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2.1 Previous Studies on Chinglish 

The term “Chinglish” has been studied by a lot of scholars home and abroad.

Joan Pinkham points out in her book The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish that “Chinglish, of course, is that misshapen, hybrid language that is neither English nor Chinese but that might be described as ‘English with Chinese characteristics.’” (Pinkham, 2000: 1)

Professor Deng Yanchang believes that Chinglish “shows the interference or influence of Chinese”. He further explains that “some sentences are translated literally... Chinglish may be grammatically correct, but the choice of words or phrases and the manner of expression do not conform to normative English usage. ” (Deng Yanchang, 1989: 150).

Li Wenzhong defines Chinglish as a “kind of misshapen English which does not conform to the standard English expressions or English culture as well as custom”. He holds that “when Chinese learners and users of English are interfered or influenced by their mother tongue, they would impose the Chinese grammatical rules and idiomatic expressions on their English expressions during the communication. In this situation, Chinglish appears.”(Li Wenzhong, 1993: 18). 

The definition given by Lin Qiong is similar to that of Li Wenzhong. She argues that “Chinglish is the misshapen speech or writing in English. It emerges when Chinese people, subject to the influence or interference of ways of thinking and relevant culture background of their mother tongue, apply the rules of Chinese language into English expressions.”(Lin Qiong, 2001: 6)

The latest definition in Chinese academic circle is put forward by Li Shaoming. “Chinglish is Chinese-like English in structure and in diction. It may result from poor English, bad habit of Chinese writing, or from uncritical way of thinking and writing in a Chinese context.” (Li Shaoming, 2003: 22)

A lot of people may confuse Chinglish with China English. Professor Li Wenzhong holds that “based on normative English, China English bears the Chinese characteristics in vocabulary, sentence structures as well as discourses, and finds its way in English communication through transliteration, translation and semantic creation.” (Li Wenzhong, 1993: 19) From the mentioned above, we can see that China English is an English variety. Its core is still standard English. China English can be understood and accepted by native English users through some necessary explanations. Therefore, we should take different attitudes towards Chinglish and China English. The former should be eliminated while the latter should be advocated on the basis of appropriate usage.