 |
customer@davidpublishing.com |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Chinese-English Interpretation
CHEN Lili
Full-Text PDF
XML 118 Views
DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2026.06.003
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Negative transfer of the mother tongue occurs when a speaker’s first language negatively impacts their ability to learn or use a second language. It can manifest itself in the context of Chinese-English interpretation which can lead to various challenges and errors. By exemplifying the negative transfer of mother tongue in Chinese-English interpretation, this paper contends that the occurrences of inappropriateness, misunderstanding, and pragmatic failure in interpretation more often than not are due to the constraints of the mother tongue. It then proceeds to offer some tips regarding interpretation teaching to help students beware those potential pitfalls, so as to mitigate negative transfer effects. Understanding the structural and cultural differences between Chinese and English can significantly enhance interpretation accuracy and effectiveness.
negative transfer of mother tongue, interpretation, implications
CHEN Lili. Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Chinese-English Interpretation. US-China Foreign Language, June 2026, Vol. 24, No.
6, 222-226 doi:10.17265/1539-8080/2026.06.003
Chen, X. W. (2005). Relevant pragmatic links in interpreting education. Shanghai Journal of Translators, 2, 31-35.
Cheng, Z. Q. (1997). Issues in Chinese-English translation—Speech at the national academic seminar on Chinese-English translation. In Collection of techniques in Chinese-English translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.
Liu, M. Q. (2006). Theoretical research on interpreting and translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.
Shao, Z. H. (2006). Introduction to comparative translation between Chinese and English. Shanghai: East China University of Science and Technology Press.
Zhang, J. W. (2004). Selling the secrets of interpretation. Dalian: Dalian University of Technology Press.
Zhao, W. D., & Li, M. (2004). Examples of habitual thinking patterns in interpreting. Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal, 8, 19-22.