A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Language.doc

A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Language1.The Comparative Study in Grammar of English and Chinese 1.1 Part of Speech 1.1.1 Classification in part of speech There are 11 parts of speech in Chinese, while therere 10 in English. Articles do not exist in Chinese, and “量词” and “助词” do not exist in English.E-C 增加量词 A red sun rose slowly from the calm sea. 一轮红日从风平浪静的海面冉冉升起。 Into the dim clouds was swimming a crescent moon. 一钩新月渐渐隐没在朦胧的云彩里了。E-C A stream was winding its way through the valley into the river. 一弯溪水蜿蜒流过山谷，汇合到江里去。E-C 增加语气助词 Dont take it seriously. Im just making fun of you. 不要认真嘛，我不过是开个玩笑罢了。 The little boy had brought with him knife, scissors and what not, tinkling in his pocket. 这个小孩随身带着刀子啦，剪子啦，以及诸如此类的东西，在口袋里丁零当啷地直响。C-E I saw a boy and a girl on my way home. The boy had a book and the girl a doll. 我回家时看见一个男孩子和一个女孩子。男孩子拿着一本书，女孩子抱着一个洋娃娃。 A boy is always a boy. 孩子总是孩子。 Comparison of the word form Chinese: isolated language; analytic language English: inflectional language; synthetic languageThe word formation of English Affixation 缀合法 Conversion 转化法 Compounding 复合法The word formation of Chinese Compounding is the main way for Chinese word formation, although there are certain number of “affixes” in Chinese, such as “阿”， “子” etc. The similarities in the compounding of the two languages 主谓式 E.g. sunrise, heartbreak, 地震，头痛 动宾式 pick pocket , 行政，关心 修饰限定关系 raindrop, watchdog, 白糖，夕阳，铅笔The differences of the compounding of the two languages 1.汉语复合词大多数是并列关系，与英语复合词相比，这是一个典型特征 同义联合：海洋、文学、追逐、贯穿 反义联合：始终、甘苦、呼吸、供求 类义联合：尺寸、斤两、江山、穿戴2.汉语中还有两种独特的合成词构成方式 2.1 表示属概念的词加上修饰语素就可以形成一个词族。2.2 以某一语素为出发点，与一系列语素合成一个语义相关的词族 1.1.2 Words with more than one part of speech In Chinese most of the words function as one part of speech, with only a few being used as more than one part of speech. But in English things are quite different: common words often have more than one part of speech.Examples Chinese words with multi-part of speech 报告(v.)非洲之行/ 一个生动的报告(n.) 很活跃(adj.)/ 活跃(v.)了市场 一个完整的系统(n.)/ 很系统(adj.) English words with multi-part of speech loose a loose button adj. He loosed the straps that bound her arms. v. Three prisoners are still on the loose. n. down He is not down yet. adj. Shell come down and see you. adv. He walked down the street. prep. They downed three enemys planes. v. Well share ups and downs with you. n. 1.1.3 The relationship between the part of speech and the part of a sentence In Chinese a word with one part of speech can be used as many different parts of a sentence. For example, the word “简朴” is an adjective in Chinese, which can be used as an attribute, or an adverbial, or a subject, or an object or a predicate of sentences. Look at the following sentences. 他过着简朴的生活。 他简朴地生活着。 简朴是美德。 我们主张简朴。 他的服装简朴。 In English a word with one part of speech can not function as many parts of a sentence as that in Chinese. If a word functions as different part in sentences, its part of speech has to transfer from one into the other. She got a fright. (a noun used as an object) The noise frightened me. (a verb used as a predicate) It was a frightful storm. (an adjective used as an attribute)1.1.4 Reflections in translation Only verbs can function as a predicate in an English sentence, so verbs are the key element of the sentence. A sentence does not exist if there is no verb in it in English. But in Chinese, adjectives or nouns can function as the predicate besides verbs. Therefore, while rendering from Chinese into English, translators have to add a verb functioning as the predicate of the English translation when the predicate of the Chinese sentence is a non-verbal word. 今天国庆节。 Today is National Day. 他很用功。 He is very diligent. 你妈妈怎么样？ How is your mother?1.2 Plural Forms of a Noun 1.2.1 Plural forms of a noun in the two languages We all know a noun has its plural form in English. But In Chinese there is no plural form of a noun. When we want to express “five books” in Chinese, we only put the numeral “五” together with its suitable measure word “本” before the noun “书” to imply the plural conception. 1.2.2 Reflections in translation Its unnecessary to render the plural form of nouns in English into Chinese in most cases. Stress can predispose people to heart attacks. 紧张容易使人心脏病发作。 Few of the towns fine buildings pre-date the earthquake of 1755. 该城的精美建筑很少是1755年大地震前建成的。 The results of the experiment confirmed our predictions. 实验的结果证实了我们的预测。But some times Flowers bloom all over the yard. 朵朵鲜花开满了庭院 There were rows of houses which he had never seen before. 一排排房子，都是他从来没有见过的。 The lion is the king of the animals. 狮子是百兽之王。 The mountains began to throw their long blue shadows over the valley. 群山已在山谷里开始投下蔚蓝色长影。 In English, when we use the plural form of a non-human being noun, we have to select a plural-form pronoun to indicate this noun. But while translating the plural-form pronoun into Chinese, we had better repeat the noun or select an appropriate noun instead of choosing its equivalent. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. 支出的总比她预算的多。它们总是这样。 支出的总比她预算的多。情况总是这样。1.3 Tense In English there is a complete system of the transformation of verbs concerning tense, however, Chinese verbs never change their forms according to tense which is achieved by the adverbial phrase in Chinese. Thus, when translating from English into Chinese, we usually need not add a “助词”indicating the English tense. He went to Shanghai last week. 他上星期去上海。 Ill go to New York tomorrow. 我明天去纽约。 Xiaoqiang goes to school every day. 小强天天去上学。 *If the tense is emphasized in the English sentence, it must be dealt with in the Chinese translation by adding some words indicating the time. Coke used to be an officer of army, but he is in prison now. 柯克从前是军官，现在是犯人啦。 Its been years since I skated last. Now I cant skate as fast as I could. 我已经有很多年没有溜冰了。我现在溜得也不如以前快。 The old man said, “They say his father was a fisherman. May be he was as poor as we are.” 老头说：“听人说，从前他爸爸是个打渔的。他过去也许和我们现在一样穷。”1.4 Complex Sentences English complex sentences can be divided into co-ordinate complex sentences and sub-ordinate ones. Sub-ordinate sentences are consisted of nominal clauses, attributive clauses and adverbial clauses.English complex sentencessub-ordinate sentences co-ordinate sentencesnominal clause adverbial clauses attributive clausesSubjective clause the adverbial clause of timeObjective clause the adverbial clause of placePredicative clause the adverbial clause of purposeAppositive clause the adverbial clause of condition the adverbial clause of result the adverbial clause of reason the adverbial clause of concession the adverbial clause of accompany Chinese complex sentences can be divided into four types: 联合复句，偏正复句，多重复句，紧缩复句. 联合复句由两个以上的分句连接起来，各分句之间的地位是平等的，不分主次，每个分句在意义上没有说明另一个分句的作用。汉语联合复句类型表 偏正复句的分句不是平等联合，而是有主有从，主要的分句是全句的正意所在，叫正句。另外的分句从种种关系上去限制它，说明它，叫偏句。 偏正复句可分为因果复句；假设复句；条件复句；转折复句；让步复句；目的复句和连锁复句。 多重复句指如果分句本身又是由复句构成，即复句又包含复句。 如果没有氧，光有氢，或者没有氢，光有氧，都不能搞成水。 紧缩复句就是分句中关联词或主语省略，使句子更紧凑，实际上还是一种复句。 坐着听听就长见识。 我死了也不走。 你不说我说。 谁动打死谁。Reflections in translation English co-ordinate complex sentences are similar to Chinese compound complex sentences “联合复句”. We love peace, but we are not afraid of war. 我们热爱和平，但也不怕战争。 I must be off now, for my sister is expecting me. 我该走了，因为姐姐在等我呢。 There are no attributive and adverbial clause of time in Chinese complex sentences. Thus, The English attributive clauses and the adverbial clause of time can be translated in a flexible way. Do you agree to what I said? 我的话你同意吗？（偏正词组作主语） Smith replied that he was sorry. 史密斯回答说，他感到遗憾。 （偏正词组作宾语） The people who worked for him lived in mortal fear of him. 在他手下工作的人对他怕得要死。 （介词结构作定语） The nurses look after the children while the mothers are at work. 母亲上班时，保育员照料着孩子。 （偏正词组作状语） Some English complex sentences can be translated into Chinese condensed sentences (紧缩复句) in order to make the Chinese translation concise. If I see him, I will speak to him. 见到他我就告诉他。 Since it has been decided, lets start now. 决定了就开始干吧。 Ill let you know as soon as it is arranged. （一）安排好就通知你。2. The Comparative Study of the Expression Habits in English and Chinese 2.1 Pronouns Pronouns are usually less frequently used than they are in English. Read the following passages and study the frequency of pronouns. Question: How many pronouns are used in the Chinese and the English passage? What are they? 代词：代替名词、动词、形容词、数词或量词的 词。如： 我、你、他、谁、什么、这样、那么些等等。柯灵，生于1909，浙江省绍兴人，中国现代作家，1926年发表第一篇作品，叙事诗织布的妇人，1930年任儿童时代编辑，1949年以前一直在上海从事报纸编辑工作，并积极投入电影、话剧运动，解放后，曾任文汇报副总编辑，现任上海电影局顾问。 KeLing was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, in 1969. He is a modern Chinese writer. His first writing, a narrative poem “The Woman Weaver” appeared in 1926. He was one of the editors of “Childrens Times” from 1930 onwards. Before 1949 he was all long engaged in editorial work in newspaper offices and took all active part in activities of film and modern drama in Shanghai. After liberation he filled the post of deputy editor in chief of “Wenhuibao” for a period. He is at present adviser of Shanghai Film Bureau. Reflections in translation When we translate the English passage into Chinese, we can omit pronouns in the translation. And we had to add pronouns while translating from Chinese into English. As we discuss our differences, neither of us will compromise our principles. But while we cannot close the gulf between us, we can try to bridge it so that we may be able to talk across it. 原译: 在我们讨论我们的分歧的时候,我们哪一方都不会在我们的原则上妥协。但是,虽然我们不能弥合我们之间的鸿沟，我们却能够设法搭一座桥，以便越过它进行会谈。 改译：在讨论我们的分歧时, 哪一方都不会在原则上妥协。但是,虽然不能弥合我们之间的鸿沟，我们却能搭一座桥，以便越过鸿沟进行会谈。 昨奉大函，诵悉一是。尊稿极佳；唯篇幅甚长，本志地位有限，故不克刊登，良用歉然。 I received your letter yesterday. Your article is very good, but I am sorry that owing to pressure of space, I find it too long to be published. 助词：不能独立使用，只能依附在别的词、词组或句子上表示一定语法意义的词。 语气助词:疑问语气：“吗（么）、吧、呢 祈使语气：“吧、罢、呀、啊” 感叹语气：“啊、呀、哇、哪” 肯定语气：“了、罢了、而已” 停顿语气：“啊、吧、呢、么” 时态助词 时态助词也称动态助词，通常接在动词或形容词后，表动作或变化的状态，可与时间副词连用。白话文中常见的时态助词有“著、了、过” . 结构助词 结构助词附着在词、词组的前面或后面，用以表示句子的结构关系。常见的结构助词有前缀的“所”，以及后附的“的、地、得、似的”等等。 I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, we hold theses truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gods children-black men and white men , Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants-will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “free at least ,free at last . Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” 我有一个梦：有一天，这个国家将站起来，并实现他的信条的真正含义：我们将捍卫这些不言而喻的真理，即所有人生来平等。我有一个梦：有一天在乔治亚洲红色的山丘上，从前的奴隶的子孙们能和奴隶主的子孙们像兄弟一样坐在同一张桌旁；我有一个梦我的四个孩子有一天将生活在这样一个国度，在那里，人们不以肤色，而是以品格来评价他们。当自由的钟声响起的时候，当我们让它从每一个村庄，每一个州，每一个城市响起的时候 ，我们将能够加速这一天的到来。那是，上帝所有的孩子，无论黑人白人还是犹太人，异教徒。天主教徒，还是新教徒，他们都能够手挽手歌唱那古老的黑人圣歌：“终于自由了，终于自由了，感谢上帝，我们终于自由了！” 2.2 Attribute There are no attributive clauses in Chinese, so we can transfer the English attributive clauses into the other sentence element in translation, such as, the adverbial or an independent sentence. Rocket research has confirmed a strange fact which had already been suspected there is a “high temperature belt” in the atmosphere, with its center roughly thirty miles above the ground. 原译: 用火箭进行研究已证实了人们早就有过怀疑的大气层的一个中心在距地面约三十英里高空的“高温带”的这种奇怪的事实。 改译: 人们早就怀疑，大气层中有一个“高温带”，其中心在距地面约三十英里的高空。利用火箭进行研究后，这一奇异的事实已经得到证实。 2.3 Repetition In order to avoid monotony, native English writers manage to choose different word to refer to the same conception. But Chinese writers quite prefer to use repeated words or phrases with the purpose of making their writings sound forceful. Thus, in translation, we need to deal with the repeated words or phrases according to the usage of the two languages. Thats how my great-aunt Bettie began her story. I heard it many times as a child, whenever my family visited Aunt Bettie in the old house in Berryville, Virginia Bettie Van Meter had good reason to hate the Civil War Slowly, patiently, skillfully, James Van Meters wife fanned the spark of life that flickered in Henry Bedel. 我的姨姥姥贝蒂一讲起她的故事来，总是用这样的话开头。她的故事，在我还小的时候就听过多遍。贝蒂住在弗吉尼亚里维尔一所旧房子里。每逢我们一家去看望她，她都要讲这个故事 贝蒂完全有理由憎恨内战 贝蒂慢慢地、耐心地、巧妙地点燃了亨利比德尔身上奄奄一息的生命火花。 不同的文体所用的语言也不一样。政论性文章与科技文章不同，新闻报道和文学作品不同，书面材料和口头报告不同。 The language varies with different genres of writing: a political essay differs from technical writing, a news report is not the same as a literary work, a written article is quite different from oral speech. 2.4 Vocabulary Ideographic system vs. alphabetic system Chinese characters belong to ideographic system. For example, the Chinese character “人” represents a person who is standing; “从” symbolizes the action that a person is following another one. English belongs to alphabetic system. ideographic system: a written system, for example in Chinese, in which a word represents an idea rather than the sound of it. alphabetic system: a written system, for example in English, in which a word, consisting of a set of arranged letters, represents the sound rather than an idea of it. 例如： 1. 老、考、耆、耋 老：说文云：“考也。七十曰老。从人毛匕，言须发变白也。” 考：说文云：“老也。从老省，丂声。” 耆：说文云：“老也。从老省，旨声。”（注：“耆”今读qi二声：年老，六十岁以上的人） 耋：说文云：“年八十曰耋。从老省，至声。”（注：“耋”今读die二声：年老，七八十岁的年纪） 至、到、臻 至：说文云：“鸟飞从高下至地也。从一，一犹地也。象形。” 到：说文云：“至也。从至，刀声。” 臻：说文云：“至也。从至，秦声。” “长”，说文云：“象人之长发猋猋也。从长从彡。凡髟之属皆从髟。必凋切。又，所衔切。”（注：猋biao一声：暴风。彡shan一声：长毛。髟biao一声：头发下垂的样子。衔xian二声：头衔。）语言中的长久的“长”、长老的“长”、县长的“长”，和长发之长同音，没有造字，于是古人就假借它来寄托长久、长老、县长等意义。这种方法，古人叫做“假借”。 General meanings of words vs. specific meanings of words. A Chinese character is usually used to express the general meaning of the word. For example, in the sentence “车来了!”, the Chinese character “车” can be referred to different types of vehicles such as “公共汽车”, “面包车” ,“卡车”, even “出租车”. Whereas, in English, different types of vehicles are expressed by different specific words like “bus”, “minibus”, “lorry” , “taxi” and etc. In Chinese, we have the characters “胡子、大胡子、小胡子、络腮胡”, while in English, the word “beard” can be further divided into more specific ways such as full beard（大胡子）, shadow（小胡子）, whiskers（络腮胡）, handlebars (Am. moustache)（八字胡）, goatee（山羊胡）, tile beard（瓦形胡）, military moustache（军人胡）, Vandyke beard（剑形髭）, stubble beard（残须）. In the Chinese sentence “你吃饭了吗？”, the character “饭”can be referred to “早饭”、“中饭”or “晚饭”, but if we translate this sentence into English, we should make clear whether this character is “breakfast”, “lunch” or “supper”.2.5 Sentence Structure 2.5.1 Parataxis（意合）vs. hypotaxis（形合） A complete Chinese sentence usually consists of several coherent phrases, while a complete English sentence should be composed of both coherent and cohesive phrases or clauses which are connected by relative adverbs or relative pronouns. That is to say, a Chinese sentence or discourse is focused on the meaning; an English sentence or discourse is paid more attention to the cohesive structure. 1.英语的形合法 形合和意合都是语言组织法。所谓“形合”是指语言的词语、分句、以及句子之间借助语言形式手段（如关联词）实现词语或句子的连接，表达语法意义和逻辑关系。1.1关系词和连接词 关系词包括关系代词、关系副词、连接代词和连接副词。如：who, whose, that, which, what, when, where,why等， 连接词包括：并列连词和从属连词。如：and, or, but, yet, so, however, either, 等等 汉语没有或不用这些词类 In mid-October, when the tough oceangoing training ended, part of the teammates took on board a ship which then headed for Antarctica. 十月中旬，严格的远洋集训结束，部分队员登轮启航，驶向南极。1.2 介词 介词在英语中数量较多，用法灵活，是连接词语的重要手段。 But this act of purchase is only the prelude to possession. 花钱买书只是占有它的前奏。1.3 形容词比较级 汉语可以使等级比较意义隐含在一定的语境中，使之成为一种暗比；而英语的比较等级形式是显性的，是明比。 还是用电子邮件联系快。 It is much faster to communicate by email. 英语难学还是法语难学？ Which is more difficult to learn, E or F?2.汉语的意合 汉民族的思维重悟性，体现在语言表达方面，就是注重语言结构中意义和意义之间的内在联系。汉语的文字结构没有内在变化的条件，就只能靠意义的内在衔接来组词造句，词语与句子的底层都有一种隐约的意义脉络，这种意义脉络是汉语组织句子的灵魂。2.1 语序 汉语主要靠语序来连接和贯通语义。 时序律：先发生的事先说，后发生的事后说。 因果律：先原因，后结果 时空大小律：先说大，再说小，先远后近，先外后内，先整体再局部。2.1.1时序律 构词：先后 早晚 取舍 浮动 始终 短语：春夏秋冬 汗流浃背， 闭口不言 守株待兔 就地取材 一呼百应 句子层面： 他五岁时候，得了伤寒病，变成了聋子。 He became deaf at five after an attack of typhoid fever.2.1.2 因果律 构词： 松散 收紧 放大 缩小 短语： 玩物丧志 积劳成疾 竭泽而渔 开门见山 物极必反 不进则退 句子： 人逢喜事精神爽 无私才能无畏 我们是义务劳动，不计报酬。2.1.3 时空大小律 构词：大小 远近 粗细 深浅 快慢 短语：事无巨细 粗枝大叶 长吁短叹 分秒必争 遥远的夜空有一个弯弯的月亮，弯弯的月亮下面，是那弯弯的小桥，小桥的旁边有一条弯弯的小船 ，弯弯的小船悠悠是那童年的阿娇 。2.2紧缩句 上梁不正下梁歪 If the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will go aslant. When those