# 哑巴英语



## Robby Zhu

请问这个表达有对应的英语翻译吗？
比如下面这个句子怎么说:
他学了十几年，也只学了个哑巴英语。


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## Lostcause

Mute English or dumb English


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## Robby Zhu

Lostcause said:


> Mute English or dumb English


谢谢，不过我看英语母语者好像觉得这两个翻译不好理解。
理解不出，只能阅读和写而不会说。


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## SuperXW

因为“哑巴英语”只在中国这样的国家出现，所以只好直译为mute English or dumb English，要加上一些说明，或者意译，母语者才能理解。
他学了十几年，也只学了个哑巴英语。

直译加注释：He has studied English for more than ten years, but has only learned so-called "dumb English"*.
(* A typical phenomenon among Chinese English learners that they has been trained on reading and writing but lacked abelites of listening and speaking).

意译：He has studied English for more than ten years but is not able to have any conversation.

大概是这样，写得不好请指正。


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## SimonTsai

I feel that _dumb English_ doesn't work. I'd take _dumb_ there intuitively as _stupid_.

As far as I am concerned, it's unnecessary to stick to the Mandarin original. I'd just say, 'He's been learning English for years and yet, he can't even speak English, as if he were speech-impaired.'

*EDIT:* That is the case for me, admittedly. But it may be worth noting that I am not a good speaker of Mandarin, either. I am not particularly eloquent and am generally unwilling to give a public speech.


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## Robby Zhu

SimonTsai said:


> I feel that _dumb English_ doesn't work. I'd take _dumb_ there intuitively as _stupid_.
> 
> As far as I am concerned, it's unnecessary to stick to the Mandarin original. I'd just say, 'He's been learning English for years and yet, he can't even speak English, as if he were speech-impaired.'
> 
> *EDIT:* That is the case for me, admittedly. But it may be worth noting that I am not a good speaker of Mandarin, either. I am not particularly eloquent and am generally unwilling to give a public speech.


看来是这样的，想要表达这个意思，不能字面之意，英语母语的人听不懂。
应该是这个表达还没有被广泛接受，如果广泛接受的话就可以了，就像:好久不见，long time no see字面直译外国人能听懂。


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## skating-in-bc

I have found a couple of graduate theses published by the University of Toronto containing the coined term "_silent English_" as a literal translation of 哑巴英语.  For example,

"_Too often Chinese people learn *silent English*. Many may be able to read English, but are unable to speak it or to understand it when listening._"--Shijing Xu 2006, doctoral dissertation: In Search of Home on Landscapes in Transition: Narratives of Newcomer Families' Cross-Cultural Schooling Experience. p. 47.

"_Writing and reading are just right for us, as we learned *silent* *English*._"--Naxin Zhao 2005, Master's thesis: Chinese Students' Participation in Asynchronous Educational Computer Conferencing. p. 55.

silent: not making or accompanied by any sound.


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## dojibear

SimonTsai said:


> I feel that _dumb English_ doesn't work. I'd take _dumb_ there intuitively as _stupid_.


I agree. I think "silent English" is a good translation. But "silent English" isn't well-known. The phrases "written _English/French/Chinese_" and "spoken _English/French/Chinese_" are common. "Spoken" is 听懂和说话. "Written" is 读懂和写词.
学习读懂不是学习听懂。办法不一样。

_My written English is excellent, but I can't speak it (English).
My spoken Japanese is good, but I can't read it (Japanese)._


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## skating-in-bc

他學了幾十年，也只學了個啞巴英語 ≠ 他學了幾十年，也只學了個書面英語
顯然 connotation 不同


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## SimonTsai

I've never heard the coined term 啞巴英語 before, but I can confidently tell that it is used for mockery, directed to other people or oneself. '我們華人遇到洋人, 就啞了, 我們學的都是啞巴英語.'


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## Sanchuan

He's studied English for ten years but
- never learnt to speak it.
- can't speak it well.
- can't speak it very well at all.
- can't speak a word of it.
- can't speak a lick of it.
- his spoken English is very poor.

Dumb/Mute English简直不算是英语词汇而Silent English只是深奥的语言学术语而已。

英国人一般会把哑巴英语之类俗称为broken English，所以我觉得“He can only speak some broken English" 也可以。


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## dojibear

我能说“我只会说啞巴汉语”吗？


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## SimonTsai

dojibear said:


> 我能说 “我只会*说**啞巴*汉语” 吗？


It sounds self-conflicting: If you can speak it, then you are not a *啞巴*; a *啞巴* is someone who can't speak it.


Sanchuan said:


> 英国人一般会把哑巴英语之类俗称为 broken English，所以我觉得 “He can only speak some broken English" 也可以。


If you spoke broken English fluently, then you were not a victim of what is called 啞巴英語; rather, you were an excellent speaker of your self-created language.

Linked is my Quora post on the possibility of Taiwan becoming bilingual by 2050. As frankly said there, most Taiwanese people don't seem to care much about grammar when speaking English; in fact, many do the same when writing English. They are simply satisfied with just being able to make themselves understood by foreigners in everyday conversation.

Linked is another Quora post by a native speaker of English living in Taiwan. There, you can find many hilarious examples of broken English being used by Taiwanese.


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## dojibear

SimonTsai said:


> If you spoke broken English fluently


That is not possible. I think this is a translation problem. "Broken English" (不好的英文) is not a language. You cannot speak it fluently. It means "speaking English brokenly". That might not be grammatical, but that is the meaning.



Sanchuan said:


> He can only speak some broken English.


Meaning: He can only speak a subset ("some") of English, and he speaks that badly ("broken").

But that is still better than 啞巴英語 (can't speak any English).


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## SimonTsai

dojibear said:


> You cannot speak it fluently. It means "speaking English brokenly".


I thought that broken English referred simply to English characterised by an almost intolerable number of major grammatical mistakes (e.g., tense and syntax) or misuse of words. I must have been wrong, then. Thank you for pointing out my mistake!


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## SuperXW

dojibear said:


> 我能说“我只会说啞巴汉语”吗？


我只会哑巴汉语 is possible.
我只会*说*哑巴汉语 is as self-conflicting as "spoke broken English fluently"... So no. You cannot "*speak *mute Chinese".


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## SimonTsai

SimonTsai said:


> I am not a good speaker of Mandarin, either. I am not particularly eloquent and am generally unwilling to give a public speech.


Just clarifying that if _broken_ in _broken English_ is all about fluency, and not about grammar or word choice, then I meant that I sometimes speak broken Mandarin. (But the Mandarin that I speak is mostly grammatical and natural.)


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## henter

没有 mute Chinese这个表达方式。我觉得没必要特意翻译哑巴英语这个词。这个我说的是哑巴英语不就是说明my English is naff. 翻译的对象如果是外国读者，就该用他们可以理解的表达方式，而不是非要把一些中文词硬翻译成英语。Dumb English这个就不对. 按照字面意思翻译也会出问题，尤其是马马虎虎这个成语。 如果只考虑字面意思，翻译成英文就是horse, horse, tiger, tiger.


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