汉英对比：刚性与柔性

Rigid vs.Supple

English always requires a complete sentence structure ,S V concord and formal semantic cohesion.Analysis means suppleness,and synthesis means rigidity;in analytic languages you have the power of kaleidoscopically arranging and rearranging the elements that in synthetic forms are in rigid connexion.Basic sentence structure of English SV, SVO, SVP, SV oO, SVOC 1.The meeting has begun.2.God created man.

3.We are students.

4.She wrote me a letter.

5.He made me happy.

All long or short English sentences can be regarded as the five patterns and their variants, expansion, combination, omission or inversion.

Expansion: adding modifiers

Eg. All this suggested ancient harmonies.

这一切使人感到古代的和谐气氛。

As we chatted, a brightly painted sardine boat dropped anchor.

一条颜色鲜艳的捕捞沙丁鱼的船抛了锚。

Expansion: using phrases or clauses

Eg. Objects that do not transfer light cause shadows.

不透光的物体会造成阴影

物体不透光，会产生阴影。

The structure of the steel and the resulting properties will depend on how hot

the steel gets and how quickly or slowly it is cooled.

钢的结构及其形成的性质，取决于加热的温度和冷却的速度。

Now the integrated circuit has reduced by many times the size of the computer of which it forms a part, thus creating a new generation of portable minicomputers.

现在集成电路成了计算机的零部件，使得计算机的体积大大缩小，从而产生了新一代的袖珍式微型计算。

Omission

Eg.Nice to see you!

To err is human, to forgive divine.

If one had but two heads and neither required sleep!

Inversion

Eg.The greatest truths are the simplest, so are the greatest men.

最伟大的真理总是最朴素的，最伟大的人物也是最朴素的。

Deal with us nobly, women though we be.

虽然我们是女人，请以高尚的态度对待我们。

Concord, or agreement, is another factor that makes English sentences rigid.

Grammatical concord

Notional concord

Eg. Two thousand dollars is more than he can afford.

My family are all fond of playing table tennis.

Principle of proximity

Eg.She is a pretty girl with an oval face, deep dark eyes and long heavy clinging tresses.

这姑娘长得漂亮，鹅蛋形脸，两眼又深又黑，披着又长又密的头发。

You, whose ancestors pioneered the paths of modern civilization, have taken the road to higher forms of social organization and culture.

你们的祖先曾开辟了走向现代文明的道路，而你们继往开来，迈向了更高级社会组织和文明。

In the days that followed I learned to spell in this uncomprehending way a great many words…往后我就这样学着拼写，虽然并不理解意思，却也拼出了许多词……

These things had been manufactured in villages which were growing into towns now, away from London; it was a nation-wide trade.

这些物品都是在远离伦敦渐渐发展为城镇的农村制造的。这是一场全国范围的贸易。