Language Subtleties...

For all those learning Chinese or English... Let's have a discussion... This is with regard to comments in the entry,

http://www.italki.com/entry/503312

Consider the following sentences,

#1 我病了
#2 我有病[了]
#3 我有病
#4 我是病了
#5 我生病 [了]

How would you translate the above sentences into English?

After looking at the comments from native speakers, although they are right in what they are saying but they miss the crucial grammar points because they are so used to it.  This is common in any language; for example most native English speakers will have a double take in trying to explain the prepositions such as "the difference of "at" and "in".

I had chosen this simple example to illustrate the intricacies to those learning Chinese. The black colored line is a literal and direct word for word translation.

#1 我病了  I sick already.  In proper English, this translates to "I had become sick".  Translating it to "I am sick" is wrong because in English's present tense, it does not convey the emphasis of "becoming" in Chinese but rather a statement of fact.  了 is an indicator of past tense in Chinese and to translate it into English as "I was sick" is also wrong because in English, it implies that you are now NO longer sick.  The original meanng does not convey this implication. As one commentator pointed out, one cannot leave out the final particle of 了!  Though grammatically correct, it makes no sense.  Here 病 acts as an verb which English has no equivalent.

#2, 3 我有病 I have sickness.  Here, it should be translated as "I am sick".  Here 病 is a noun.  To the Chinese, it acts like something that can be had but in English, it is not the correct way to express.  Adding 了 as a past tense indicator becomes "I was sick" which in both languages can construe that you are now may or may be well.  The context is an important determinant in how we understand what was expressed.  Nowever, in slang it may mean, "Are you crazy?", "Do you have a problem?"  This is due to the fact, that it has become short for 毛病 "Hair sickness" 毛 here means "teensy", "iota", etc. and so to mean, "quirk", "defect", "shortcoming", "fault" etc.

#4 我是病了 Here 病 acts as an action of being state. The correction translation of this English is "I had become in a state of sickness".  However, no native English speaker would express as such.

#5 我生病 I grow sick/sickness. To translate it as "I grow sick" would be totally wrong in meaning. Here "grow" means "to become greater or more" and does not mean "undergo natural development by increasing in size and changing physically; progress to maturity."  Chinese treat sickness like some cultured bacteria that can be grown in a lab etc. Grammatically speaking, this sentence is correct conveying in a continuing action.  However, in real life, 了 is usually added since the action of being grown has already occurred.

China is a vast country.  There are regional differences in usage.  Some may say this is incorrect because they had never countered in their environment.  It is exactly the same situation with UK, US, or other English speaking country (or Spanish among Latin America or with Spain).  Hence translation is not easy at all.  One has to know the local culture well otherwise, faux pas can be erupted especially in formal settings.  For some famous gaffes, see

http://listverse.com/2013/11/25/the-10-worst-diplomatic-faux-pas-by-famous-politicians/