Contrasts of Discourse
between English and Chinese
Group: 3+2
Maggie Xu
Jennifer
Judy
Amy
Rosamond
Linear Thought Pattern and
Spiral Thought Pattern
Respectively in English and
Chinese
--- Maggie Xu
0631100054
Three Main Subsets of The
Contrastive Analysis of Discourse
between English and Chinese
• Linear Thought Pattern and Spiral Thought
Pattern
• Hypotaxis and Parataxis
• Subject Consciousness and Object
Consciousness
Robert B. Kaplan
• The person who firstly put forward the idea
of English Thought Pattern and Oriental
Thought Pattern in Linguistics
• Kaplan agreed that all written languages contain
similar organizational patterns, but languages
differ in the frequency of their culturally
preferred patterns --- (Severino C., 1993)
English Thought Pattern
• Linear Thought Pattern (Inductive and Deductive)
• Inductive Reasoning
• “ An English expository paragraph usually begins with
a topic statement and then, by a series of subdivisions of
that topic statement,each supported by examples and
illustrations,
• proceeds to develop that central idea and relate that idea
to all the other ideas in the whole essay, and to employ
that idea in its proper relationship with the other ideas, to
prove something, or perhaps to argue something”
(Kaplan, R., 2001)
Linear Thought Pattern
• “Two important elements of paragraphing are
signposts and transitions. Signposts are
internal aids to assist readers; they usually
consist of several sentences or a paragraph
outlining what the article has covered and where
the article will be going.Transitions are usually
one or more sentences that “transition” from one
idea to the next. Transitions can be used at the
end of most paragraphs to help one the
paragraph flow one into next one.” (Howard,
2009)
Linear Thought Pattern
•
•
Deductive Reasoning
“Contrarily, the English paragraph may
use just the reverse procedure: that is, it
may state a whole series of examples and
then relates those examples into a single
statement at the end of the paragraph.”
Oriental (Chinese)Thought Pattern
• Spiral Thought Pattern
• Indirection
• “In this kind of writing (oriental writing), the
development of the paragraph may be said to be
turning and turning in a widening gyre.
• The circles or gyres turn around the subject and
show it from a variety of tangential views, but the
subject is never looked at directly.
• Things are developed in terms of what they are
not, rather than in terms of what they are.”
(Kaplan, B., 2001)
Spiral Thought Pattern
• 前面说过的那个美丽的布雷谷或布莱谷，是一处
群山环抱，幽静偏僻的地方，虽然离伦敦不过4个
钟头的路程，但是它的大部分都不曾有过游历家
和风景画家的足迹。马勒村就在它东北部那块起
伏地带的中间。（张谷若 译）
• The village of Marlott lay amid the northeastern
undulations of the beautiful Vale of Blakemore or
Blackmore aforesaid, an engirdled and secluded
region, for the most part untrodden as yet by
tourists or landscape-painters, though within a
four hours’ journey from London. (Hardy: Tess of
the D’Urbervilles)
Linear Thought Pattern and Spiral
Thought Pattern
• Linear Thought Pattern
Spiral Thought Pattern
Linear Thought Pattern VS Spiral
Thought Pattern
• The Disadvantages of Watching TV
• With the development of science and technology,
people’s living conditions have been greatly
improved and TV sets have become more and
more popular.
• Turning off TV: a Quiet Hour
• I would like to propose that for sixty to ninety
minutes each evening, right after the early
evening news,all television broadcasting in the
United States be prohibited by law.
Characteristics of Structure
Development of Discourses
respectively in Linear Thought
Pattern and Spiral Thought
•
•
•
•
•
Synthetic
Abstract
General
Remoteness
Small
Analytic
Concrete
Specific
Locality
Big
Linear Thought Pattern
Spiral Thought Pattern
• Three factors, have a major impact on the
nature of the basic metals industries:
heightened environmental consciousness,
changing trade pattern, and emerging high
technology.
• 日益增强的环保意识，贸易格局的变化及
新兴的高科技，这是影响主要金属工业性
质的三个主要因素。
• Heightened environmental consciousness,
changing trade pattern, and emerging high
technology are the three factors that have
a major impact on the nature of the basic
metals industries.
• 这是影响主要金属工业性质的三个主要因
素：日益增强的环保意识，贸易格局的变
化及新兴的高科技。
• 29, Jinfeng Road, Tangjiawan, Zhuhai,
Guangdong, P.R. China
• 中国广东省珠海市唐家湾金凤路28号
• I am Gary S. Linebarger, who is an
assistant professor from TESL in UIC.
• 我是来自UIC TESL的助理教授蓝伯乔。
• He had flown in just the day before from
Georgia (4) where he had spent his
vacation basking in the Caucasian sun (3)
after the completion of the construction job
(2) he had been engaged in in the south(1).
• 他在南方从事工程建设 (1)，但任务完成之
后，(2)他到格鲁吉亚度假 ，享受着高加索
的阳光(3) 。隔天，他乘飞机返回(4)。
Put into Practice
• In Reading – to grasp ideas and structure
in units larger than the sentence
• In Writing – to write in a sequence which
English native speakers expect; to make
structures of writing from SLLs develop in
an English logic.
Reference
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shanfen He. 2002. Contrastive Studies of English and Chinese Languages.
Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Robert Kaplan. 2001. Cultural Thought Patterns in Inter- Cultural Education.
Retrieved May 6, 2009 from
world.hanyang.ac.kr/~kentlee/slr/docs/Kaplan.pdf.
Carol Severino. 1993. The “Doodles” in Context Qualifying Claims about
Contrastive Rhetoric. Retrieved May 6, 2009 from
writing2.richmond.edu/training/383/383restricted/severino.pdf.
Ping Wang, Wenjie Liu. 2001. Discrepancies of the Oriental & Occidental
modes of thinking and its effect on college English writing. Retrieved May 6,
2009 from http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?QueryID=66&CurRec=1
Bing Li. 2007. English and Chinese Thought Patterns and Text
Differences:A Contrastive Studies. Retrieved May 6, 2009 from
http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?QueryID=14&CurRec=1
Tao Quan. 2008. 英汉思维差异是影响英语学习的重要障碍. Retrieved May 6,
2009 from
http://epub.cnki.net/grid2008/detail.aspx?filename=JMLK200806076&dbna
me=CJFQ2008
Jennifer
0631100018
What is reference?
Instead of being interpreted semantically in their
own right, they make reference to something else
for their interpretation. (Halliday and Hasan)
personal reference
demonstrative reference
comparative reference
Personal Reference
Achieved through the use of personal
pronouns and possessive determiners and
pronouns.
• personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, they, him,
her, them
( e.g.: I have a book. )
• possessive determiners: my, his, her, their
( e.g.: It is my book. )
• possessive pronouns: mine, his, hers, theirs
( e.g.: The book is mine.)
Point one:
• 我高兴得放声大笑。自己知道只是一次真
正的精神解放。
• I happily laughed a hearty laugh. _____
knew it was real relief of mind.
Self
Myself
Difference one:
As a personal reference:
C: reflective pronouns can be used alone
e.g.:自己知道只是一次真正的精神解放。
E: reflective pronouns must be used in the forms:
personal pronouns + reflective pronouns (I
myself)
preposition + reflective pronouns (for myself)
Or I, my, mine
*Myself drove the car.
I myself drove the car.
＊ No “myself” alone in English!
Point one:
• 我高兴得放声大笑。自己知道只是一次真
正的精神解放。
• I happily laughed a hearty laugh. I knew it
was real relief of mind.
Demonstrative Reference
The speaker identifies the reference by
locating it on a scale of proximity.
• demonstrative pronouns and determiners:
this, that, these, those
• definite article: the
• parallel adverbs: here, there, now, then
Point two（the）：
• John bought a bicycle. But when he rode it,
one of the wheels came off.
• 约翰买了一辆自行车，可他一骑，便脱落
了一个轮子。
the
bicycle
Difference two:
the: hard to find the corresponding
Chinese reference
But…
Not every “the” in English sentences is
a demonstrative reference.
More example（the）：
• There are two rings inside the box. The
first one is pink and the second one is
purple.
• 盒子里有两枚戒指。第一枚是粉红色的，
第二枚是紫色的。
Q: which “the” is cohesive?
＊“the” is cohesive only when anaphoric.
anaphoric (回指) : look back in the text
Point three:
• He liked his sister, who was warm and
pleasant, but he didn’t like his brother, who
was aloof and arrogant.
• 他喜欢他那热情可爱的妹妹，不喜欢他那
冷漠高傲的哥哥。
Difference three:
C (example ):
他那 (ta na)
personal reference + demonstrative reference
Can you find one example in English?
Conclusion (three differences):
• reflective pronouns
• definite article: the
• 他那 (ta na): personal reference +
demonstrative reference
Contrasts of Substitution
between English & Chinese
Judy
0631100052
What is Substitution?
The replacement of one item by another.
A device used to avoid redundant repetition.
The substitute item has the same structural
function as the item for which it substitutes.
• For example,
• *My son is crying for a doll. Give the boy a
doll.
redundant
• My son is crying for a doll. Give the boy
one.
new information
More Examples
• [1] My axe is too blunt. I must get a sharper
one.
Nominal
• [2] - You think Joan already knows.
- I think everybody does.
Verbal
• [3] 看来明天天气不错，如果这样，比赛继续
进行。
Clausal
kan lai ming tian tian qi bu cuo, ru guo
zhe yang, bi sai ji xu jin xing。
We can see…
• THREE types of substitution:
• [1] Nominal Substitution
• [2] Verbal Substitution
• [3] Clausal Substitution
• The substitute is used for substituting for
the noun/verb/clause in the preceding text.
Examples - Nominal substitution
• [4] The neighbours grow yellow
chrysanthemums.
A: I could grow red ones.
B: I could grow the same.
different?
• [5] John has become depressed. Has he
ever been the same/so before?
adjective
Examples – continued…
• [6] 莲花是自称一类的花卉，我个人以为是花
中最美者……（林语堂:《谈花和养花》）
lian hua shi zi cheng yi lei de hua hui,
wo ge ren yi wei shi hua zhong zui mei
li zhe...... often occur in written Chinese
• [7] 瞧那晚霞，我没见过比这更红的了。
qiao na wan xia, wo mei jian guo bi
zhe geng hong de le。 substitution by zero
(ellipsis)
Examples - Verbal substitution
• [8] Grandma: I hope they don’t bite.
Jimmy: Ow! Ow! They do!
• [9] A: Have you finished your homework?
B: I might have done it if I had time.
• [10] - 我们下棋好不好？
- 我不来。 do
– wo men xia qi hao bu hao? – wo bu lai。
Examples - Clausal substitution
• [11] I hope my warm sisters will be answered
now; if not, I have no more to say.
not (negative)
• [12] “就是见着了也未必认识。”李江云说。
“恐怕是这样。”年轻人说。
so （王朔:《玩的就是心跳》）
“jiu shi jian zhao le ye wei bi ren shi。” Li
jiangyun shuo。
“kong pa shi zhe yang。” nian qing ren shuo
。
Summary of substitution forms
in English & Chinese
Type
English
Chinese
Nominal one, ones,
the same, so
的，者，
同样(的)，一样(的)
Verbal
干，来，弄，搞
do
Clausal so, not
不(这样)，(不)这么，
(不)是，不然，要不
Conclusion
• Substitution is a common phenomenon in
both English and Chinese.
• Substitution has an important function as
a cohesive device in connecting the
information into a text.
Contrastive studies of ellipsis
in English and Chinese
Amy
0631100055
Ellipsis
•
Definition: The omission of a word or phrase necessary
for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary
for understanding.
•
The role of ellipsis in discourse: constructs
sentences and text
•
Three types of ellipsis ( Halliday & Hasan,1976):
1.
2.
3.
Nominal ellipsis （名词性省略）
Verbal ellipsis （动词性省略）
Clausal ellipsis （小句性省略）
Similarities
• Ellipsis in conversation （对话省）
E.G. (1) -Will he come? -I don’t know (if he will come)
(2) -他今天会去上学吗？ - 我不知道（他会不会来上学）
• Ellipsis in context （因上下文省）
E.G. (3) he didn’t come though he had promised to (come ).
(4) (你 ) 亲自做，你就会知道有多难了。
Similarities
• Ellipsis in situation （因情景省）
E.G. (5)（I'll ）See you tomorrow.
(6)（ 你）把桌子收拾干净。
• Ellipsis base on logic （按逻辑省）
E.G. (7)(where there is )no smoke, (there is )no fire.
（8）（如果）没有规矩，（就）不成方圆。
differences
• Ellipsis of subject
E.G.
（9）脱下衣服的时候，他听到外面很热闹，阿Q生平
本来最喜欢热闹，（他）便即寻声走出去了。（他）
寻声渐渐的寻到赵大爷的内院里，虽然在昏黄中，
（他）却辨得出许多人。（鲁迅：《阿Q正传》）
While he was taking off his shirt he heard uproar
outside, and since Ah Q always liked to join in any
excitement that was going, he went out in search of
the sound, he traced it gradually right into Mr. zhao’s
inner courtyard. Although it was dusk he could see
many people there.
differences
• Ellipsis of predicate
E.G.
(10) Reading makes a full man, conference ( ) a ready
man and writing ( ) an exact man. (F.Bacon: of study)
阅读使人渊博,会谈使人机敏,写作使人严谨。
(11) Some of us study English, others( )German.
我们有的学英语，有的学德语。
differences
• Ellipsis of object
E.G.
(12) Be careful! Don’t drop it!
小心点，别摔了！
(13) Having been given such a good chance, how
could she let it slip away.
人家给了她这样一个好机会，她怎么能轻易放过。
Generalization
• Although the ellipsis of subjects, objects and
predicates are both exist in Chinese and English
language, the ellipsis of subject and object use in
Chinese are more usual than that in English.
• In contrast to Chinese, English is more frequent to
take out the predicate.
methods
According to Quirk (1985), he suggested that three ways can
help learners to understand the ellipsis.
•
The master of grammar
---teachers can provide students some suitable
grammar exercises.
•
The understanding of context
--- learners should pay attention to the context and
language situation.
•
The knowledge of cultural background of language
---learners should have a sense of awareness of the
cultural differences.
Conclusion
• From the above comparison, we can see that there are
both similarities and differences in terms of ellipsis of
subjects, objects and predicates in Chinese sentences
and their English equivalents.
• In his book “mind the gap”, Peter Wilson claimed that
“the most widespread term for many of the gaps that
occur in language is “ellipsis”.
• Therefore, in the process of learning a foreign language,
learners should pay attention to the grammatical rules as
well as the language situation and the culture
background.
Contrasts in Auxiliary Verbs
between Chinese and English
Rosamond
0631100002
English Auxiliary Verbs
•
•
•
•
•
Assist the main verb in a clause
Express grammatical contrasts
Tense, aspect and voice
Primary verbs: be, have, do—(main verbs)
Model verbs: can, may, shall and would
Chinese Auxiliary Verbs
• Share a set of distributional properties
• Can be distinguished from other parts of
speech, such as verbs, adverbs and
adjectives
• Belong to a grammatical category
Related Properties
•
•
•
•
1. A element in A-not-A questions
Ta neng bu neng chang ge?
* 3sg can not can
sing
song
Can s/he sing? (Yes/No questions in
English)
• Does s/he have permission to sing?
• Is s/he capable of singing? (neng/hui)
Related Properties
•
•
•
•
•
•
2. Be negated like verbs
Ta bu neng chang ge
* 3sg not can
sing
song
S/He can’t sing. (similar in English)
S/He doesn’t have the permission to sing.
S/He isn’t capable of singing.
Distributional Properties
• 1. must co-occur with a verb or an
‘understood’ verb (the same in English)
• ta
neng.
• * 3sg
can
• S/He can.
• ta hen shao chang ge.
• * 3sg seldom sing
• S/He seldom sings.
Distributional Properties
• 2. cannot be nominalized -- the shi de
construction (nonexistent in English)
• * ta
shi neng de.
• *3sg be can
NOM
• ta
shi chang ge de.
• *3sg be
sing
NOM
• S/He is a singer.
Distributional Properties
• 3. cannot take a direct object (the same in
English)
• * ta
neng nei
jian shi
• *3sg can
that CL
job
• *S/He can that job.
• ta
neng zuo nei
jian shi
• *3sg can
do that CL
job
• S/He can do that job.
Generalization
• Chinese auxiliary verbs share two
similarities with verbs -- related properties.
• 1. A element in A-not-A questions
(Yes/No questions in English)
• 2. be negated (similar in English)
Generalization
• Chinese auxiliary verbs have several
differences with verbs---distributional
properties.
• 1. must co-occur with a verb or an
‘understood’ verb (the same in English)
• 2. cannot be nominalized -- the shi de
construction (nonexistent in English)
• 3. cannot take a direct object (the same in
English)
• Etc.
References:
Butler, C. S. (2003). Structure and Function: a guide to three major
structural-functional theories. Amsterdam, Holland: John Benjamins
Published Company.
He, S. F. (2002). Contrastive Studies of English And Chinese
Languages. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Foreign Language
Education Press.
Jiang, W. Q. (2003). Contemporary Pragmatics. BJ, China: Peking
University Press.
Trosborg, A. (1997). Rhetorical Strategies in Legal Language. Tubingen,
Germany: Gunter Narr, Circulation Coll.
Wang, C. L., & Lv, D. Y. (2005). 指称词在英文写作中的语法
选择及衔接特点. Journal of Suzhou Education College,
22, 67-68.
reference
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• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?filename=QZDX200703047&dbn
ame=CJFD2007&filetitle=%e8%8b%b1%e6%b1%89%e8%af%ad%e7
%af%87%e7%9c%81%e7%95%a5%e7%9a%84%e5%af%b9%e6%af
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• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?filename=CQGY200901080&dbn
ame=CJFDTEMP
• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?QueryID=348&CurRec=1
Reference
• Crystal, D. (2004). Rediscover Grammar Third
Edition. London, UK: Pearson Longman.
• Richards, J. C., Schmidt, R., Kendrick, H., & Kim,
Y. (2005). Longman Dictionary of Language
Teaching and Applied Linguistics, Third Edition.
Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and
Research Press.
• 中国社会科学院语言研究所词典编辑室. (1999).
现代汉语词典修订本. 北京：商务印书馆.