| English annotations in TCFL (Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language) textbooks are considered as the bridge that leads to the improvement of Chinese learning for speakers of other languages. They help learners capture word meanings accurately and enhance learning efficiency. The ultimate purpose of having English annotations in ECTFL textbooks is to help learners to master Chinese the target language. In accordance with this ultimate goal, the high-quality Chinese-English translation is needed. Although there have been some improvements in English annotations in recent years, the appropriateness of the annotations still needs to be studied. To help Chinese learners to learn Chinese efficiently, to improve the quality of annotation translation and to lighten the burden of teachers in their teaching preparations. By observing and studying the English annotations in the following three textbooks:A NEW CHINA, Boya Chinese, HANYU JIAOCHENG, all of which are popular adopted for use inside and/or outside China, I found that the annotations in Chinese are not translated accurately into English. The inaccurate translations are mainly resulted in three dimensions:semantics, syntax and pragmatics. I collected these problems from the textbooks and then categorized the problems into five major types:mismatch between the meaning of the English translation and the actual meaning of the Chinese word used in a particular context; improper translation mode; negligence of the particularity of Chinese separable words in their English translations; the English translation of measure words and function words; the English translation of proper nouns. In accordance with each type, I have analyzed causes of these problems from internal and external linguistic factors. Based on my study, I have put forward several suggestions for solving the problems from the perspective of textbook compilers, native-English speaking learners, and Chinese language teachers. |
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