Common English Mistakes in Interview Transcripts by Cantonese Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong when writing a Interview Transcript in English.

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Interviewee: Yes, of course. I have been working in the media industry for over ten years, and it is very, very exciting. The pace isvery fast, and you have to be very, veryquick to adapt toall the changes. I find it veryso rewarding to see the impact of our work on the audience.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I took out or changed some of the "verys" to improve the flow of the text. "

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Interviewee: Yes, of course. I have been working in the media industry for over ten years, and it is very exciting. The pace is fast, and you have to be quick to adapt to all the changes. I find it so rewarding to see the impact of our work on the audience.

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Interviewee: Yes, of course. I have been working in the media industry for over ten years, and it is very, very exciting. The pace is very fast, and you have to be very, very quick to adapt to changes. I find it very rewarding to see the impact of our work on the audience.

Mistake Example #2

Confusion with countable vs. uncountable nouns ('She has much friends')

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Chan. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Mr. Chan: Yes, of course. I have been working in media for over ten years now. During this time, I have gained mucha great deal of knowledge and made numanyerous connections. The industry here is very dynamic, and there are muchany opportunityies for growth.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"Corrections were made to address countable/uncountable noun issues."

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Chan. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Mr. Chan: Yes, of course. I have been working in media for over ten years now. During this time, I have gained a great deal of knowledge and made numerous connections. The industry here is very dynamic, and there are many opportunities for growth.

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Chan. Can you tell us about your experience working in the media industry in Hong Kong? Mr. Chan: Yes, of course. I have been working in media for over ten years now. During this time, I have gained much knowledge and made many connection. The industry here is very dynamic, and there are much opportunity for growth.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Can you tell me about your experience working in the marketing field? Interviewee: Yes, I have been working in marketing for over five years. In my previous job, we often say "add oil" to encourage each otherto encourage. It is very important to keep the team spirit high. Also, I think we should "walk together" with clients to understand their needs better.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I just changed a few words to make the English sound more natural. Well done!"

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Can you tell me about your experience working in the marketing field? Interviewee: Yes, I have been working in marketing for over five years. In my previous job, we often say "add oil" to encourage each other. It is very important to keep the team spirit high. Also, I think we should "walk together" with clients to understand their needs better.

**Interview Transcript:** Interviewer: Can you tell me about your experience working in the marketing field? Interviewee: Yes, I have been working in marketing for over five years. In my previous job, we often say "add oil" to each other to encourage. It is very important to keep the team spirit high. Also, I think we should "walk together" with clients to understand their needs better.