suddenISSN 1927-0232 [Print] ISSN 1927-0240 [Online]
Higher Education of Social Science
V ol. 5, No. 1, 2013, pp. 6-10掘井
DOI:10.3968/j.hess.1927024020130501.1007
Influences of Thinking Differences Between English and Chine People on English Writing
JIN Pengsun [a],*; HE Aimiao [b]
英语专业四级考试>广州cs野战[a]
Professor, the tutor of postgraduates. Department of English, School of Foreign Languages in North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China.
Rearch area is the cond language acquisition.[b]
Department of English, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China.
Postgraduate of School of Foreign Languages in North China Electric Power University.*
Corresponding author.
Received 22 January 2013; accepted 3 May 2013
Abstract
There exist distinct differences between English and Chine modes of thinking. The differences make negative influences to Chine learners who learn English as a foreign language in their English writing. This paper points out the differences affecting English writing at the level of the word, ntence and discour from different thinking modes: Such as linear vs. spiral thinking, analytic vs. synthetic thinking, abstract vs. concrete thinking. It aims to help Chine learners have a better understanding of influences of thinking differences between English and Chine on English writing and thus to find out corresponding ways to get rid of the negative influences to the minimum.
特朗普胜选演讲Key words: Influence; Thinking difference; English; Chine; Writing
JIN Pengsun,HE Aimiao (2013). Influences of Thinking Differences Between English and Chine Pe
ople on English Writing. Higher Education of Social Science , 5(1), 6-10. Available from: URL: /index.php/hess/article/view/j.hess.1927024020130501.1007 DOI: /10.3968/j.hess.1927024020130501.1007
INTRODUCTION
Thinking and language are cloly related to each other. Thinking is the backbone and soul of languages while a language is the carrier of the thinking. Thinking is
the abstract reflection of objective things which exists in human mind. Language, different from thinking, is “a system of arbitrary vocal symbols ud for human communication” (Liu &Wen, 2006, p.8). It is natural that English people with an English way of thinking u English to express themlves and that Chine people with a Chine way of thinking u Chine to communicate. With the widespread u of English in the world, writing ability becomes one of the most highly required skills. Either through teaching or rearches, many scholars have found that the Chine way of thinking inevitably affects English writing of Chine learners. This paper mainly focus on how each of the thinking differences affects English writing at the level of the word, ntence and discour, in which ways they can provide Chine learners a clearer instruction on English writing and explore some uful ways to reduce the negative influences.
1. LINEAR VS. SPIRAL THINKING AND ENGLISH WRITING
The saying of linear and spiral thinking pattern was first put forward by American linguist Robert B. Kaplan (1966). The main differences between linear and spiral thinking consist in the directness, which means how directly it refers to the object. This distinction is caud by different culture backgrounds. Chine culture has been largely influenced by Confucianism,Taoism and Buddhism, so thinking activity mostly develops in a spiral way. In language expressions, sometimes, the development of Chine discour tends to adopt a roundabout way, rather than states the subject directly. Whereas, English linear thinking mode is the result of European cultural patterns which is also called the Aristotle’s linear mode. In ancient Greece, people t up a logic system, which bad on the Aristotle’s logical argumentation. Aristotle summed up the discour of the speech into four parts: to state the
JIN Pengsun; HE Aimiao (2013). Higher Education of Social Science, 5(1), 6-10
introducrion, rai a question, analysis the question and get to a conclusion, this form of development is a linear quence. In a word, linear thinking leads to directness while spiral thinking brings about circuitousness. In English writing this difference shows as the following aspects.
1.1 Influence at the Level of the Word: Directness of Nouns
The differences between the English linear thinking and Chine spiral thinking have influence on the degree of directness of some nouns. Here the degree of directness of nouns refers to how each noun is formed to convey its meaning. By comparison, the author finds that some English nouns are more direct to express its meaning whereas the corresponding Chine nouns often more complicated. For example, in Chine, people u “图书馆” to refer to a building in which collection of books, and it includes two factors: “图书”(books) and “馆” (building); While in English, people u “library”, just one single word to reprent the same thing. From this aspect, English nouns are more direct than their corresponding Chine nouns. Such examples are enormous, “wardrobe” & “衣橱”, “floor” & “地板”, etc.
This difference affects some Chine learners when they choo words in English writing. For instance, when a dictionary is not handy but they have to u such a noun which they have never en before, some of them may choo some other words to replace this word. At this moment, Chine spiral thinking is likely to prevail and cau the improperness in wording. For example, “wild meal”, instead of “picnic”, may be ud to refer to “野餐”; “fast car”, rather than “express”, may be ud to say “快车”.
1.2 Influence at the Level of Sentences: Sentence Pattern
瘦的英语怎么读Here a ntence pattern refers to the position of the central idea in the ntence. Under the influence of Chine spiral thinking, Chine ntences prefer to state the time, condition, reason or some other things rather than the result in the first place. On the contrary, the central idea is put either at the beginning or at the end of the English ntences. In fact, as it is more direct and straightforward, it is more popular among English writing of native people to put the central idea at the very beginning. The central idea in each of the following ntences has been underlined in both Chine and English versions so that the contrast in the ntence pattern in each group can be clearly en.
(1)He came in as I was going to bed.
我正要上床睡觉，他进来了.
(2)He visited a lot of places while he was traveling.
他在旅行期间参观了许多地方.
(3) She didn't come to school becau she was ill.
她由于生病没来上学.
Influenced by Chine thinking mode, Chine learners often choo to put the central idea at the end of the ntence, which leads to the singleness of ntence structures. Take the following two translation versions for example. The first one is translated by one Chine learner and the cond one is the revid version which puts the main clau at the beginning, which reads more smoothly.
< 他先前在南方参加某项工程建设.完工后，就去乔治岛度假，享受高加索的阳光.他是昨天回来的.
In the South he had been engaged in a construction job. After he completed the work he went to spent his vacation in Georgia. There he basked in Caucasian sun. And he had flown in just the day before.
He had flown in just the day before from Georgia where he had spent his vacation basking in Caucasian sun after the completion of the construction job in which he had been engaged in the South.
1.3 Influence at the Level of the Discour: Paragraph Development
As to paragraph development, English paragraphs prefer to state the topic directly and u the rest p
art to illustrate and support it, just as what Brooks (1979, p.218) once said:
“A well-conceived and well-constructed paragraph is a unit, and often this unit is indicated by a key ntence—what is called the topic ntence. The topic ntence states the central thought, which the rest of the paragraph develops. We can think of the topic ntences as a kind of backbone, a spine, which supports the body of the paragraph and around which the rest of the structure is formed.”
Chine spiral thinking mode leads Chine learners to state their theme in a more roundabout way when they write. For instance, they would like to say something el as a foreshadowing, then introduce the central idea, and finally come to the conclusion through layer upon layer analysis and reasoning. Moreover, they think that any ntence, if it is related to the topic, can be put together to form one paragraph. However, it is difficult to understand the the writer’s intentions if people do not read it to the end. The following paragraph is written by a Chine learner who follows the spiral thinking mode.
“We do not live in an English speaking country, so we have no chance to be expod to English. We learn a new word, but we ldom have opportunities to practi it in real life. Practice makes perfect
whether we learn to swim or play the piano. As there are few opportunities, I must find them on campus to practi my oral and written English. So I think English is not easy to learn to a Chine.”
In this paragraph, the theme is not obvious and the content lacks of uniformity, so the structure is cluttered. What is wor, the person appeared later does not conform to the former one. In fact, this is a common phenomenon existing in English paragraphs written by Chine learners. Yet if put the topic ntence at the very beginning and make a little adjustment in other places,
turnaroundInfluences of Thinking Differences Between English and Chine People on English Writing
this paragraph will be a good one just like the following paragraph, the first ntence is the topic ntence and all the rest are all ud to support it.
“To a Chine, English is not so easy to learn. As we do not live in an English-speaking country, we have no chance to be expod to English. But nearly all language experts believe heavy exposure is an important factor to master a language. For example, to learn a new word and to memorize it we need to have more opportunities to practi it in real life. If we do not practi what we have learnt, we cannot memorize it. That can explain the difficulty many Chine students feel in learning English.”(Cai, 2003, p.76-77)
distinctions
2.A B S T R A C T V S.C O N C R E T E THINKING AND ENGLISH WRITING Generally speaking, the thinking mode of westerners tends to be abstract while Chine thinking is always concrete. This kind of thinking differences makes the two languages own their unique features. Chine thinking mode is visual, so Chine tends to concrete in wording. What is more, Chine usually u concrete images to express the abstract content. However, English thinking mode is abstract which is influenced by the ancient Greek philosophy. Thus English people are good at using the abstract notion to prent specific things and the method of abstract diction is very common in English. This difference can be en from English writing at all the three levels: the word, ntence and discour.
2.1 Influence at the Level of Words: Usage of Nouns And Verbs
The concrete thinking of Chine and the abstract thinking of English results in the different frequency of u for verbs and nouns. Chine is dynamic while English wording tends to be static. Comparatively speaking, verbs are ud a lot in Chine than in English but nouns occur more frequently in English than in Chine. Verbs are more concrete and straightforward to express the action whereas nouns usually need to depend on other words to express one idea. The following examples are listed to illustrate this point.
< Nouns VS. Verbs
(1)The mastery of language is not easy and requires painstaking efforts.
语言不是随便就可以学好的，非下苦功不可.（Noun: painstaking efforts vs. Verb: 下苦功）
九年级英语单词录音(2) Realization of the importance of knowledge is crucial.
意识到知识的重要性很关键.（Noun: realization vs. Verb: 意识）
Influenced by Chine mode of thinking, Chine learners often fail to choo the conci words even make mistakes when writing ntences.
For example, for the ntence in (1) “非下苦功不可”, some Chine learners may express it as “it need to make effort”, where the verb “下苦功” is substituted by the noun phra “painstaking efforts”. Another example is “他能吃能睡”, the saying “He is able to eat and sleep” is wrong while the correct one should be: “He is a good eater and sleeper.” (Liu & Zhou, 2004, p.108)The nouns “eater” and “sleeper” perfectly convey the original meaning. Therefore, the proper u of nouns in certain English ntences helps get rid of mistakes.
2.2 Influence at the Level of Sentences: Substitution and Repetition
English ntences usually adopt substitution to avoid the singleness of structures. “The process or result of replacing one word by another at a particular position in a structure is called substitution.”(Liu & Wen, 2006, p.176) To substitute is to u pronouns or synonyms to replace the word which appear before. This kind of substitution adds to the degree of abstractness. Contrastingly, when the same or similar part turns up in Chine ntences, repetition is preferred, so as to achieve the effect of emphasis. Furthermore, repetition makes the ntence more directly perceived through the ns. Take the following ntence as an example.
Chine version：我们提倡和平共处的原则，这项原则目前在世界上已越来越得人心了.
English version: We have advocated the principle of peaceful co-existence, which is now growing more and more popular in the world.
“原则” in the Chine ntence is repeated while relative pronoun “which” in the English version is ud to substitute the former “principle”. In terms of visual n, using the word “原则” twice in the ntence is more concrete than using the word “principle” first and then the relative pronoun “which”.
However, some Chine learners prefer to u the same word when they deal with English ntences, which often lead to redundancy.
(1)他摇摇头，我也摇摇头.
He shook his head, and I did the same.
Revid: He shook his head, and I shook my head too.
(2)一个地方有一个地方的全局，一个国家有一个国家的全局，一个地球有一个地球的全局.
A locality has its own over-all interests, a nation has its own over-all interests and the earth has its own over-all interests.
三年级上册英语视频Revid: A locality has its own over-all interests; a nation has another and the earth yet another.
2.3 Influences at the Level of the Discour: Language Habit
The differences between Chine concrete thinking and English abstract thinking can also be en from the language habit. To some extent, Chine discour building often relies on some concrete images and
JIN Pengsun; HE Aimiao (2013). Higher Education of Social Science, 5(1), 6-10
fantastic terms to drive up the atmosphere and express feelings. However, English people emphasize more on logics, so English discours usually u a lot of abstract nouns which have abundant meaning to show complex rational concept. In addition, the language is conci and plain in English discours. The two different ways of thinking lead to the differences of English and Chine in language habit when people organize a discour. This can be testified by the comparison of （《兰亭集序》）by Wang Xizhi and its English translation by the respected translation master Lin Yutang.
“……此地有崇山峻岭，茂林修竹，又有清流激湍，映带左右，引以为流觞曲水.……”
It describes the beautiful environment of the party at that moment and gives the reader a feeling of the fairyland on earth. Professor Lin translated it as:
“……In the background lie high peaks and deep forests, while a clear, gurgling brook catches the light to the right and to the left. ……”
Besides, another paragraph describes the fine weather and the author’s happy feeling, e.g.
“是日也，天朗气清，惠风和畅.仰观宇宙之大，俯察品类之盛，所以游目骋怀，足以极视听之娱，信可乐也.”
The English version: “It is a clear spring day with a mild, caressing breeze. The vast univer, throbbing with life, lies spread before us, entertaining the eye and pleasing the spirit and all the ns. It is perfect.”
The translation by Lin Yutang is conci, natural and fluent, which not only meets westerner’s thinking mode and language habit, but also keeps the original writing style. Therefore this kind of writing derves us studying and learning from it. To write an authentic English passage requires the mastery of the language habit.
3. ANALYTIC VS. SYNTHETIC THINKING AND ENGLISH WRITING
English people are ud to thinking in an analytic way and they pay more attention to specificity and to think analytically while Chine prefer to focus more generality. In conquence, Chine synthetic thinking mode inevitably affects Chine learners’ English writing at all the following levels.
3.1 Influence at the Level of Words: Accuracy of Wording
The differences of thinking lead to the u of different words when people try to express themlves. The English prefer words with specific concepts, so that their wording is more accurate and exquisite.
On the contrary, Chine words are usually multi-purpo and some of them are often ud in the general n. For example, the word “说”, in English it has many expressions, such as whisper, grunt, shout, splutter, etc. The using of the words makes the language conci and accurate, and full of change.
But Chine people often choo the general word. For instance, the verb “say” frequently appears in their writing wherever they want to express the action “说”. However, if the word "say" is replaced by the words which are given in the above paragraph according to different situation, the English expression will be proper and vivid. The following two ntences will describe the state better if the word “say” substituted by the words in the brackets.
< (1) Parents were sound asleep. I said (whispered) to my brother, “Be quiet.”
(2) The policeman said (shouted) to the criminal, “Hands up!”
3.2 Influence at the Level of Sentences: Interconnection
Interconnection here refers to cohesion by means of conjunction. In English compound ntences usually u conjunctions to link the coordinate claus together. The conjunctive word directly shows
the relation between claus, which actually helps analyze the ntence. However, many Chine ntences often lack this kind of interconnection. They only relay on the chance of the word quence, context and illocutionary logic to realize the understanding of the idea. As a result, they may leave readers themlves to synthesize the intended meaning. That is, the differences between English and Chine ntences in the terms of interconnection can be concluded as overt cohesion vs. covert cohesion. English is a rational analytic language, so ntence stress hypotaxis and its external form. But Chine is an integrated language which neglects grammar in most cas and ntences pay more attention to parataxis and the inner logic. Thus its cohesion is implicit. The following ntences clearly illustrate this point.
(1) 跑的了和尚，跑不了庙.
The monks may run away, but the temple cannot run away with them. (Liu & Zhou, 2004, p.109)
The conjunctive word “but” connects the two parts in the ntence and express the turn of tone and the contrast of meaning. However, the Chine version, which lacks this kind of conjunctive word, implies the relation.
(2) 他打开门走进了房间.
He opened the door and came in the room.
The conjunctive word “and” functions similarly as “but” in (1), whereas it connects the two actions and shows the order of the actions. There is no such a word in the Chine version, but people can still n it and catch the meaning correctly.
Chine students are easy to forget conjunctions, which leads to grammatical mistakes in English ntences,
(1) 他病了, 没来上课.
He was ill, he was abnt today.
Revid: He was ill, so he was abnt today.
已经晚了, 我们回去吧.
It is late, let's go home.
Revid: Let’s go home, as it is late.
Influences of Thinking Differences Between English and Chine People on English Writing
3.3 Influence at the Level of the Discour: Paragraph Cohesion
“For English and Chine, perhaps one of the most important linguistic distinctions is the contrast between hypotaxis and parataxis.” as Eugene Nida (1982, p16) points out. Westerners advocate ethics and they focus on the analytic thinking. Thus an English paragraph usually has strong logic as it is reflected in the writing. Guided by Chine synthetic thinking, Chine expressions try to omit the linking words so as to achieve to the prominent effect which em to be not so rigorous and often cau ambiguity. In another word, hypotaxis emphasizes on the analytical form while parataxis on the synthesis of the meaning. The differences can be en from the aspect of paragraph cohesion.
Cohesion is a concept to do with discour or text rather than with syntax, it refers to relations of meaning that exist within the text, and defines it as a text. Discoursal/ textual cohesiveness can be realized by employing various cohesive devices: conjunction, ellipsis, lexical collocation, lexical repetition, reference, substitution, etc. (Hu, 2006, p103) Paragraph cohesion can be clearly shown by using the devices so that English paragraphs are usually logically structured and organized. Co
ntrastingly, Chine paragraphs emphasize more on the unity of meaning and less on the form of connection. Besides, there are many short ntences in Chine while English usually u long and compound ntences in writing. As a result, the structure of a paragraph written by Chine learners is easy to be loo and to lack necessary connection. Take the following paragraph written by one Chine student as an example.
“A ries of valves is opened; this allows the chemicals to mix, produce steam. The turbines start running.”
However, if this paragraph is revid with some cohesive devices and it will be better. Through reading the revid version below, people can e how cohesive devices make a difference. The revid parts are underlined.
“A ries of valves is opened and this allows the chemicals to mix and produce steam. As a result, the turbines start running.”
CONCLUSION
Language is cloly related to thinking. To learn English well, especially to write English passages w
ell, Chine learners should understand the thinking differences between English and Chine and the two languages have many distinctions at the level of word, ntence and discour. Moreover, Chine learners had better to overcome the negative transfer from the mother tongue and get into the habit of thinking in English. General suggestions are: first of all, Chine learners should be involved in more English writing training and exercis, through which they will know little by little how to choo words, to write ntences and to organize texts and thus gradually improve their writing in English; condly, a great deal of English reading is necessary since reading help develop the n of language in English and the acquisition of organize texts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, we would like to show our deepest gratitude to tho scholars who have made great contribution to this rearch area, so that we can learn more uful knowledge about this area and accomplish this paper. Second, we want to thank teachers of School of Foreign Languages in North China Electric Power University, who helped us a lot during writing this paper.
REFERENCES
Brooks, Cleanth (1979). Modern rhetoric (pp.218). New York: Harcout Brace Jovanovich Inc.
Cai, Jigang (2003). A contrastive study of writing & rhetoric in English and Chine (pp.76-77). Shanghai: Fudan University Press.
Hu, Zhuanglin (2006). Linguistics: A courbook third edition (p.103).Beijing: Beijing University Press.
Kaplan, Robert B. (1966). Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning: A Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2.
Liu, Kuanping, & Zhou Yefang (2004). Influences of thinking differences between English and Chine on EFL writing of Chine students (p.108). Foreign Language Rearch,5. Liu, Runqing, & Wen Xu (2006). Linguistics: A new courbook (p.8). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Rearch Press.
Nida, Eugene A., & Charles (1982). R. T. The theory and practice of translation (pp.16). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
