pudong development zone in China's leading industrial city of Shanghai
改为
the editorial notes that in 1992, China will open wider to the outside world and do an even better job in running the five special economic zones, as well as the new Pudong development zone in the leading industrial city of Shanghai
3. Intensifiers
adj (like serious and great) or adv. (like extremely and certainly) intended to heighten the effect of the words they modify. They should be looked upon with suspicion: more often than not, an English text is better off without them.
1) intensifiers with weak words
inexperienced 反义词 skilled
rich vocabulary 词汇量大
a strong, precise word that by itself will convey the meaning of both the intensifier and the weak word
such as, extremely important = essential, imperative, vital, indispensable, or crucial.
absolutely wanted to = be determined to, be resolved to, be bent on, or insisted upon
the people have a strong aversion to graft, bribery, embezzlement, and other dirty practices
改为
the people detest graft, bribery, embezzlement, and other dirty practices
憎恨贪污、受贿、挪用公款等恶习的人
I think there will definitely be genuine stability and unity
改为
I am certain that there will be genuine stability and unity
I firmly believe that our army will be able to steadfastly maintain its own character
改为
I am convinced that our army will be able to maintain its own character
I am surely tell you that nobody is able to stop the reform and opening up in China from countinuing
改为
I can assure you that no one can stop China's reform and opening to the outside world
the KMT government overestimated its own strength and was thoroughly optimistic as to the outcome of the war
改为
the KMT goverment overestimated its own strength and was confident of the outcome of the war
2) Intensifiers with strong words
It's bad enough to use an intensifier to shore up a weak word, as in the examples just given. It is worse to use one to support a word that can stand perfectly well done.
shore up 支撑 shore up their defences自圆其说
classis example is "great historic" as in "great, historic contributions" "an event of great, historic significance", "a great, historic victory"
其实，the intensifier "great" would be redundant and would weaken the effect.
"historic" is so strong in English, so there's no need to say it's "great". By definition it's great.
The intensifier by which the idea expressed is "implicitly contained" in another word would be redundant.
From the Far Eastern Economic Review, quoting Deng Xiaoping:
if there is serious chaos in Hongkong, the Chinese government would be forced to reconsider...
改为
if serious disturbances occurred in Hong Kong, the Chinese government would then be compelled to reconsider...
"all this conduct has severely damanged the reputation of the medical profession and must be firmly banned," the minister said
改为
“all this conduct has severaly damaged the reputation of the medical profession and must be banned," the minister said
the Civil Aviation Administration of China strongly demanded that the Taiwan authorities take all measures possible to secure the safety of the plane and its passengers
改为
the Civil Aviation Administration of China demanded that the Taiwan authorities take all measures possible to secure the safety of the plane and its passengers
these practices should be totally abolished
改为
these practices should be abolished
during the entire process of reform and opening, we must persistently oppose corruption
改为
throughout the process of reform and opening, we must combat corruption
the broad masses of the people
改为
the masses of the people
or
the masses
the people
a tiny handful of troublemakers
改为
a handful of troublemakers
3) common redundant intensifiers
In any translation that has not been well edited, either by the original translator or by a polisher, a practiced eye will light upon a great number of redundant intensifiers.
所以不用自卑，大家都一样会犯错，使用冗长多余的词语或表达，只要刻意练习，都可以写出更好的版本。
An informal count suggests that the following are the most common
最常见的当属中文中的积极，英译文中常为 active 、actively。官方套话：积极配合，积极开展工作，积极参与，积极沟通等等，英译文应该保留吗？
active efforts should be made to develop small-scale mining
改为
efforts should be made to develop small-scale mining
都努力了，还不够积极吗？废话，哈哈
I think we should actively promote the establishment of a new international political and economic order
改为
I think we should promote the establishment of a new international political and economic order
还能不积极地促进发展不成
同理，vigorously promote, make every effort to promote, use all means to promote, do everything possible to promote, or the like这些也是废话连篇，是不是有点刷新你的认知
另一个典型就是：effective、effectively
to benefit the people by means of an effective control of Yellow River
改为
to benefit the people by controlling the Yellow River
已经能控制了还会无效么
we should effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors
改为
we should protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors
切实保障 翻译成保障就够了
actual (true, real) actually (trully, really)
the people's procuratorates must always pay attention to actual facts
改为
the people's procuratorates must always pay attention to facts
真相还不actual吗
he devised tactics for battle according to the actual situation
改为
he devised tactics for battle according to the particular situation
具体情况而非实际情况
Note that the same goes for "circumstances" and "conditions" which are also objective realities needing no certification by an adj.
successful、successfully
to successfully accomplish the arduous and complicated tasks defined at this congress...
改为
to accomplish the arduous, complicated tasks defined at this congress...
we should keep in mind the days when scientists of the old generation successfully developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs
改为
we should keep in mind the days when scientists of the old generation developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs
4) effect of intensifiers
overtemphasis that is unacceptable in English
It is overdoing it to say that "all social circles are tremendously enthusiastic about providing education".
该句中"Enthusiastic" is emphatic enough, the adverb is simply excessive. Enthusiastic已经足够了，再加个副词就过了哦。
有时候过于强调，反而效果减弱。
“historical exprerience has proved that..."听起来反而像叙述事实一样，令人可信accept is as fact。如果说成“historical experience has convincingly proved that ..."过分强调，反而让人生疑suspicions are arosed。
at other times, the unadorned verb is stronger，不要搞得太花哨，有时候朴实无华的动词就足够了。
拿第一版的美国宪法为例，"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."
他们不说“Congress shall absolutely make no law”, or "Congress shall definitely make no law", or "Congress shall resolutely refrain from making any law"，因为他们默认为absolute。
Chinglish versions
we are confident that we shall assuredly surpass imperialism through peaceful competition
改为
we are confident that we shall surpass imperialism through peaceful competition
I am deeply convinced that the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations can certainly be realized
改为
I am deeply convinced that Sino-Japanese relations can be normalized
we cannot endure turmoil and whenever we encounter it later we will definitely enforce martial law
改为
we cannot endure turmoil, and whenever it arises we will enforce martial law
their speech is very dull and meaningless
改为
their speech is dull and meaningless
the people's living standards are truly rising, the country is thriving, and China's international prestige is genuinely growing
改为
the people's standard of living is rising, the country is thriving, and its international prestige is growing
点评：each of the verbs is more convincing when it stands alone.
5) advice from the experts
William Zinsser: Most adverbs are unnecessary.大部分副词都是多余无用的.You will clutter your sentence and annoy the reader if you choose a verb that has a precise meaning and then add an adverb that carries the same meaning.... again and again in careless writing, strong verbs are weakened by redundant adverbs.
Claire Cook: You probably should delete all intensive adverbs - very, really, truly, actually, and the like. If you've chosen the right word, adding a very defeats your purpose. If you haven't chosen the right word, the very offers poor compensation.强化副词尽量删除不用。不用overuse。if you want to put a very in front of a large, you should consider substituting enormous, huge, gigantic, or massive ... (the intensive adverbs) attenuate rather than strengthen. Consider really terrific, absolutely stunning, truly sensational, extermely vital, and very devastating. The adverbs reduce powerful adjectives to converstational gush, depriving them of their stark force. Almost all writers succmb to these trivializing intensives. Be on guard.
Lauren Kessler and Duncan McDonald: when you intensify an already intense word, be it adjective or verb, you do more than add clutter. You sap the word of its strength. 削弱了强化效果。Once you have chosen a powerful word, you must trust it to stand on its own...
H.W. Fowler: Constant association with an intensifying adjective deprives a noun of the power of standing on its own legs. Thus danger must always have its real, part its integral, and crisis its grave and acute, and understatements must be masterly. The only hope for a noun thus debilitated is for the combination to be recognized as a cliche and killed by ridicule....选对词语，无需过多修饰，词语本身就已达到强调的效果。
Ernest Gowers: Cultivate the habit of reserving adjectives and adverbs to make your meaning more precise, and suspect those that you find yourself using to make it more emphatic. Use adjectives to denote kind rather than degree. By all means say an economic crisis or a military disaster, but think well before saying an acute crisis or a terrible disaster. Say if you like "the proposal met with noisy opposition and is in obvious danger of defeat". But do not say "the proposal met with considerable opposition and is in real danger of defeat". If that is all you want to say it is better to leave out the adjectives and say "the proposal met with opposition and is in danger of defeat".... Strong words like urgent, danger, crisis, disaster, fatal, grave, overriding, prime, paramount, and essential lose their force if used too often. Reserve them for strong occasions, and then let them stand on their own legs, without adjecgtival or adverbial support.
Jacques Barzun: An important subclass of cliches consists of what an English rhetorician has called "adverbial dressing gowns": seriously consider, utterly reject, thoroughly examine, be absolutely right, make perfectly clear, sound definitely interested. All these are cliches and the adverb is the dressing gown: the writer thinks the verb or adjective would not seem decent if left bare. The truth is that the meaning is strengthened by the removal of the automatically remembered adverb. Nothing is easier than to strike it out when it crops up unbidden in your prose. Reread yourself and you will feel how much more firm the tone and final the thought of "I reject the accusation" than the spluttering :"I utterly reject the accusation."
专家们均持有同一种观点：动词本身就非常powerful，没必要用太多修饰词：形容词、副词等，修饰语太多，不但没有起到强化作用，反而削弱了词语本身的力量。
4. Qualifiers
Words like “quite", "rather" and "relatively"
there is nothing wrong with using such words on occasion, when the bald statement would be too absolute without some qualification. However, when qualifiers are used indiscriminately, as they often are Chinglish, they give the reader an impression of hesitancy, timidity, and indecisiveness, as if the writer were unable or unwilling to commit himself to anything definite. 常用这些词，会显得特别中式，给人犹豫不决、胆怯怕事、不够果断的印象。
doubtless understand it
"a reasonably substantial book giving a comparatively complete history of the Party", 这样的表达显得说话人"damn with faint praise."
1）examples
examples of qualifiers that weaken the writer's statement when there is no logical reason for doing so:
we have dozens of thousands of students studying abroad, and it is quite important to create suitable conditions for their work after they come back
改为
we have tens of thousands of students studying abroad, and it is important to create suitable conditions for their work after they return
"dozens of thousands of" is not idiomatic in English 表达不地道
Chinese officials voiced shock yesterday at a decision by the US Export-Import Bank to delay loans for a subway project for the southern city of Guangzhou ... "The impact of this will be quite huge," an official said by telephone
改为
..."The impact of this will be huge," an official said by telephone
"quite" saps the meaning of "huge" 削弱
Zhao's images are somewhat primitively aggressive, forcing themselves on the viewer as if they, together with the strong feelings they convey, must never be ignored and overlooked," critic Geng Jian comments on his art
改为
“Zhao's images are primitively aggressive," says critic Geng Jian, "forcing themselves on the viewer as if they, and the strong feelings they convey, were not to be ignored"
the qualifier is at war with the meaning 自相矛盾
“overlooked” simply duplicates the sense of "ignored" 语意重复
under the most difficult circumstances, Zhou Enlai resolutely and carefully set to work, basically guaranteeing the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an incident
改为
under the most difficult circumstances, Zhou Enlai carefully set to work, guaranteeing (or: ensuring, or: bringing about) the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an incident
I do not think that that part of history [the Cultural Revolution], a fairly significant part of our lives for my generation, has gone with the wind
改为
I do not think that that part of history, which for my generation was a significant part of our lives, has gone with the wind
2) "perhaps", "maybe", "possibly"
Even when they are perfectly legitimate, they can be neatly replaced by "may" or "might". 汉语中的怀疑，在英语中使用动词的某种特殊形式就够了
perhaps it will take a decade to accomplish this
改为
it may take a decade to accomplish this
twelve to thirteen percent of China's people, or more than 100 million of the total, live in cities, and maybe the figure will go up in coming years
改为
twelve to thirteen percent of our people, or more than 100 million, live in cities, and the figure may go up in years to come
experts predict that the reduction of interest rates will lead to a possible loosening of credit this year
改为
experts predict that the reduction of interest rates may lead to a loosening of creadit this year
3) 专家意见
Gowers cites "unduly", "relatively", and "comparatively" as the most fashionable "adverbial dressing-gowns", pointing out that those words "can only properly be used when something has been mentioned or implied which gives a standard of comparison." When thers is no standard of comparison, "their use is merely a shrinking from the nakedness of an unqualified statement."
Strunk and White call qualifiers like rather and a little "leeches (水蛭) that infest (大量出没) the pond of prose (散文), sucking the blood of words."
Fowler brothers, writing in 1906, refer to the indulgence in qualifying adverbs (perhaps, possibly, probably, rather, a little, somewhat, and so on) as a disease of British journalists. They deplore (公开谴责、强烈反对) the "intemperate orgy of moderation" that they find renewed every morning in the daily newspapers.
5.Cliches
中式英语受汉语影响，最爱陈腔滥调、冗长多余。很多形容词副词都纯属多余，毫无意义，可以删除不译。
1）examples
官方报告演讲等常用套辞translators and polishers at units that deal with official reports and speeches are only too familiar with the following formulas, lifted straight out of the Chinese:
艰巨任务 arduous tasks
压倒多数 overwhelming majority
苦心经营 painstaking efforts
科学分析 scientific analysis
正确理解 correct understanding
适当调整 appropriate readjustment
大胆实验 bold experiments
明确界定clearly defined
果断措施 强硬有效措施 firm and effective measures
基本实现 basically accomplished
大力推广vigorously promote
逐步改善 gradually improve
大力发展energetically develop
深化改革 further reform
坚定不移地执行 carry out unswervingly
适当组合 properly combine
认真学习study conscientiously
充分调动 fully mobilize
坚决贯彻 坚决执行 resolutely enforce
坚决杜绝 firmly forbid
2） effect of repetition 重复效应
Professor Cheng Zhenqiu suggests 相比英文，中文喜欢堆砌副词和形容词。政府报告中更是各种修饰语，对此，他警告道，如果翻译成英文，则不要逐字直译，否则译文会显得死气沉沉。强调太多，反而效果减弱。
a government report thick with relentlessly repeated modifiers
deadening 死气沉沉的
如果通篇都是“arduous”， “imperative", "conscientiously", "diligently", "resolutely", "energetically", "vigorously", "unswervingly", "persistently", and "unremittingly" ，读者会很绝望的，再也不想读了throws up his or her hands and stops listening。
小知识：
throw up one's hands 绝望
throw up one's eyes 惊呆
throw in one's hand 放弃
throw one's cap over the mill 不顾一切地干，冒身败名裂的危险去做
throw one's bread upon the waters 行善
throw one's hat in the ring 宣布加入战斗
throw one's weight around 指手画脚 盛气凌人 滥用权势
throw one's whole being into 全力投入 把全部精力都倾注在
throw one's support behind sb 支持某人
throw one's eyes to the ground 眼睛朝下看地面
ubiquitous 似乎无所不在的 随处可见的 十分普遍的
degenerate into 退化成
总之，these overworked modifiers have met the same fate as the overworked verb phrases discussed in chapter 1 :" make great efforts to, " pay attention to", and "do a good job in". 用的太多，反而失去了说服力。used so often that they have lost all power of presuasion.
3) avoiding repetition 避免重复
The easiest way to deal with a cliche modifier is simply to omit it from the English version. 最简单的处理就是直接删除不用，这也是普通接受的解决方式。That is often a perfectly acceptable solution.
如果删除后影响句意表达，则 a fresh variation is enough to reliece the monotony （单调乏味、千篇一律）
arduous task 改为 demanding
vigorous development 改为 intensive
further efforts 改为 renewed
resolute measures 改为 determined
思路就是使用同义词等 alternative renderings （替代表达）
make a rule that the strong adverb "resolutely" was to be allowed no oftener than twice a page, lest it lose its force ( a rule that they were no always able to abide by). 《周恩来选集》英文润色人员定下的规矩：resolutely每页使用频率不得超过两次，以免失去应有的效力（但是这个规定他们自己执行得并不好）
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