Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
我的弟弟︱弟弟
English translation:
my little brother
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Sep 24, 2006 03:22
17 yrs ago
Chinese term
United States
Search HKLNA!
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Japanese to English, French to English, and 3 more.
我的弟弟
Non-PRO
Chinese to English
Social Sciences
Education / Pedagogy
Grammatikalische Analyse (Grammatical Analysis)
Sentence: 這個禮拜天，我帶我的弟弟到動物園玩。
First Attempt: This Sunday I will take my little brother to the zoo.
Question: Question: Is the 我的 in the phrase 我的弟弟 not redundant? Unless one were speaking about the little brothers of families other than one's own is there any reasonable cause to write 我的弟弟 just after writing 我帶?
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
As always you are welcome to comment on other parts of the translation.
Comment: EARTH has nearly recovered from its third hard drive failure in three years. As you can see the old format was preserved. Taking advantage of the downtime EARTH was also able to correct numerous bugs in the Tsong Kit website and will likely now be able to move forward with fewer online errors.
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.
First Attempt: This Sunday I will take my little brother to the zoo.
Question: Question: Is the 我的 in the phrase 我的弟弟 not redundant? Unless one were speaking about the little brothers of families other than one's own is there any reasonable cause to write 我的弟弟 just after writing 我帶?
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
As always you are welcome to comment on other parts of the translation.
Comment: EARTH has nearly recovered from its third hard drive failure in three years. As you can see the old format was preserved. Taking advantage of the downtime EARTH was also able to correct numerous bugs in the Tsong Kit website and will likely now be able to move forward with fewer online errors.
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)
| 3 +1 | 我带弟弟 and 我带我的弟弟 are both correct |
wherestip
|
| 5 +1 | My little brother |
Aaron Gilkison (X)
|
| 5 | FYI |
yuzouren
|
Proposed translations
+1
8 hrs
Selected
我带弟弟 and 我带我的弟弟 are both correct
Hamo,
I wouldn't call it "redundant", but rather "optional".
You'd find people that express this in either way.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2006-09-24 13:41:42 GMT)
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Some examples:
我去给我的母亲买中药 I'm on my way to buy some Chinese medicine for my mother
我去给我母亲买中药
我给母亲买中药
The above three sentences are the same. So are the following three:
我替我的妹妹看她的小孩 I'm baby-sitting for my younger sister
我替妹妹看她的小孩
我替妹妹看小孩
Here's another example from the lyrics of the title song in <红色娘子军>:
"古有花木兰替父去从军, 今有娘子军抗战为人民"
As you can see, 替父去从军 is totally acceptable and in fact preferable, instead of being more specific(or redundant) and saying 替她的父亲去从军
I wouldn't call it "redundant", but rather "optional".
You'd find people that express this in either way.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2006-09-24 13:41:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Some examples:
我去给我的母亲买中药 I'm on my way to buy some Chinese medicine for my mother
我去给我母亲买中药
我给母亲买中药
The above three sentences are the same. So are the following three:
我替我的妹妹看她的小孩 I'm baby-sitting for my younger sister
我替妹妹看她的小孩
我替妹妹看小孩
Here's another example from the lyrics of the title song in <红色娘子军>:
"古有花木兰替父去从军, 今有娘子军抗战为人民"
As you can see, 替父去从军 is totally acceptable and in fact preferable, instead of being more specific(or redundant) and saying 替她的父亲去从军
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Final Rendering: This Sunday I will take my little brother to the zoo.
Acknowledgment: I would like to thank both Wherestip and Yuzouren for their very useful comments and examples. Truly there are times when one must designate a family member as one's own; surely there are times when it is simply unnecessary.
I would also like to thank both Aaron and Anastasia for stimulating others to comment and hope that everyone has benefitted from the discussion.
Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-2-g.html#s10 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.
My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides.
"
+1
2 hrs
My little brother
It is not redundant. Even in English we would specify whose little brother it is we are taking.
Think about the differences in these two English sentences:
I am at a house.
I am at my house.
The possessive pronoun is necessary to indicate that "I" am not just at any house, but at "my" house. The same goes for Chinese
Think about the differences in these two English sentences:
I am at a house.
I am at my house.
The possessive pronoun is necessary to indicate that "I" am not just at any house, but at "my" house. The same goes for Chinese
Note from asker:
| Although a Chinese to English translation, this is a Chinese to Chinese question. What one does in English is therefore a poor standard for comparison. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
anastasia t (X)
1 hr
|
|
thanks!
|
20 hrs
FYI
In order to avoid confusion, sometimes it is a must.
Eg. both your brother and your wife's brother are a brother of yours.
我的弟弟 和 我妻子的弟弟 =弟弟
My, your, his/her
Just for audience to understand what you are talking without confusion.
In other cases, it is not necessary.
In other words, you have to use my, your, her/his（我的、他的、你的) to make you understood if necessary.
Eg. both your brother and your wife's brother are a brother of yours.
我的弟弟 和 我妻子的弟弟 =弟弟
My, your, his/her
Just for audience to understand what you are talking without confusion.
In other cases, it is not necessary.
In other words, you have to use my, your, her/his（我的、他的、你的) to make you understood if necessary.
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