The comparison between English and Chinese taboos
The Comparison between E and C and the countermeasures in the translation from English to Chinese
The Comparison between English and Chinese and thecountermeasures in the translation from English to Chinese English and Chinese belong to two different language families: English, the Indo-European family and Chinese, the Sin-Tibetan family. The two languages also have different cultural backgrounds: Western and Chinese. So I would like to list ten aspects which comparison between English and Chinese.1. Synthetic vs. AnalyticEnglish is a synthetic language which characterized by frequent and systematic use of inflected forms to express grammatical relationships. The three grammatical devices in building English sentences are inflection, word order and the use of function words.Chinese is an analytic language which marked by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations rather than of inflected form.2. Inflectional vs. Non-inflectionalIn English, nouns, pronouns, and verbs are inflected. Such grammatical meanings as parts of number, person, tense, voice can be especially expressed by the use of inflected form with or without the help of function words and word order.In Chinese, the above grammatical meanings are mostly implied in contexts or between the lines, though often with the help of word order and function words. E.g.(1).Function words:Thus encouraged, they made a still bolder plan for the next year.(由于)受到了这样的鼓励,他们为第二年制定了一个更大胆的计划。
Unit1ComparisonBetweenEnglishandChineseWriting分析
❖ English
Oriental (Chinese)
II One Single Topic and Multiple Topics
按照英语的思维模式,英语的段落是循一条 直线发展的,以表达中心思想的主题句 (topic sentence)开头,然后分几个方面对 一个主题句进行阐述和展开,一层一层下来, 段落的每一个句子既是它前面的句子在语义 上的继续,又是对主题句的进一步发展。段 落的最后一句不仅是对主题句的照应,而且 又引出后面一段的意思。整个段落是按逻辑 推理严密组织起来的。例如:
❖ End-weight and Head-weight in Structure ❖ 思维方式不同,句子重心各异
❖ VI Complex and Simplex ❖ 英语多用复杂句,汉语崇尚简约
I Linear Pattern and Cyclical Pattern
美国南加州大学学者Kaplan(1996)在对英语和东方语言 学习者所写英语文章进行对比对比分析之后发现,文章的谋 篇布局方式能反映出人的思维模式。通过进一步研究,他得 出结论:英语篇章的组织和发展呈“直线型”(Linear), 即直截了当陈述主题。以主题句(论点)始,一层层地展开 主题,进行论述。而东方人的语篇思维模式是迂回式 (Circular或approach by indirection),习惯于绕着主 题的外圈转而不从主题直接入手展开讨论,所以汉语表达方 式常呈“螺旋型”(Spiral)如P2图所示: e.g. on P2
Examples
❖ 他不去,我去。 ❖ (如果)他不去,我去。 ❖ If he won’t go there, I’ll go ❖ (即使)他不去,我(也)去。 ❖ Even if he won’t go there, I’ll go. ❖ (因为)他不去,(所以)我去。 ❖ Because he won’t go there, I’ll go. ❖ 他不去,(但是)我去。 ❖ He won’t go there, but I’ll go.
comparisonbetweenEnglishandChinese(1)
comparisonbetweenEnglishandChinese(1)Topic 6 A Comparative Study of Chinese and English (Part I) Teaching aims: to learn about the similarities and differences of Chinese and English in word forming and? vocabulary so as to translate them accurately.Main Language points:1. Comparative studies of vocabulary in Chinese and English2. Comparative studies of word forming in English and Chinese.3. Techniques employed in translating the differences. Teaching emphasis: the techniques employed in translating the differences.Teaching references:1. 孙致礼. 新编英汉翻译教程[M]. 上外教出版社;彭长江. 英汉-汉英翻译教程[M]. 湖南师大出版社;2. 冯伟年,最新简明英语翻译教程[M],世界图书出版公司,20013. 陈宏薇,新编汉英翻译教程[M].上海外语教育出版社,20044. 张培基,《英汉翻译教程》,上海外语教育出版社,1983Teaching methods: Analysis and PracticeTime arrangement: 2 periodsI. Lexical Comparison of Chinese and English1、Comparison of script(文字对比):English (alphabetic script)(只有词)Chinese (ideographic-oriented syllabic script): (有字又有词)象形字(pictograph),指事字(indicative character),会意字(associative character),形声字(morpheme-phonetic character)2、Comparison of pronunciationChinese ( tonal language)English (intonation language)3、Comparison of word formation(见书上P36-41汉英)4、Difference of morphologyEnglish 有屈折变化(inflections):性、数、格、时、体、态、语气、人称、比较级等;Chinese 没有形态变化,但有量词(动量词)、语气词、形态助词;II. Semantic comparison of Chinese and English(词义对比)A、the meanings of the word(词的意义方面):1、英语中有些词所表示的意义,在汉语里可以找到完全对应的词来表达。
Comparision between English and Chinese
Comparison between English and Chinese and the countermeasures in the translation from English to ChineseDifferent nations different languages,and different language load bearing different culture. Translation, as a cross-national cross-language intercultural cross spatio-temporal process of information conversion and communicative activities. Its primary mission is that language transformation and semantic expression, however, language is the carrier of culture, the two get along swimming with each other and inextricably linked. It is necessary involves the transfer and expression of deep cultural connotation. So when we conduct the translation work,we must think about the differences between English and Chinese in language structure,way of thinking and cultural factors. Therefore some countermeasures must be used in the translation from English and Chinese.1.Different between English and Chinese in the ways of thinkingDifferent nations have different languages, different languages reflect different ways of thinking. In general, Oriental, especially Chinese,have strong comprehensive thinking,concrete thinking and consequent thinking. While westerns have clear analytical thinking, abstract thought and reverse thinking. Famous scholars Satoshi Ishii has compared the thought patterns of British and American to "bridge". Author (speaker) directly convey information, the reader (obedient person)understand and appreciate its meaning, as if the bridge. On the contrary,Oriental thought patterns are "stepping stone".Author (speaker) take circuitous implied,such as catapulting a stone in the water to pad feet,the reader (obedient person) draw support from the "stepping stone" to figure out its meaning. Therefore,Ishii thought the two ways of thinking reflects two different cultures,countries such as Britain and the United States is "low context" states,everything depends on language clarifying,while China, Japan and other countries are "high context" states. Context implies semantic,everything is specific, exhaustive. (Hu Wenzhong, 1999:80-81)2.Contrast on English and ChineseEnglish and Chinese belongs to different language system. English is Indo-European family and Chinese is a Sino-Tibetan family,they are completely two different languages. Most English learners find that when English and Chinese have much in common,it's easy to learn. For example,"suitcase" in both languages are constituted by the meaning of "suit"and "case". It's easy for learners to understand. But some words or phases can't be constituted like this. Take "important thing"for example. It means s big issue. But some Chinese people may use "big thing" to express it. "Big thing" means some object with big volume.The negative transfer will influence a study of language,so we should focus on the differences between them. The differences are notonly in words,but also in phrases,sentences,paragraphs,sections and chapters. There are more examples."For the latest couple of years the third industry in our country have been developing very fast". Here "third" is a wrong word. It should be "the tertiary industry" because it is established by usage. "The service industry" is right because it means the industry that offers services."It hard to do business with light seasons." Here "light seasons" is a wrong word. We must use "slack seasons" to express the time business is low."I have no English name." is another sentences we heard from many Chinese people. It should be "I don't have an English name."Chinese sentences are based on meaning while English sentences are based on grammar. In Chinese the standard of a sentence is wether it express a complete meaning. In English,however,the standard is wether the sentence is with a complete structure. For example,看样子要变天了。
comparison between English and Chinese (1)-推荐下载
Topic 6 A Comparative Study of Chinese and English (Part I)Teaching aims: to learn about the similarities and differences of Chinese and English in word forming and? vocabulary so as to translate them accurately.Main Language points: 1. Comparative studies of vocabulary in Chinese and English 2. Comparative studies of word forming in English and Chinese. 3. Techniques employed in translating the differences. Teaching emphasis: the techniques employed in translating the differences.Teaching references:1. 孙致礼. 新编英汉翻译教程[M]. 上外教出版社;彭长江. 英汉-汉英翻译教程[M]. 湖南师大出版社;2. 冯伟年,最新简明英语翻译教程[M],世界图书出版公司,20013. 陈宏薇,新编汉英翻译教程[M].上海外语教育出版社,20044. 张培基,《英汉翻译教程》,上海外语教育出版社,1983Teaching methods: Analysis and PracticeTime arrangement: 2 periodsI. Lexical Comparison of Chinese and English1、Comparison of script(文字对比):English (alphabetic script)(只有词)Chinese (ideographic-oriented syllabic script): (有字又有词)象形字(pictograph),指事字(indicative character),会意字(associative character),形声字(morpheme-phonetic character)2、Comparison of pronunciationChinese ( tonal language)English (intonation language)3、Comparison of word formation(见书上P36-41汉英)4、Difference of morphologyEnglish 有屈折变化(inflections):性、数、格、时、体、态、语气、人称、比较级等;Chinese 没有形态变化,但有量词(动量词)、语气词、形态助词;II. Semantic comparison of Chinese and English(词义对比)A、the meanings of the word(词的意义方面):1、英语中有些词所表示的意义,在汉语里可以找到完全对应的词来表达。
The Comparison of affixes between English and Chinese words
The Comparison of affixes between English and Chinese wordsAbstract: This article from affixes of word-formation between Chinese and English languages .Analysis the classification of word-formation characteristics and corresponding relationships. Identify the similarities and differences between English and Chinese words, so as to promote vocabulary learning well and understanding of both languages.Key words: Chinese affixes, English affixes, comparison【摘要】本文主要从词缀构词法在英汉两种语言中的不同定义入手,对比分析词缀分类标准和构词特性以及英汉词语的对应关系,找出英汉词汇词缀构词的异同点,从而更好地促进对英语词汇学习和理解。
CONTENTS1 Introduction (4)2 Prefixes comparison (4)2.1 The classification of English prefixation (4)2.2 The classification of Chinese prefixation (5)2.3 corresponding relationship (5)3 Suffix comparison (6)3.1 The classification of English suffixation (6)3.2 The classification of chinese suffixation (7)3.3 Corresponding relationship (7)4 Similarities and differences (7)4.1 Similarities: (7)4.2 differences: (8)5 Conclusion: (8)References (9)1 IntroductionEnglish is a morphologic language. Words in the vocabulary are composed of root and affixes. Affixes are attached to words or word elements to modify meaning or function. All affixes are bound morpheme, because few can be used as independent words. According to the functions of affixes .we can put them into two groups: inflectional and derivational affixes. Affixes can be further classified in terms of position and their function .Along the dimension of position , we may have prefixes ,suffixes and infixes.Different from English, morpheme constituted by a single syllable in Chinese and have no morphological changes. Chinese morpheme is actually Chinese word, which originate from the ancient Chinese It is a combination of “phone-form-meaning”. In the vast majority of Chinese words are formed by the root. Therefore, people think that there are no affixes in Chinese. However, in the progress of modern Chinese, the influence of foreign languages and meaning-losing of morphemes .There emerging a great number of double syllables and multi-syllables words, which feature the characteristics of prefixes, suffixes and some affix-like morphemes. As to the definition of Chinese affixes, academia has been controversial. In general ,the following aspects meaning losing,location,productivity,weakening syllables.In this article we will focus on characteristics base on the comparative analysis the position of the affixes between English and Chinese.2 Prefixes comparison2.1 The classification of English prefixesThe majority of prefixes are characterized by their non –class-changing nature. Their chief function is to change meanings of the stems. we shall classify prefixes to nine groups.2.1.1 Negative prefixes:a-,dis-,in-(il-,ir-im-),non-,un-,etc.e.g.amoral(nonmoral);disobey(not obey);injustice(without justice);illegal(not legal);irresistible(not to be resisted);immature(not mature);non-smoker(not a smoker).2.1.2 Reversative of prefixes :de-, dis- ,un-;2.1.3 pejorative , prefixes :mal-, mis -,pseudo-2.1.4Prefixesofdegreeorsize:arch-,extra-,hyper-macro-,micro-,mini-,out-,over-,sub-,super-,su r-,ultra-,under-;2.1.5 Prefixes orientation and attitude: anti-, contra-,counter-,pro-;2.1.6 Locative prefixes: extra-, fore-, inter-,intra-,trans-;2.1.7 Prefixes of time and order: ex-, fore-, post-,pre-,re-;2.1.8 Number prefixes: bi-, multi-(poly-), semi-(hemi-),tri-, umi-(mono-);2.1. 9 miscellaneous prefixes: auto-,neo-,pan-,vice-,proto-In modern English,some prefixes that change word class, de-,un-,anti-,inter-,post-,pre-,pro-;etc. such as delouse(n →v)、anti-pollution(n →v),interlibrary(n →a)、post-war(n →a)、pro-conservation(n →a) etc .2.2 The classification of Chinese prefixThe meaning of Chinese prefixes are emptiness, but the most are meaningful. Chinese prefixes can be categorized by the following:2.2.Number prefixes:初(first)、多(multi-,poly)、双(bi-,di-);2.2.2 Negative prefixes:非、无、不2.2.3 Level or degree prefixes:超、准、次、小2.2.4 Prefixes of attitude::亲(pro-)、反(anti-)etc.2.3 corresponding relationshipMany affixes in English do not have corresponding forms in Chinese, can only be expressed by content morphemes ,the same as the contrary. such as: 老婆(wife). One Chinese affix that can have more than one English affixes, such as: 超自然(Supernature), 超支(over-spend), 超现实主义(surrealism). Certain prefixes translated to another langue which are featured with suffixes, such as: 可爱(lovable), pre-war (战前).3 Suffix comparison3.1 The classification of English suffixationSuffixation is the formation of new words by adding suffixes to stems .unlike prefixes which primarily change the meaning of the stem, suffixes have only a small semantic role,Their primary function being to change the grammatical function of stems. we can group suffixes on a grammatical basis into four classifications.3.1.1noun suffixes1) Denominal nouns:A:concrete. The suffixes of this group are added to noun bases to produce concrete nouns: -eer ,-er,-ess,-ette-,-let,B:abstract. The following suffixes come at the end of noun stems to born abstract nouns:-age,-dom,-ery,-ery(-ry),-hood,-ing,-ism,-ship,2) deverbal nounsA:the following suffixes combine with verb stems to create largely nouns denoting people:-ant,-ee,-ent,-er(-or);B:suffixes of this group added to verb stems to produce largely abstact nouns,denotingaction,result,process,state,etc.:-age,-al,-ance,-ation,(-ition,-tion,-sion-ion),-ence,-in g,-ment;3)de-adjective nouns:-ity,-ness,4)noun and adjective suffixes:a small number of suffixes,when added to stems related to human beings or nationality names,form words that can be used both as nouns and adjectives:-ese,-an,-ist.3.1.2adjective suffixes1)denominal suffixes:-ed,-ful,-ish,-less,-like,-ly,-y,-al(-ial,-ical),-esque,-ic,-ous(-eous,-ious);2)deverbal suffixes: -able(-ible),-ive(-ative,-sive),3.1.3adverb suffixes: -ly,-ward(s),-wise;3.1.4verb suffixes:-ate,-en,-(i)fy,-ize(-ise).3.2 The classification of chinese suffixationDifferent from the English suffixes are largely constitute four types of words:name, adjective, adverb and verb,the chinese suffixes are basically formed noun words. According to the significance of affixes, we can separate the following six categories:3.2.1person suffixes:a :Occupation and title suffixes:家、师、士、夫、员、生、匠、工etc.;b: relative suffixes:子、亲、夫、爷、父、人etc.;c: suffixes Indicate all kinds of people:头、者、士、生、汉、分子、迷etc.。
The Comparison between E and C and the countermeasures in the translation from English to Chinese
The Comparison between English and Chinese and thecountermeasures in the translation from English to ChineseEnglish and Chinese belong to two different language families: English, the Indo-European family and Chinese, the Sin-Tibetan family. The two languages also have different cultural backgrounds: Western and Chinese. So I would like to list ten aspects which comparison between English and Chinese.1. Synthetic vs. AnalyticEnglish is a synthetic language which characterized by frequent and systematic use of inflected forms to express grammatical relationships. The three grammatical devices in building English sentences are inflection, word order and the use of function words.Chinese is an analytic language which marked by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations rather than of inflected form.2. Inflectional vs. Non-inflectionalIn English, nouns, pronouns, and verbs are inflected. Such grammatical meanings as parts of number, person, tense, voice can be especially expressed by the use of inflected form with or without the help of function words and word order.In Chinese, the above grammatical meanings are mostly implied in contexts or between the lines, though often with the help of word order and function words. E.g.(1).Function words:Thus encouraged, they made a still bolder plan for the next year. (由于)受到了这样的鼓励,他们为第二年制定了一个更大胆的计划。
The comparison of taboo between Chinese and English
The comparison of taboos between Chinese and EnglishAs an English major, it’s important to know the differences between Chinese and English cause if we don’t know very well, then maybe someday, we will make a fool out of ourselves or leave us in an awkward situation just due to the lack of the knowledge in the fields of taboos. What is taboo language? Taboo Language is a cultural carrier both in Chinese and English culture. Usually, language is used as a mirror to reflect the culture and every corne r of people’s daily life. Simply speaking, taboo is a common culture phenomenon, which restricts people’s behavior and social communication. It can be said as a kind of language that is forbidden or at least is unpopular between people. It’s accepted by th e local people but may be hard to be understood by outsiders.It’s important to avoid offending some people. Considering the different cultures and customs, we should avoid using offensive expression like taboo. Appropriation of the taboo can make the cross-cultural communication more appropriate. Besides, for me, the process of finding the information about it is interesting because I will find something that I never know and something that may be a shock to me. Therefore, by comparing the difference and then revealing the hidden culture connotation, we can put linguistic and culture in integrity. Moreover, we can have a deeper understanding about the similarities and differences to avoid communication error. Those are the reason why I want to make a little comparison of taboos between Chinese and English.It’s a certainty that different languages have different taboos, but due to the restriction of my so limited knowledge of language, I can only talk the two languages, my mother language——Chinese and my major——English. Now, it’s time for me to turn my attention to make comparisons between Chinese and English. I will focus my attention on the two aspects: the similarities and differences in using taboo language.I will start with the similarities in taboo usage of the two languages. The first common point lies in that both of the two languages forbid using some words that blasphemes the God. For example, in the west, to name out the name of God Jehovah with your heart goes is the most typical example of tab oos which will offend those believe in God. It’s said that God made an agreement with people that human should abide by the Ten Commandments, in which the third is that “thou shalt not speak my name in vain”. that’s the reason why Christianity avoids usin g God, hell, devil, Christ, damn and etc. Instead, they using words like gosh, golly, for goodness, for the sake of God. Not using Jesus rather using Gee, Jeepers and jiminy. Just like Chinese people do. Chinese people usual tend to try their best to avoid using things like ghosts and the souls. That may be out of the fear psychology to bring them bad lucks. As for the God, due to the rooted influence of Confucius thought, many Chinese people forbid children saying something disrespectable to God. So do the westerners. So usually, they will use the deuce, the dickens and old Nick to replace the Devil and ghost. No matter people in past or nowadays, what they have in common is that they all respect or fear the things that exit in the world they believe.The second thing they have in common is the forbidden of the abusive words. In English, the abusive words are usually the names of animals such as bitch, cow, swine, pig etc. Also, those words are appropriate in a meeting such as cheeky, liar, prevaricating, fascist. People are sensitiveto those words like shit, hell, damn, fuck and so on. Chinese people have the same feeling to those words. If you call somebody a pig or cow, it must cause unpleasant or even a fight. In Chinese language, there are also words similar with the meaning of fuck, damn it, and moron and so on. I have to confess that these words are inevitable in almost every American movies. However, common doesn’t mean good. Just put this into our memories: civilized people, especially for those gentlemen in British, if they hear a word like those, what we get from them is not the nodding that appreciates our ability of using their language but the cool eyes that shows their unpleasant feeling of the word we use. So try best to avoid those taboos in case of causing offensive atmosphere.Last but not the least, both Chinese and English have taboo language in the aspect of description of people’s health conditions. In china, people are unwilling to say death. In the past days, I used to call one of my b est friends “the dead man”, I thought it’s nothing but a sign of friendliness. However, the “nickname” offends him. So even to your friend, it’s better to use those words carefully, not alone to those you rarely know. Maybe some people treat the words as a curse and fear that will come into reality. In the west, those words such as death which I just mentioned, cancer and tumor are better to be replaced by other words because the foreigners might feel the same way as we do. For example, when someone has a cancer, we can say he has a long illness or the big C, which may be a little comfort for the people with diseases. When someone is going to die, the westerners usually say someone will go to a better world or troubles be over now, which is not only a respect to the dead but also a comfort to the families of the dead.There is no doubt that there are also huge differences in taboo language between Chinese and English due to the influence of different culture traditions, varied moralities, and religions.Firs tly, people’s attitudes about numbers are different. In the west, 13 is a taboo number. For example, they will try to avoid a wedding or traveling on 13th. Even more, they will try to avoid 13 as their room number or living in the 13th floor. While in Chinese, 13 is but an ordinary number. 4 is the taboo due to the same pronunciation of death in Chinese language.In the aspect of animal names, there are similarities but also different meanings of taboos. For example, chicken is a bless in Chinese language due to the similar sounds of jili. While in the west, chicken is a symbol of coward. Even worse, it sometimes means the prostitutes. As for dogs, sometimes, it’s a curse on people, such as the words: you can not teach old dog new tricks. But more often than not, the westerners treat dogs as honesty, brave people. It’s a compliment. But in Chinese language, dogs are usually a dirty word which should be used as less as possible. Other animals like dragons, bats also have different meanings.Most interestingly, in china, if we call our parents directly, we will have to suffer from punishment and be treated as impolite children. It’s a taboo to call the name of our parents or siblings directly. However, you will find surprised that some children are allowed to call their parents name without being blamed or punished because they brace the notion that “we are all equal”.Knowing the examples is not the purpose but the tool to communicate with the foreigners better. Knowing which words are taboos are far from enough. It’s also an ability to be able to use thesubstitutes. May we can practice them in reality and to communicate with foreigners without causing any offenses.t。
The differences between English and Chinese
The differences between English and ChineseThere is not one single Chinese language, but many different versions or dialects including Wu, Cantonese and Taiwanese. Northern Chinese, also known as Mandarin, is the mother tongue of about 70% of Chinese speakers and is the accepted written language for all Chinese. Belonging to two different language families, English and Chinese have many significant differences. This makes learning English a serious challenge for Chinese native speakers.Chinese does not have an alphabet but uses a logographic system for its written language. In logographic systems symbols represent the words themselves - words are not made up of various letters as in alphabetic systems. Because of this fundamental difference, Chinese learners may have great difficulty reading English texts and spelling words correctly.Most aspects of the English phonological system cause difficulties for Chinese learners. Some English phonemes do not exist in Chinese; stress and intonation patterns are different. Unlike English, Chinese is a tone language. This means that it uses the pitch (highness or lowness) of a phoneme sound to distinguish word meaning. In English, changes in pitch are used to emphasize or express emotion, not to give a different word meaning to the sound.English has more vowel sounds than Chinese, resulting in the faulty pronunciation of words like ship/sheep, it/eat, full/fool. Dipthongs such as in weigh, now or deer are often shortened to a single sound.Chinese learners find it difficult to hear the difference between l and r, and so may mispronounce rake and rice as lake and lice. A major problem is with the common final consonant in English. This feature is much less frequent in Chinese and results in learners either failing to produce the consonant or adding an extra vowel at the end of the word. For example, hill may be pronounced as if without the double ll but with a drawn out i, or as rhyming with killer.The difficulties of pronouncing individual English words, compounded by problems with intonation, result in the heavily accented English of many Chinese learners. In some cases, even learners with perfect grammar may be very hard to understand.Since Chinese modals do not convey such a wide range of meaning, Chinese learners may fail to use English modals sufficiently. This can result in them seeming peremptory when making requests, suggestions, etc.Grammar - Other: Chinese does not have articles, so difficulties with their correct use in English are very common.There are various differences in word order between Chinese and English. In Chinese, for example, questions are conveyed by intonation; the subject and verb are not inverted as in English. Nouns cannot be post-modified as in English; and adverbials usually precede verbs, unlike in English which has complex rules governing the position of such sentence elements. Interference from Chinese, then, leads to the following typical problemsEnglish has a number of short verbs that very commonly combine with particles (adverbs or prepositions) to form what are known as phrasal verbs; for example: take on, give in, make do with, look up to. This kind of lexical feature does not exist in Chinese. Chinese learners, therefore, may experience serious difficulty in comprehending texts containing such verbs and avoid attempting to use them themselves.。
英译汉2comparison between C and E
• 1. Similarity
• 1.1 Both English and Chinese words are characteristic of
polysemy (one word has many meanings.) • • • • • • • • • Eg. broken a broken man一个绝望的人 a broken soldier一个残废军人 broken money 零钱 a broken promise 背弃的诺言 a broken spirit 消沉的意志
• 1.3 Share the same basic parts of speech: • N, V, Pron, Conj, Prep, Adj, Adv, etc.
Lecture 2
Comparison between English and Chinese
Introduction
Why?
As you know, our native language Chinese is quite different from English. There is really a big gap between the characteristics of the two languages. In order to learn the translation course better, we have to study the comparison between the source language and the target language. Just because all the theories, methods, techniques concerning English-Chinese translation are based on the comparison, it is very important, so to speak, to master the languages’ peculiarities. Only by doing so can we raise our distinguishing ability, have a good command of the characteristics and apply the techniques consciously in our translation. Thus we can achieve better comprehension and better representation. The comparison here will be shown in the following points.
The Comparison between English Words and Chinese Ones in Translation
The Comparison between English Words and Chinese Ones inTranslation【Abstract】This paper compares English words and Chinese words in translation. It shows the phenomenon of non-equivalence occurs in English and Chinese and discusses the translating means.【Key words】Comparison;Non-equivalence;Literal translation;Synonym translation;Free translation0 IntroductionTranslation is,in fact,a converting process. Theoretically,a translation should give its readers the same conception as that a native reader gets from the original. Word is the smallest unit of language that can be used by itself. (Bolinger and Sears,1968:43)Chinese and English are two different languages which have different words,consist of lexical,word formation. So,many translators and theorists have been searching for the equivalence in order to reach the nearest equivalence between these two languages,to get better versions. We should be sure that equivalence does exist in translation,which makes the translation possible.According to Balfudalov (Chai Yi,etc.Tr.49),there are three kinds of equivalence which are mainly about semantic meaning:full equivalence,partial equivalence,zero equivalence. This paper will discuss zero equivalence and the way of its translating.Zero equivalence (non-equivalent)means that some words in one language have no equivalence in another language. Non-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text. (Mona Baker,20)There is no one-to-one correspondence between orthographic words and elements of meaning within or across languages. (Mona Baker,11)As far as I am concerned,the exact same effect of equivalence cannot be reached. There should be at least some loss of meaning,especially in the aspects of cultural,social background knowledge.1 The cause of non-equivalence1.1 Culture-specific conceptsThe source-language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete;it may relate to a religious belief,a social custom,or even a type of food. Such concepts areoften referred as ‘culture-specific’. An example of an abstract English concept which is notoriously difficult to translate into other language is that expressed by the word ‘privacy’. This is a very ‘English’concept which is rarely understood by people from other cultures. ‘Speaker’(of the House of Commons)has no equivalent in many languages,such as Chinese. (Mona Baker,21)1)Religious beliefIn some western countries,especially in British and America,people believe Christianity and believe that God controls everything in the world,while Chinese believe Buddhism. So there are many expressions relate to God in English,such as ‘God bless you’which has no equivalent in Chinese. Vice versa,we can not find the exact expression of the Chinese saying “借花献佛” in English. There are some examples.(1)Homer sometimes nods. 智者千虑,必有一失。
The Comparison of Animal Words between English and Chinese Words
The Comparison of Animal Wordsbetween English and Chinese WordsAnimals are closely related with human beings,so there are abundant animal words both in Chinese and English.However, many times, between China and western countries that treat the same animals often cause different associations as well as endue different cultural Connotation due to the influences of different social custom and habits, religions and history.Every nation has its own favorite animals or dislike animals so that their attitudes for the animals also have distinct regional and national characteristics.Different understand in English and Chinese culture for “Dragon”Long(龙),which named as “dragon”in the Western, is a symbol of the emperor in ancient China.It has been almighty to us Chinese.Today long is often identified with China or Chinese. In feudal society, because of long standing for a good fortune, noble, strong and majestic in Chinese eyes, Therefore, the long is a symbol of the emperor, and emperors regarded themselves as "true sons of the long".Many Chinese parents “望子成龙” which means parents hope that children can amount to something when they grow up, so many parents would like to name their sons with “龙”.But in the Western,the”dragon”was devil and symbol of disaster so that many of them dislike and give them a very bad impression.The Oxford Dictionary of English gives definition of "dragon" as "a almighty animal with wings and claw, able to breath out fire".Sometime the famous “四小龙”(Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) in Southeast Asia was translated to “four little dragons”. In deed, it is inaccurate to translate “dragon” to “龙”. Therefore later it was replaced by the “four little tigers”,having The same means that luck and nobility.Different underst and in English and Chinese culture for “Owl”In China, the word “owl”has different meanings.For example:owl regards as the symbol of the wisdom.As wise as an owl.If say someone is owlish,it means the person who is clever and strict. For example:Patrick peered owlishly at us through his glasses. Because there are so many owls in Athens,the owl is a symbol of the Athens.If the person say like that”to send owls to Athens”,it means that the person take the trouble to do something.Owl in English has the commendatory sense.But it has the derogatory sense in Chinese.The image in English and Chinese is completely different. Because it usually shouts and cries at the night,Chinese think it is the unluckily animal.When the people hear the cry of an owl.It indicates the unluckily thing will come in. Different understand in English and Chinese culture for “Dog”In speaking countries like the U.K., dogs not only undertake to protect the security of our house, but also became“companion”of elder people who may be no children or disables. Life often influences culture so that people express their loves for dogs. Many a words about dogs is commendatory in their languages. For example, if someone said:“you were as faithful as dog”, it means that you are trustful person. Y ou shall feel happy. Just like phrases have a lot. We know that westerners not only think their dogs honest and loyal, but also praise them even regarded them as a “person”. For example, “a luck dog”(幸运儿) is saying that “a lucky man”. “A clever dog”(聪明的小孩) means that “a clever boy”. “A top dog ”(有优势的人)tells us “a person has advantage for doing some things”. “A jolly dog”(开心的人)is “a happy people”and so on. At the same time, dogs always impact all aspects. Take “love me, love my dog”as example. As we know that means “爱屋及乌”in Chinese. Just this sentences, we can find a lot in English languages. Such as: “every dog has his or its days”(凡人皆有得意日). As well as “a good dog deserved a good bone”(应该奖励那些有功劳的人) is saying that a man who contributes to the country should gets award.In Chinese ,most of people have opposite ideas about dogs.Long time, they have been keeping dogs only to guard their houses in case losing their passions and called them “watchdog”. Therefore, the words of dogs often associated with negative images in Chinese., such as 狗急跳墙,狗仗人势,狗东西,狗胆包天,狗血喷头,狗屁不通etc.Sometimes, we always heard that some person said to others:“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”· it is used to describe a bad person that can not speak good words and so on. As we know, because of traditional influences, when we use animal words about dogs, we always think highly of bad facets under most occasions.Animals and human being are best friends and they great influence on human languages. As part of the huge vocabulary system, animal words embody each cultural character of English and Chinese. It’s obvious that we treat the same animal words in the some phrases or sentences appearing different understand due to the differences of social custom and habits and religions。
The Comparison between E and C and the countermeasures in the translation from English to Chinese
The Comparison between English and Chinese and thecountermeasures in the translation from English to Chinese English and Chinese belong to two different language families: English, the Indo-European family and Chinese, the Sin-Tibetan family. The two languages also have different cultural backgrounds: Western and Chinese. So I would like to list ten aspects which comparison between English and Chinese.1. Synthetic vs. AnalyticEnglish is a synthetic language which characterized by frequent and systematic use of inflected forms to express grammatical relationships. The three grammatical devices in building English sentences are inflection, word order and the use of function words.Chinese is an analytic language which marked by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations rather than of inflected form.2. Inflectional vs. Non-inflectionalIn English, nouns, pronouns, and verbs are inflected. Such grammatical meanings as parts of number, person, tense, voice can be especially expressed by the use of inflected form with or without the help of function words and word order.In Chinese, the above grammatical meanings are mostly implied in contexts or between the lines, though often with the help of word order and function words. E.g.(1).Function words:Thus encouraged, they made a still bolder plan for the next year.(由于)受到了这样的鼓励,他们为第二年制定了一个更大胆的计划。
Comparison_between_English_and_Chinese
5. Morphology English 有屈折变化 (inflections):性、 数、格、时、体、态、 语气、人称、比较级 等; Chinese 没有形态变 化,但有量词(动量 词)、语气词、形态 助词;
Topic-prominent vs. Subject-prominent Hypotactic vs. Paratactic Left-branching vs. Right-branching Top-heavy vs. End-weight Static vs. Dynamic Impersonal vs. Personal (Inanimate vs. Animate) Passive vs. Active Substitutive vs. Repetitive Synthetic vs. Analytic
Transfer is the influence resulting from the similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired . Odlin (1989: 27) 迁移是由于目标语与已经习得的语言之间 的相似和差异而产生的 影响。 奥德林
That dirty house is an offense to everyone who lives in the street. 那座肮脏的老房子使住在那条街上的 人都很讨厌它。 那座老房子很脏,住在那条街上的人 都很讨厌它。
Her effort gained her a reputation. 她的努力为他赢得了声誉。 她很努力,名声很好。 His skill qualify him for the job. 他的技艺使他有资格担任这一工作。 他有技术,能担任这一工作。
Comparison between the English Syntax and Chinese Syntax
4. I am proud that our country is forging ahead at such a speed. 祖国在这样地突飞猛进,我为此感到自豪。 Note: In English, the position of the subclause denoting reason is rather free and flexible, whereas its corresponding Chinese adverbial clause of reason is, in most cases, put preceding the main clause of result.
6. I’d like to know your availability of the products and the terms of sales, such as mode of payment, delivery, discount, etc. 我想了解贵方的供货能力,以及付款方式、 装运和折扣等销售条款。 Note:In English, the phrase denoting a rather generalized term tends to be put preceding its corresponding detailed information, while in Chinese, we tend to put it another way round.
只要从世界著名的悉尼歌剧院宽阔的滨海人 行道眺望一下美不胜收的海港,或到位于 世界最佳海滩的邦黛滨海村观赏,然后到 当地一座鸟类活跃的海滨公园信步徜徉, 就不难看出,为什么两家国际一流的旅游 杂志连续三年把悉尼选为“最佳城市”了。
Comparison between the English Syntax and Chinese Syntax
英汉对比范文
英语可以运用丰富的词缀构词造句,如:
He moved astonishingly fast. He moved with astonishing rapidity. His movements were astonishingly rapid. His rapid movements astonished us. His movements astonished us by their rapidity. The rapidity of his movements was astonishing. The rapidity with which he moved astonished us. He astonished us by moving rapidly. He astonished us by his rapid movements. He astonished us by the rapidity of his movements. 他行进的速度快得令人惊讶。/他行进速度之快,令人惊讶 他的快速行进使我们感到惊讶。/我们对他的快速行进感到惊讶。
现代英语是从古英语发展出来的,仍然保留着综合语的某些特征,但也具有 分析语的特点:有形态变化,但不象典型的综合语那么复杂; 词序比汉语灵活, 但相对固定;虚词很多,用得也相当频繁。现代英语运用遗留下来的形态变化形 式(hereditary inflections) 、相对固定的词序及丰富的虚词来表达语法关系,因 此属综合分析语(syntactic-analytic language)。
分析语的特征是不用形态变化而用词序及虚词来表达语法关系。The Random House College Dictionary给分析语定义为:An analytic language is “charaterized by relatively frequent use of function words. Auxiliary verbs. And changes in word order to express syntactic relations rather than of inflected forms” 。汉语是典型的分析语。
The difference between English and Chinese
The difference between English and ChineseHaving been learning English for almost 8 years, I have really found some differences between English and Chinese. Here are some of my findings.First, there are some literal differences between the two languages. The differences can also be divided into two types. One is related to the words themselves, and the other is about the meanings of words. You may have noticed that some English words change according to the person and tense. They are verbs. And most nouns in English need to change their forms when they refer to the plurality, While Chinese characters lack changes in form. When we need to tell a story happened in the past in Chinese, we just need to mark it with a past time point, such as yesterday, several days ago or long long ago. We don’t change the forms of the words at all. The other point is that some English words have more than one meaning, so do Chinese. But usually the meanings of English can hardly conform to the Chinese, Thus causing much difficulty and challenge to the translation. Here is one example:--This is an order from Bush!--I don’t care it is from bush, tree or grass.Yes, you understand the meaning, so do I. but when beingacquired to translate it into Chinese, I feel too hard for me to make it.Second, by learning English, I find the British think differently from the Chinese. Generally speaking, an English sentence is usually much longer than a Chinese one. English features in clear subject, clear predicate and you can figure out the function of each member of a sentence without much difficulty. Well, as a Chinese, having been learning Chinese ever since I was born, I can’t pick out the subject or predicate easily from any given Chinese sentences. I will go mad if I try to analysis Chinese using the skills I have acquired from learning English.Third, there is a difference in culture between British and Chinese. And I think it is the root why English is different from Chinese. For example, in 60s to 70s last century, the south Korean, Singapore and China’s Hong Kong and Taiwan were called “the four Asian tigers”. But if you translate it directly from Chinese to English, it will be “the four Asian dragons”. If an Englishman comes across the term for the first time, he may be shocked and mistook it for another meaning. For the dragon, which is the symbol of strength, speed and vigor, represents evil in western culture. And the image of tiger in westernpeople’s minds conforms to these characteristics. So it is the four Asian tigers rather than the four Asian dragons in English. And such examples related to the differences between cultures are countless.When I was an English beginner, I was told that Chinese was much complicated and difficult than English. I didn’t believe that then. But now, several years later, especially after taking the translation course and finding it really hard to finish the translation exercises I am deeply convinced that Chinese is something I still cannot manage well.。
Unit1ComparisonBetweenEnglishandChineseWriting分析
English and Chinese Writing 英汉思维差异与语篇写作对比
❖ I Linear Pattern and Cyclical Pattern ❖ 英民族偏重直线思维,汉民族偏重曲线思维 ❖ II One Single Topic and Multiple Topics ❖ III Hypotactic and Paratactic形合与意合 ❖ IV Abstract Thinking and Concrete Thinking ❖ 英民族偏好抽象思维,汉民族偏好形象思维 ❖ V Sentences Focus in Different Places
1.English Hypotactic Methods (英语的形合法)
❖ 英语是形合性语言。词语连接成句,短语 连接成句,分句连接成句,常用各种形式 手段连接,注重显性接应(overt cohesion),注重句子形式,注重结构完 整,注重以形显义。英语句中的连接手段 和形式(cohesive ties)不仅数量大,种 类多,而且用得十分频繁。英语形合法主 要包括以下连接手段和形式:
(6) He wants to go to Shanghai and I want to go to Beijing.
(7) Since you have enough money, please lend me some.
3)Prepositions(介词)
英词介词是最活跃的词类之一,据G·Curme统计, 英语各类介词共约286个,是连接词、短语或从 句的重要手段。包括简单介词(如:with, to, in, of, about, between, through),短语介词(如 according to, along with, apart from, because of, in front of, on behalf of)和合成 介词(如:inside, onto, into, upon, within, without, throughout)。英语造句几乎离不开 介词,汉语则常常不用介词或省略介词。
Comparison between English writing and Chinese writing
Comparison between English writing and Chinese writingOne is that the English thought pattern is linear. Each paragraph often begins with a st atement of its central idea, known as topic sentence. English writing prefers to come t o the point directly rather than provides much room for the background or the environ ment. In contrast, the Chinese thought pattern is circular. The idea is introduced at firs t, and as the following paragraphs are developed, it comes closer and closer to the poi nt. Therefore, sometimes the main issue is not clear enough until the end. Based on th e central idea, every paragraph expounds the thought of the writer so that the whole es say is flooded with the main issue. At the same time, the English writing is objective, while Chinese writing is more subjective. The English wr iter acts like a camera, which puts itself outside the event when the event happens. Us ually, he puts forward his ideas, followed by the facts to argue in favor of them. On the contrary, the Chinese writer spares no efforts to make his ideas come to light. What’s more, he writes from the inside of the issue, that is, his points are mixed with his own feelings. The writing is a success if most readers are persuaded by his feeling s. In other words, the feeling of the writer is the essence of the whole essay.。
Comparison_between_English_and_Chinese
(以意统形)
(以形驭意)
①我常见许多青年的朋友,②聪明用 功,③成绩优异,④而语文程度不足 以达意,⑤甚至写一封信亦难得通顺, ⑥问其故则曰其兴趣不在语文方面。
——(梁实秋《学问与趣味》)
Translation 1:
①I have come across a great many young friends, ②bright and diligent, ③do exceedingly well in studies, ④but they are rather weak in Chinese, ⑤even can’t write a smooth Chinese letter. ⑥When asked why, they’ll say they are
You are lucky enough to have a united family. 你真幸运,能有一个和睦的家庭。 你家庭和睦,真有福气。
汉语句子的特点: 话题说明,叙述分层,可断可续,
意尽为界;
英语句子的特点: 主谓搭架,枝叶上挂,叠床架屋,
都有语法。
Contrast Between English and Chinese
Chinese Structure:
English Structure:
Topic-Comment 话题-评论 Subject-Predicate 主语-谓语
The firm walls of the castle served as a good defense against the attackers.
英语 --- 综合型 (synthetic);
由分析型向综合型发 展
3. 文字系统 (writing system)
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英语语言学(一)The comparison between English and Chinese taboos 姓名:毛艳品学号:09096709班级:英语097班Contents1.Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 The origin of taboos2.The difference of English and Chinese taboos 2.1Verbal taboos2.1.1 Forms of address2.1.2 Topic and privacy2.1.3 Compliments2.1.4 Lexis3.Conclusion1.IntroductionTaboo words is a popular language phenomenon in human language. For a long time , it has been an important part of study for many scholars from different aspects. In the communication across cultures, we can not avoid meeting taboos . To chinese people , it is very important to study and learn to use taboo correctly and properly . This paper gives a brief introduction of the comparison between english and chinese taboos . And by studying this language phenomenon , we can not only improve our ability of comprehension , but also learn the colorful culture and worldly wisdom of different society and communicate with foreigners freely and comfortably .1.1 DefinitionWhat is taboos ? In Chinese , it has three meanings. Firstly , it means "禁忌,戒律" , secondly , "禁忌语",thirdly , "视为禁忌的习俗,禁止接近" . While in english , it means " a culture or leligious custom that does not allow people to do , use , or talk about a particular thing as people find it offensive or embarrassing " or "a general agreement not to do something or talk about something .1.2 The origin of taboosTaboo is an inseparable part of human language and a culturalphenomenon that exists extensively in human societies . It comes into being with the development of the language . The word "taboo" stems from the Tongan(a country consisting of about 170 small islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean and its original meaning is "holy" or "things calling for extraordinary concerning" .In 1777 , a British navigator James Cook arrived at the Tongc islands when he was exploring in South Pacific Ocean . James Cook found that taboo phenomenon includes two aspects : firstly ,the respectful holy substance that can not be used at will ; secondly , the despicable substance that can not be approached at random. Then, he recorded all kinds of the taboo phenomenon and brought them back to Britain . From then on , taboo phenomenon permeated formally into the western culture .2. The difference of English and Chinese taboosThere are many kinds of taboos that are very different from each other , because of respective deep-rooted cultures , histories and life styles of English and Chinese . It is especially important for us to be aware of what the differences are in order to understand each other well . Today we will discuss it as follows in hope of having a general understanding of it .2.1 Verbal taboosMost taboos are verbal ones . In case of not causing unpleasantness and embarrassment , people are careful of the topic they share and the words and deeds they speak and act . They find that it is not easy for themto express or speak anything at their pleasure . The verbal taboos range from personal life to family life and social intercourse not only in China but also in western societies .Verbal taboos mainly include four types : forms of address , topic and privacy , compliments and lexis .2.1.1 Forms of addressIn order to communicate successfully with each other , people from different cultural background had better to be careful of the ways of address . In many western countries , people can address their parents' or gradeparents' names directly, and address others using the first name even when they meet at the first time , such as john, lily and so on , regardless of age , rank , status or job . People are not to expected to address their friends and relatives too formally , such as , mr , mrs , or miss . And when they give names to the babies , it can be the president's name , the famous writers' and so on . Every name is ok .While in china , we have " 上下有别,长幼有序”, the younger generation are not expected to call their ancentors' or the elders' names directly . They can not use the names which had been used by their ancestors , not to mention the names of those famous people .Let us take some specific exemples . Firstly , about the "old" , in western countries , people do not like the word " old" , and they have thought a lot of ways to avoid saying it . Such as a seasoned man ,the advanced inage ,the mature,elder hospital,retirement home, private hospital ,nursing home,golden age club. How about China ?“old " in chinese shows respect and social staut. we have "老同志”,"老师”,“老师傅”等等。