Do
you want me to strangle a couple of eggs for you? / scramble
strangle
I
ate in a restaurant today, and the food was abdominal. / abnormal
abdominal

―以形达意”
formalist and inelegant

Good written Chinese uses more empty words and repeats words that have the same meaning or purpose to give balance and elegance to its sentences. For example, Chinese uses things like 也…也…, 但是…却…, 因为…所以…. But If you do a similar thing in English, you add flab and reduce clarity.
Mrs.
Malaprop misused geography as geometry, then further misused contiguous as contagious.

The poor matching derives the term Malapropism resulting from using Homophony.
Advice by the author:
English
learners should try to get the words, phrases and sentences completely right for their purposes in writing.

Denotative meaning (外延/指示 意义) refers to the essential and inextricable part of what language is, is regarded as the central factor in verbal communication.
Malapropism
Ludicrous
misuse of words, esp. for one resembling it. (用词错误、用语错误、飞白，尤指误用发音 相似而意义全非的词) e.g. get up at the crank of dawn and don't talk to me, just sitting there being unspeakable. at the crack of dawn

Chinglish We two who and who？
咱俩谁跟谁阿

How are you ? how old are you? 怎么是你，怎么老是你？
You don’t bird me, I don’t bird you. 你不鸟我，我也不鸟你 If you want money, I have no; if you want life, I have one! 要钱没有，要命一条

You Give Me Stop!!! 你给我站住！ know is know; no know is no know. 知之为知之，不知为不知. WATCH SISTER 表妹 you me you me. 彼此彼此






Warm-up questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Does the title strike you as a bit unusual? Have you ever heard of the English proverb “Hit the nail on the head”? What does it mean? Whose job involves hitting nails? Is the text concerned about the carpenter? Then, what’s the major concern of the author? What similarities does the author recognize in the job of a carpenter and the work of a writer?
At
school, I took a course in domestic silence.
/ science
silence
Home Home
wasn't built in a day. / Rome
Chinese style vs. English style

Good written Chinese employs well-known set phrases and sayings to connect the piece of writing with the Chinese literary tradition.
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
On the education of children:
―As
she grew up, I would have her instructed in geometry, that she might know something of the contagious countries‖, she said.
Denotative meaning
[+HUMAN
+ADULT +MALE]---- man [+HUMAN +ADULT –MALE]---women girl [+HUMAN –ADULT +FEMAL]--- Boy ----[+HUMAN –ADULT +MALE] Bull ----[–HUMAN +ADULT +MALE]
Unit One
TEXT I Hit the Nail on the Head (恰到好处；一语中的）
---Alan Warner
Teaching objectives

Understanding the various aspects related to the usage of words. Cultivating a sense of appropriateness in style Learning to use analogy as an expository means.
Connotative
meaning (内涵/隐含意 义) refers to the implied or communicative meaning, over or above the word’s denotative meaning.
Connotative meaning

e.g. milk-----nutritious, healthy… pig-----dirty, simple… swallow-----alert, auspicious…
You
crank/crack
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
You
can't tell a book by its lover.
lover
/ cover and I are insufferable friends. / inseparatable
Marge
insufferable
Malapropism
I. Preparation
1)
Topic
“Hit the Nail on the Head”
Denotation: original meaning— force (the nail) into the right place; make something unmistakably clear. Connotation: implied meaning— exactly right in words or action.
Homophony
One semantic relationship between words which sounds alike but are written differently and often have different meanings. e.g. know--- threw--- bare--- meet--- flower--- sew--- dear--- right---
superordinate
I. Preparation
2)
Alan Warner (1912- ), English teacher at Makerere College (麦大), Kampala (坎帕拉), Uganda.
Author
3)
Source Selected from A Short Guide to English


―以神传意”
vivid and refined
Good written English avoids these and calls them clichés. It uses well-known phrases in a piece of written English so as to be in order and logic.
2. Have you ever heard of the English proverb “Hit the nail on the head”? What does it mean? Suggested Answer (SA): It means exactly right in words or action. (The author advises that the English students should try to get the words, phrases and sentences completely right for their purposes in their writing.) 3. Whose job involves hitting nails? Is the text concerned about the carpenter? Then, what’s the major concern of the author? （ stylistic matter, how to choose the right word from the extensive vocabulary of the English language ）