Contrasts of Discourse between English and Chinese

Group: 3+2Maggie Xu

JenniferJudyAmy

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 dev

elopment 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 min

utes 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 T

hought

• Synthetic Analytic• Abstract Concrete• General Specific• Remoteness Locality• Small 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&dbname=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.

MyselfSelf

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:

• parallel adverbs: here, there, now, thenthe

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 firs

t 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 Contrasts of SubstitutionSubstitution between English & Chinesebetween English & Chinese

Judy

0631100052

What is SubstitutionSubstitution?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. redundantredundant

• My son is crying for a doll. Give the boy one.

new informationnew 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 substitutionNominal 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

• [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 Chinesewritten 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 zerosubstitution by zero

(ellipsis)(ellipsis)

Examples – continued…

• [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 。 dodo

– wo men xia qi hao bu hao? – wo bu lai。

Examples - Verbal substitutionVerbal substitution

• [11] I hope my warm sisters will be answered now; if not, I have no more to say.

not (negative)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。 soso （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。

Examples - Clausal substitutionClausal substitution

Summary of substitution formssubstitution formsin English & Chinese

不 (这样 )， (不 )这么， (不 )是，不然，要不

so, notClausal

干，来，弄，搞doVerbal

的，者，同样 (的 )，一样(的 )

one, ones,

the same, so

Nominal

ChineseEnglishType

Conclusion

• SubstitutionSubstitution is a common phenomenona common phenomenon in both English and Chinese.

• SubstitutionSubstitution has an important function as a cohesive devicea cohesive device in connectingconnecting 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 f

or understanding.

• The role of ellipsis in discourse: constructs sentences and text

• Three types of ellipsis ( Halliday & Hasan,1976): 1. Nominal ellipsis （名词性省略）2. Verbal ellipsis （动词性省略）3. 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 predicateE.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 objectE.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 t

ake out the predicate.

methodsAccording 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

• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?QueryID=23&CurRec=1

• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?filename=QZDX200703047&dbname=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%94%e5%88%86%e6%9e%90

• http://dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx?filename=CQGY200901080&dbname=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 .