A Comparative Study of Shortening in English and Chinese.docx

a comparative study of shortening in english and chineselanguage and thought are closely interrelated. the differences in languages represent the differences in modes of thinking. the shortening in english and chinese is a special language phenomenon which reflects social development and cultural changes. along with the development of social economy and technology, the communication between people becomes more and more quickly. language is the carrier of social life; therefore, it changes along with the progress and requirements of the society .some of the commonly used words before have been knocked out because of its limitations, and some new vocabulary appeared because of its inevitability, which also get the most peoples recognition. english as a foreign language has also appeared some changes, of which is significantly is english words tendency of shortening. the study of the tendency of shortenings can help english learners better understand the english language, and the correct understanding and short words can improve work efficiency, whats more, increase mutual understanding.shortening of words exists in every language, and theres no addition to english. it is probably caused by the following reasons: in one hand, the trends of development of english is simplified, and the words turn to monosyllabic；in the other hand，today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements，and it needs a speeding in speaking and writing. there are four types of shortening in english:1. clipped word：a clipped word is created by cutting out one or more than one syllables of a word, which fall into four classifications:1) apocope: approximately-approx；automobile-auto; examination-exam; gasoline-gas.2) aphaeresis：hamburger-burger ; taxicab-cab; bicycle-cycle； earthquake-quake.3) front and back clipping: influenza-flu; refrigerator-fridge; assistant-asst; department-dept4) syncope: fluidonics-fluidics; fossilization-fossilation; pacificist-pacifist; symbolology-symbology; cannot-cant2.initialism：initialism is formed from the initial letters of more than two words. initialism cannot be pronounced as a word, but letter by letter. such as: ad-anno domini; bc-before christ; ceo -chief executive officer; gdp-gross domestic product; npc-national peoples countries.3.acronym：acronym refers to a word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as was for womens army corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging. such as: sars-severe acute respiratory syndrome； pets-public english test system; apec- asia pacific economic cooperation; dink-double income; nato-north atlantic treaty organization. 4.blend：blending refers to the formation of a word by combining parts of two (or more than two) words. such as smog-smoke+fog; microsoft-microcomputer+software; wal-mart-sam walton+mart; camcorder-camera+recorder; brunch-breakfast+lunch. then，why do they interest us？convenient？time-saving？fashionable？or.yes，they are all right. but now we conclude them for four parts：1 economy principle。pay lowest price，and get maximum value。it is a basic principle of human being。so does the way to use language。it refers to that we express our needs or ideas by fewest words。it is a fairly economicalway。e.g. opec is short for organization of petroleum exporting countries. obviously, opec is much simple and easy to remember, without losing or destroying its original meaning. 2. euphemistic function or face-saving. some words refer to those having something to do with embarrassment, and when we talk with others we use shortening words instead of them. e.g. sanno, which refers to sanitary engineer who has something to do with garbage. 3. in- group some words are only used inside a certain group or community. e.g. in a family, we usually use nicknames to call others. such as, lezzy is short for elizabeth, and lezzy is more affectionate. 4. melody function when words are shortened, such as vip (very important person), we can pronounce it as /vip/. it reads more musical.besides, shortening can be used in a humorous way. e.g. gasp (greater alliance to stop pollution). besides the humor, the word also takes us into a warning sight: people are gasping in the situation of air pollution.chinese abbreviation phenomenon can traded back in ancient time. it can be found in ancient literatures. with the acceleration of modern social life, people are required to express the most information to others in the shortest time.in modern chinese, the most main words by gather information compound and into the compound abbreviations, the investigation of the words, analysis, and this paper summarizes the two kinds of structure types:1. associative form: this is combined by verb and verb, such as: 保教（保育和教育）比学赶帮（比先进、学先进、赶先进、帮后进）裁回（裁决并驳回）测绘（测量和绘制）冲扩（冲洗和扩印）调访（调查、访问）调研（调查、研究）.2. omitting form: this is shorten from a noun, such as:中国（中华人民共和国）/美国（美利坚合众国）/法国（法兰西共和国）/3. merger form: this is shorten and combine from two or more nouns, such as:中石化（中国石油化工）/宝钢（宝山钢铁集团有限公司）/央视（中国中央电视台） all in all, the shortening in english and chinese has differences and similar. similar is that they all have the following three characteristics: firstly, no matter in english or in chinese, the shortening are always used in a wide range. secondly, they all have high use frequency. the last is that the condition of using shortening is complicated, and lacks the necessary specifications in addition.and differences are mainly reflected in three aspects: first of all, the formation characteristics of the shortening in english and in chinese are not the same, the shortening are generally coming from abbreviation and simplify of the letters or syllables. but in chinese, they are generating from the abbreviation and simplify of the word or terms. secondly, their ranges of application