Joselyn Boayue
CRIN R07: Language Develeopment and ELL
Native Language and Culture Handout
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Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
Countries where spoken:It is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan. It is one of the official
languages of Singapore.
Cultural differences of children speaking the language:
appropriate eye contact/gestures:
-Eye contact is polite, but prolonged eye contact is considered rude.
-As a sign of respect, a student will point their gaze downward or lower their head when speaking to an
authority figure.
-Beckoning with an index finger is considered disrespectful. A respectful way to beckon is with the whole
hand and a flat palm with a scratching motion.
-A child may spit in public after clearing his/her throat.
-Clasped hands over the head indicate “thank you” and clasped hands over the chest indicate well wishes.
-A promise is signified by placing a hand over the heart.
-Proper posture signifies respect.
male/female relationships
-In traditional Chinese families, the son is the heir of the family.
-It is more favorable to have a son than a daughter in China because of the one child policy.
-Boys are more assertive and dominant. Girls are more supportive and cooperative.
-Both genders may talk and interact with one another.
-When boys and girls are greeting one another they will nod or shake hands.
physical space
--Generally, children are uncomfortable with touching or being less than an arm’s length away from an adult
that is not a relative.
importance of education/relationships with teachers and schoolwork
-Students are expected to remain seated while a teacher is speaking. Getting up is considered rude.
-Education is very important. It is seen as a way to promote social harmony.
-In China, students typically attend school five to six days a week from 7am until 4pm or later. Rote
memorization is emphasized along with a focus on math, science, and Chinese studies. Students focus on
preparing for entrance exams into middle, high school, and college.Most students attend a school in the
evening which is similar to tutoring.
-Students are taught to have complete respect for their teachers. Teachers will often advise students on
personal problems.
English
Chinese
Link to pronunciation:
http://chinese.travel-way.net
Good morning
Goodbye
Hi/Hello
How are you?
Thank you
You are welcome
One moment...
Qing deng yi xia! 请等一下
I’ll see you tomorrow
It is very nice to meet you
Please
My name is..
Qing 请
Similarities and Differences Between Linguistic Systems
Linguistic Systems
Similarities between English and
Chinese
Writing System
-Alphabetic versus Nonalphabetic
-Concepts about print
Some Chinese symbols represent
concepts; for example,
“one, two, three” is “一 二
三”
Chinese uses a logographic
system which uses symbols to
represent words. English uses the
alphabet. Chinese has five vowel
sounds and English has ten.
Phonlogy
-Phonological Concepts
-Syllable Patterns
-Phonological Rules
There are different dialects within
English and Chinese.
Chinese is a tone language.It uses
pitch to distinguish word meaning;
for example, “ma” (mother) is
pronunced with a high tone, but
“ma” (scold) is pronunced with a
falling tone.. In English, changes in
pitch are used to express emotion.
The final consonant that exists in
English is less frequent in
Chinese.
Semantics
-Lexical semantics
-Phrasal semantics
-Pragmatics
Syntax
-Word level
-Sentence level
-Transformation
Differences between English and
Chinese
They both use terms of address;
for example, Doctor, Mrs., Mr.,
Father.
Chinese does not have phrasal
verbs like “take on, make do with,
look up to..”
In Chinese, one is supposed to
deny any form of praise and
criticize oneself instead of saying
“thank you”. Terms of address
represent hierarchy and level of
importance.
They have the same word order
and sentence structure;for
example,
他 是 个 好 学生！
He is a good student!
Chinese uses characters and
English uses words.
Chinese creates meaning through
word order. The concept of past,
present, and future is not reflected
in verb forms or tenses.
Online resources including a picture dictionary that are in English
1. Picture Dictionary by Merriam-Webster http://visual.merriam-webster.com/index.php
2. Visual Dictionary http://www.infovisual.info/