《中英语言与文化比较》学期论文-曹旭
《中英语言与文化比较》课程期末论文
姓名曹旭
学号 3110000338
专业德语1101
Comparative Research on English and Chinese Grammatical
Structure in Intercultural Context
Abstract:Each language,the container and carrier of a certain culture, people and nation,possesses its special grammatical structure.The structure derives from a
long-term process of changing and forming,from the historical and geographical backgrounds of the nation and from mutusl influence between the language and its users.To understand the English and Chinese grammatical structure in international context,we must begin with the basis of a language,words and sentences. The analysis of the words makes it easier to understand individual meaning,the explaination of the sentence structure is conductive to make out the formulation customs or to more prescisely picture the situation shown in context. According to cultural discrepancies, research into the grammatical structure must experience a procedure from how the words form,how statement through words is,how the relation between words is to how a sentence forms,how can the meaning be interpretated,how different it is to express in both languages.And finally get the hang of the chinese and english specialties of culture or tradition will attribute to considerable extend to the understanding in international context.
Keywords: GRAMMAR, WORDS, SENTENCES, CULTURE, INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
1.Word characteristics in English and Chinese languages
Words are the most important element of a language,and through their combinations and forms the language’s grammar can be studied.
1.1 Features of word forms in English and Chinese languages.
Languages can be classified as synthetic and analytic.Synthetic languages,such as Russian,consist of morpheme groups from multiple morphemes.This language is linear and includes inflexion.Besides that the grammatical meanings can be expressed with use of additional parts,the meanings are also to be embodied through phonetic variation of etymas.Analytic languages,Chinese for instance,have no inflexion but free morphemes,each of which is a independent word.They deliver meanings by agglutinative forming.
English,however,locates between the two,so a analytico-synthetical.For one thing does English have inflexion,for another its changes of word forms have been weakened,the function of word order strengthened.
1.1.1Verb
Examples:
He is a teacher.
He was a teacher.
He has been a teacher for a year.
He will be a teacher in a year.
In the given four sentences,the verb is to be,but in different forms according to four different tenses.
Examples:
他是个老师。
他曾是个老师。
他是个老师已经一年了。
他一年后将是个老师。
Grammatical relationships are differently not shown in word variation but in auxiliaries,adverbs and adverbial modifiers.
1.1.2Noun
Example：
Stars look down.
There are stars in the sky.
群星俯视。
繁星满天。
In chinese translation,the plural can be told by refferring to the word 群and 繁。
1.2Parts of speech
English words consist of twelve classes,with few measure words and auxiliaries,.Chinese words eleven,without articles. Most english words manifest their part of speech according to their forms.Whether a word is a verb or noun could be easily told. The large quantities of measure words in chinese not only show the plural,but also serve as explicit , specific or vivid descriptions.In english,normally used is to add an s as a suffix.
Examples:
A rabbit 一只兔子
Three fish 三条鱼
Two chairs两把椅子
1.3Constituient parts
The language English is phonetic,its words made up of merely letters.But as for Chinese word parts,some are phonetic and some ideographic.So in this case,when reading a chinese word does one know somehow both its pronunciation and its meaning,sometimes a certain action,sometime a situation.
For example,干in Chinese pronounces as gan,and the word竿,which means a
bamboo stick,contents two parts.The upper part is a radical which means something made of bamboo material.The under part,the same as the word干,shows its pronunciation, gan.
1.4Cultural differences in word meanings
Language is a significant part of a nation’s culture,delivering,reflecting culture and change due to cultural change,develope due to cultural development.Words carry the most elements deriving from a certain culture,or rather background,usage situation,and history.A english word in different situations may have different meanings,and a chinese word in this case is mostly a pun or homonym.
In international context,cultural differences lead to various associations with certain words.The people of two nations live in distinguished surroundings for a long time,in social and natural environments.Therefore the have different emotion and cognition towards the same thing,and at most times this is kind of collective unconsciousness.So both have different love and hate towards some flower,cat,bird and so on.
As for metaphor or smilie,Chinese language emphasizes much more on concrete things and many words for concrete matter make images,in contrast to the english usage.In chinese meaning-borrowd words or converted meanings are usually used for expression,like the four-word idioms.
Examples:
She likes the story of Lincoln.
He adbridged his story.
What a story!I do not believe a word.
Don’t tell stories.
我失骄杨君失柳
杨柳轻飏之上重霄九（毛泽东，《蝶恋花-答李淑一》）
a.I lost my proud Poplar and you lost your Willow
Poplar and Willow soar into the Ninth Heaven。
b.I’ve lost my pround Yang and you”ve lost Liu.
Their souls fly up into the blue.
He was overwhelmed by troubles which followed one another.
麻烦接踵而至，他被弄得焦头烂额
He knows quite well about her.
说起她，他简直了如指掌。
1.5Understanding through translation
According to cultural use and habits,in international context sometimes a single word must be reflected using many words in another language,so that the meaning could be precisely delivered.Or a groups of words can be replaced by merely one concept in another language.Moreover the emotional coloring must be told,for a word used in different context ,due to cultural differences, may have different emotional preferences.All those differences in grammatical structure of English and Chinese is
to be better manifested and understood through translation.
1.5.1Concretization
A word or phrase with limited meanings or a concrete word could be translated by using words or phrases with broader meanings.
Examples:
The Great Wall is a must for most foreign visitors to Beijing.
长城是仍和一个游客去北京必不可少的参观项目
The lower rooms were entirely given over to the birds.
楼下的屋子全都是那些公鸡母鸡的领土
1.5.2Summarization
The translation of a concrete word, phrase or words,phrases,clauses could be a abstract concept or a word better describing similar situations,which could be understood in another culture.
Examples:
Then this girl gets killed,because she is always speeding.
今后这姑娘会断送性命的，因为她总是违反交通规则
George likes to work with his hand;when it comes to books,he’s a square peg in a round hole.
乔治喜欢干手工活，对念书可是格格不入
1.5.3Appraise
The Appraise of people’s attitude and emotion towards a certain word,phrase,clause would be a tough try.Mostly it should be inferred in context.
Examples:
This is our scheme for the term’s work
这是我们这学期的工作计划
The enemy’s scheme went bankrupt
敌人的阴谋破产了
He is very interested in politics
他对政治很有兴趣
Mary always gets what she wants by playing office politics
玛丽总是靠耍手腕达到目的
2.Syntactic structure in english and chinese languages
1The English are proud of the preciseness of their language,while Chinese are proud of the conciseness of their mother tongue.
2.1Emphasis
English sentence structure is a relationship-frame,the parts of the sentence have restricted associations in form and have functional marks manifested by structural words.Rules can be traced,no matter how long the sentence could be.The pithiness of 1From a famous translator Hongming Gu
Chinese lies in the short and refine sentence structure.And the parts of a sentence are not rigorously connected.
2.1.1Hypotaxis and parataxis
More concerned in english syntactic structure is hypotaxis,while in Chinese parataxis.English hypotaxis is briefly grammatical relationships and connections within sentences.The construction of english sentences is based on strict grammatical relationships,positions and relations of all parts of a sentence are according to grammar.Always required is to embody the relations by using pronouns and adverbs e. Chinese parataxis is focused on deeper logic of the sentence,the linking between parts of the sentence is the meaning,no linking word in form necessary.
Example:
We laughed as we sang and we dance.
In international context when one want to explain this expression in Chinese ,he needn’t to be confined to the superficial meaning as 当我们唱歌跳舞的时候，我们各各都笑逐颜开，but could simply explain it by saying我们又唱又跳又笑.
2.1.2Subject-prominent and topic-prominent
Another important difference is that English is subject-prominent and Chinese is topic-prominent.In the light of this statement,English can be described as
grammar-language,and Chinese sematic-language.In Chinese a sentence without a subject is quite common,but that’s rare in English.
Example:
Problems exist in many sectors.
不少环节上存在问题
2.2Sentence features
English and Chinese sentences differ in many ways,the position of the sentence’s core,the length,the priority of attributes,habits of frequently using pronouns or nouns and verbs or prepositipons,and poeticization,etc.
2.2.1The main part
The position of the main part of a sentence in both languages is just contrary.The main part of a english language is usually at the beginning,however a chinese sentence presents its theme in latter.And in cross-cultural context this associate with the frame of mind,with the way the peoples of both nations think and speak.Generally speaking,the to scientific culture belonged Westerners are apt to analyse and focus on the concepts.Their logic of discussion is to put up topics,concepts and conclusions first and then to provide facts,reasons to explain the former given ones,which is obviously reflected in the order inside a sentence.However,the Chinese have the humanity culture and they prefer taciturn understanding and comprehension.So when discussing,they favor starting from concrete phenomenons and peripheries,they like to bring a conclusion in the end to emphasize it.
Examples:
The volume of given weight of gas varies directly as the absolute
temperature,provided that the pressure does not change.
压力不变，一定重量的气体体积就与绝对温度成正比
2.2.2Sentence structural forms
In English exist lots of long sentences.Whereas,no matter how long,there is always a main sentence,and other subordinates attach to it like branches of a tree.Chinese sentence structure does not have distinguished main and subordinates,each sentence connects one another,much like appositions.To make it short,english sentence structure is a tree form,while chinese a linear form.
Examples:
A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who insists that woman have outgrown the jumping-on-the-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a colonel who says that they haven’t.
一位年轻的女士和一位上校激烈地争论开了。女士认为妇女进步了，不再是过去时代那种一见老鼠就吓得从椅子上跳起来的妇女了，而上校认为妇女并没有多大的改变。
2.2.3Modifiers
In English the attributes can be placed after a noun,but in Chinese not.As for the sentence extension,english modifiers can expand from left to right,in form of subordinate sentences.Chinese sentences extend from right to left with piled up attributes,but this addition is limited.This should be given great attention in international context to describe a certain object in another language.
Examples:
In the door way lie at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors.
门口放着一些伞，至少有十二把，大小不同，颜色各异
2.2.4Poetilization
Special form like poetry,proverb and a two-part allegorical saying comprises a significant part of cross-cultural misunderstanding.It’s only feasible method to find similarities and correspondences in usage habits and fixed expressions from both languages.
Examples:
An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.
一年之计在于春，一日之计在于晨
An empty sack cannot stand up right.
有理走遍天下，无理寸步难行
3.Understanding grammatical structure in international contexts
2No text without context
All texts exist in certain contexts,that is,the author needs wording and phrasing unter specific circumstances according to the expression of his thoughts.In essence,the context is the relation between the words and sentences in exact positions and other
language parts in the text,or the relevant factors besides the text.
3.1Situational context
Four factors included in situational context:J.R.Firth,a linguist.
the Participators,when and where,quale of the social behaviour going on;the Actions,the relationships among the speakers during communication,what sort of speaking towards certain people,the personal character,social status and influence;Other associated factors,the tone,the manner or tongue,whether spoken or written forms used to communicate;Effects,the sequences of this kind of formulation.2 A simple use of a word in the sentence, Something wrong with your memory ,may sound like an insult and arouse issues once understood as Something wrong with your mind,or You are mad.In international context,when a foreigner is not familiar with the precise situation and the common-used words and phrases,it is extremely easy to lead both from different cultural backgrounds to misunderstanding and conflict.However, this sentence does make sense if the speaker is checking someon e’s computer, indicating that the internal storage is out of function.
And understanding the expression ,Microsoft leads the stocks south,we must know this is a more vivid saying than The stocks go down while Microsoft still takes the lead.To get the hang of such expression, the relations in situational context is important.
3.2 Understanding the cultural differences in international contexts
An anthropologist,Adward Taylor said,that Culture is a complex integrity，including knowledge,belief,art,law,morality,custom and other abilities or habits gained by any member of society.Because all mankind live in the same objective world and experienced roughly the same civilizing process.The human cultures share a lot similarities and this is the basis and premise of cultural communication. Nevertheless,the exact surroundings of every nation and people are diverse,the forming processes of a people or nation are various.Different cultures have therefore their own characteristics and in contrast to each other discrepancies, divergences and diversities.
Linguistic notations themselves and their meaning reflect a nation’s history, culture, tradition, psychological and geographical features etc.The cultural factors of them can be easily seen in idioms, phrases and proverbs,each of which has its provenance and background.Understanding this point greatly helps fathom the features and differences in grammatical structure of both languages.
2From W.J.Slater,a literature critic