Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
到AB
English translation:
abbreviation of 到A去B
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Aug 26, 2006 00:09
17 yrs ago
Chinese term
到A去 (2/3)
Chinese to English
Social Sciences
Education / Pedagogy
Grammatikalische Analyse (Grammatical Analysis)
Sentence:今天的陽光真好,我們到城外玩玩吧。
1st Attempt: The sun is brilliant today, so let's go to the country and play.
Question One (1/3): Is the verb 玩玩 colloquial language for 玩? Or, is it a common expression also used in more formal contexts?
Question Two (2/3): The construction 到城外玩玩 appears to fit the more general pattern 到A去 where Ais an intended destination and where 去 can be replaced by any verb expressing an activity that will take place at that destination. Is this a correct interpretation of this construction.
Question Three (3/3): Does the construction 我們B吧 mean "Let's do B"?
As always you are welcome to comment on any part of my translation or offer one of your own. Please do not forget to answer the designated question for the entry, however.
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
1st Attempt: The sun is brilliant today, so let's go to the country and play.
Question One (1/3): Is the verb 玩玩 colloquial language for 玩? Or, is it a common expression also used in more formal contexts?
Question Two (2/3): The construction 到城外玩玩 appears to fit the more general pattern 到A去 where Ais an intended destination and where 去 can be replaced by any verb expressing an activity that will take place at that destination. Is this a correct interpretation of this construction.
Question Three (3/3): Does the construction 我們B吧 mean "Let's do B"?
As always you are welcome to comment on any part of my translation or offer one of your own. Please do not forget to answer the designated question for the entry, however.
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
Proposed translations
(English)
4 | IMHO |
Philip Tang
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Proposed translations
6 hrs
Selected
IMHO
Q(1/3) – [IMHO] 玩 = play, playing; 玩玩 = play around, look around, fool around, hang around.
Expressed in more formal contexts? - I doubt it you would find it in “serious” literature.
Q(2/3) – This is one way to interpret it, but definitely is not the only one!
Studying Chinese by pattern will allow one to see one branch of a very big tree; studying again you will see another; one day you will see the whole three. And if this is not enough, you should notice that Hong Kong people speak differently than people in mainland China, or people in Taiwan, not to mention the way overseas Chinese speak.
Example: in China or Taiwan – people may say到城外玩玩, (perhaps most noticeably in Beijing)
In Hong Kong – people may say 去郊外玩, 去內地玩, 去美國玩.
Another example: “to have dinner at the country side” could yield the followings
到城外去吃飯; 到城外吃飯去, 去郊外食飯(Hong Kong)
please note: “去” in the first two phrases does not mean “to go somewhere”; “到” already tells you where to go, “去” tells you why we are going!
In the third phrase, “去”=”to” which tells you both – to country side, and to eat dinner.
Q(3/3) If “B” is a verb of actions, this is generally true (but there could be exception); it may not work very well with verb of “senses, feelings” etc. At least it would not sound “Native”.
To study Chinese by pattern is fine, to communicate in Chinese by pattern is not advisable – first of all, there would be too many patterns to memorize.
And if not applied carefully, it may not sound NATIVE.
Expressed in more formal contexts? - I doubt it you would find it in “serious” literature.
Q(2/3) – This is one way to interpret it, but definitely is not the only one!
Studying Chinese by pattern will allow one to see one branch of a very big tree; studying again you will see another; one day you will see the whole three. And if this is not enough, you should notice that Hong Kong people speak differently than people in mainland China, or people in Taiwan, not to mention the way overseas Chinese speak.
Example: in China or Taiwan – people may say到城外玩玩, (perhaps most noticeably in Beijing)
In Hong Kong – people may say 去郊外玩, 去內地玩, 去美國玩.
Another example: “to have dinner at the country side” could yield the followings
到城外去吃飯; 到城外吃飯去, 去郊外食飯(Hong Kong)
please note: “去” in the first two phrases does not mean “to go somewhere”; “到” already tells you where to go, “去” tells you why we are going!
In the third phrase, “去”=”to” which tells you both – to country side, and to eat dinner.
Q(3/3) If “B” is a verb of actions, this is generally true (but there could be exception); it may not work very well with verb of “senses, feelings” etc. At least it would not sound “Native”.
To study Chinese by pattern is fine, to communicate in Chinese by pattern is not advisable – first of all, there would be too many patterns to memorize.
And if not applied carefully, it may not sound NATIVE.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Final Rendering: The sun is brilliant today, so let's go to the country and have fun.
Acknowledgment: Thank you Communease for your very helpful response and comments. You appear to have distinguished well between spoken Cantonese and written Han. The patterns 到A去B (written Han) and 去AB(spoken Cantonese) do appear to express the same idea. I do prefer jyuan-us' interpretation of the expression 到AB. This is because omission is often justified in language by efficiency and does not require reinterpretation.
Obviously I have incorporated your response to question one in my own rendering. The expression "have fun" is far more suitable than "play" in an adult context. Many Hong Kongers fail to make this distinction.
Your caution with regard to verb use in your response to question was also helpful.
Please be reminded that separate answers to each question would improve the quality of the ProZ.com data base.
Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-2-g.html#s3 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.
My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides."
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