DifferencesBetweenChineseandEnglishThinkingModes.docx

DifferencesBetweenChineseandEnglishThinkingModes.docx

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DifferencesBetweenChineseandEnglishThinkingModes

DifferencesBetweenChineseandEnglishThinkingModes

I.Introduction

Languagebynatureistheembodimentofhumanthoughtsandthoughtsinturnisthementalreflectionoftheworldaroundusonbasisofsomeanalysis,generalization,judgmentandreasoning.Animalshavethoughtsaswell,buttheirawkwardsoundsforcommunicationarefarfrombeinglanguage.Languageisthereforecloselyrelatedtoandsupportedbyhumanthoughts.Thatistosay,languagehasnobasisforitsexistenceifthereisnothought.Butthoughts,thoughaccessiblebyvariousmeans,arebestrepresentedinlanguageandcanthusbestfulfillitsobligationstothespeakersbysuchmeans.Languageasanarbitrary,phoneticandmorphologicsemioticandaudiosystemofcommunication,haslongdefinedashumanandisthusthemostconvincingdistinctivefeaturesofhumanbeingsfromanimals.

Thethinkingpatternsareoneofthemostimportantcuesinculture.Itiscloselyrelatedtoculturesandembodiesthecharacteristicsofculturalpsychology.Besides,themodesofthinkingalsoarecloselyrelatedtolanguage.Differentmodesofthinkingareembodiedinlanguage.

（i）Therelationshipamonglanguage,cultureandthought

Languageispartofculture.SuchasChineselanguageispartofChineseculture.Eachcountryhasitsownlanguageinaspecificculture.However,theirrelationshipisnotjustbetweenpartandwhole.Languageisthecarrierandcontainedofculture,asmanyaspectsofculturecanbeexpressedinlanguage.Asamirrorofculture,languageisstronglyinfluencedandshapedbyculture.Inall,languageandculturearecloselyrelated;eachinfluencesandshapestheother.

Languageisaninstrumentusedinthecommunicationofthought.Itiscloselyrelatedtothought,too.Itrepresentsthoughtandisinfluencedbythought.Inturn,thoughtisinfluencedbylanguage.Inaddition,thoughtisdeterminedbyculturalvalue.Theirrelationshipswitheachotherseemmorecomplex.Inaword,eachoftheminfluencedandshapesothers.Theyareseemasthreepartsofawhole.

（ii）DifferentwaysofthinkingbetweenChineseandWestern

“Thewaysofthinkingisquitedifferent,actually,peopleliveincertainareahavetheirownwayofthinking.Itconnectstovariouskindsoffactors,suchasgeography,history,nationandsoon.Thewaysofthinkingaretheimportantreasonofculturaldifference.Itincludesknowledge,concepts,methods,languageandcustomandsoon.”（邓炎昌483）Therefactorsinfluenceeachother,whichledtodifferentwaysofthinking.Therefore,thewaysofthinkinghavetheirowncharacteristics,likegeographycharacteristics,socialcharacteristicsandnationalcharacteristics,etc.accordingtogeographycharacteristics,itcanbedividedintoHannation,EnglishandAmericannation,etc.HerewewillmakeacomparisononChineseandWesternwaysofthinking.

“Thedifferentwaysofthinkinginfactarethereflectionofculturaldifference.Peoplewholiveindifferentareasforalongtimehavedifferentculturalcharacteristics;therefore,theirwaysofthinkingaredifferent,”（ibid.484）.

Undertheinfluenceofdifferentgeographyenvironments,lifestyles,customsanddifferentculturalvalues;theEastandWestaredifferentfromwaysofthinking.Letusexaminesomephenomena:

Inthecollege,aforeignteacheristeachinginaclass,heistalkativeandexpressive.Everyonelistenstohiminterestingly.Suddenly,hestopsandasksthemaquestion.However,thestudentsdon’tknowhowtoanswer,theydon’ttelltheanswers.Theteachergotalittleangrybuthehadnoideaontheirbehavior.ThissceneoftenhappensinChineseclassroom.Intheforeigners’eyes,theyconsiderthatkeepingsilentisnotagoodwaywhenwecontactwithothers.Evenyoudon’tunderstand,youshouldsaysomethinginsteadofkeepingsilent,asitoftenisregardedasrudeandimpolite.

ThereasonliesinthattheEastandtheWesthaveadifferentwayofthinking.TheEasternpeopleareconservative,introvertandinactive,theyputmoreemphasisonharmony,andtheylikecommonandstablelife;whiletheWesternpeoplearemoreopen-minded,extrovertandactive,theylikechangeablelifeandthustheyemphasizeoncompetition.Inthisway,theirdifferentwaysofthinkingleadtotheirdifferentunderstandingoneachother’sbehavior.IfChineseseesomebodyistalkative,theycouldthinkheorshewantstoextenthimselforherselftobethefocusofeveryone.

InChina,weseldomseeacouplemakingclosecontactinpublic.Theyarealwayswalkingsidebysideinacertaindistance.WhileintheWest,thecouplewillopentothepublic;theyarefreetoshowthattheyareacouple.Eventheymeettheacquaintances;theyalwaysgivethemahugorkissasgreeting.Controversially,Chinesewillshakehandswiththeirfriendsbutseldomhugthem.Theydon’tkissthemastheyregarditasanintimateactionbetweenhusbandandwife.

ThereasonwhytheeastandthewestpeoplebehavesodifferentlyisthatpeopleliveintheEastemphasizeonethicprincipal,morality,theyfocusondirectfeelingandimage.Thewesternersfocusonfreedom,democracyandemphasizeonindividual.

Inall,Chinesetraditionalwayofthinkinghasitsowncharacteristics.Itemphasizesthemorality,harmonyofthesociety;itpromotesthecollectivism,responsibilityanddevotionandsoon.Thewesternwayofthinkingalsohasitsowncharacteristics.Itemphasizesonlogicandscience,individualachievement,itpromoteshumanright,equalityandsoon.

ThegreatgeographicdistancebetweentheBritishandtheChinesepeoples,togetherwiththeaccompanyingdifferentlivingconditionsandculturalenvironments,hasmuchaccountedforthediverseconceptualpatternsofthetwonations.Suchconceptualdifferenceshavebeendulyreflectedinandshedgreatinfluenceonthetwolanguages.Translationbetweenthetwolanguagesisconsequentlyfarbeyondlinguisticrendering,butmoreofculturaltransferringandexchangeofconceptualpatterns.

II.LiteratureReview

AccordingtoJiaDejiang,“thinkingpatterns,thoughtcharacteristicsandthinkingstylesarethephilosophicalmechanismoflanguageproduction.Languageactuallyattachescloselytothethoughtthatistheprofoundmechanism.”（JiaDeJiang166）Thinkingpatternsarethedeep-rootedmechanismintheformulationanddevelopmentoflanguage,whichinturnpromotesthespecialtiesincertainconceptualpatterns.Languageisthecarrierofreflectionandabstractionofreality,andmodeofthoughtistheconsciousactivitywhenpeoplereflectandrecognizetheobjectivereality.（汪德华36）Thedifferencesbetweenthinkingpatternsarethemainreasonsthatresultinthedifferencesoflanguageforms,sothestudyofthetransitionbetweendifferentlanguagesshouldbeginwiththestudyofmodesofthoughtincloseconnectionwiththeculturesandthelanguages.

Anotherwell-recognizedChineselinguisticscholarLiuMiqinghasofferedapparentlydifferentbutessentiallysimilarremarksontherelationsbetweenlanguageandthought.Hisstandingisthatmodesofthoughthascontrolledoverlanguages（ibid.35）,andthatlanguagesaretheconcretemanifestationofmodesofthought.

English-Chinesemodesofthoughthavetheirowncharacteristicsinthinkingcore,thinkingpattern,cognitionhabitsandthinkingprinciples.AsatoolforcommunicationthebasicattributeofEnglishandChinesearethesame.Butbecauseoftheinfluenceoftheirowncultures,therearemanydifferencesbetweenthetwo.TheEnglishindividualismandtheChineseentirety,hypotaxisasagainstparataxis,aspassivevsactive,staticvsdynamic,andimpersonalvspersonal,havelongbeenrecognizedasthemostdistinctivefeaturesofthetwoconceptualpatternswhicharejustifiedbytheapparentlydifferentculturesandlivingmethods.AsNidaonceputsit,themostimportantdifferentcharacteristicbetweenChineseandEnglishisthedifferenceofparataxisandhypotaxis.（ZhangSijie&ZhangBoran13）LiuMiqingholdstheopinionthathypotaxisandparataxisarethe“uniquecharacteristic”forEnglishandChinese.（ibid.13）Conceptualpattern,ormodeofthought,isaverycomplicatedabstractconceptionconnectedcloselytophilosophy.Englishpeoplepreferindividualism,whichleadtotheirsubordinatingtherecognizedobjectsintosmallparts.WhileChinesepeoplelikeentirety,theyprefertotaketheworldasawhole.Thinkingpatternshavebeenclearlyreflectedonlanguages,asaresultofwhichEnglishishypotacticandChineseisparatactic.

R.KaplanfoundthatintheirEnglishwritingEnglishlearnersofdifferentnationsshownationaltendenciesinaccuratecorrespondencewiththeirnativetongueandnationalthinkingpatterns.Forinstance,theChineseandtheKoreanlearnersarespiralwhilethenativeEnglishlearnersaremorestraightforward,andthoseofLatin（FrenchandSpanish）culturalbackgroundaretortuousinapproachingthetheme,theRussianstendtobeparallelandsegmentalandthoseofArabianandHebrewdisplayparallelthinkingmodes.Inthisaspect,aChinesescholarZhangDaishaninhisChineseThinkingTendencies（Zhangandel）summarizesthedifferencesbetweentheEnglishandtheChineseinthreeaspects:

unitvs.opposite,integrityandorganicvs.concreteandmechanicalaswellascirculativevs.straightforward,withtheformercharacteristicoftheChinesewhilethelattertypicaloftheEnglish.TheyholdthattheChinesearecharacterizedintheirthinkingpatternsbytheirintrospection,pursueofsimilarity,circulation,stabilizationandvisualrepresentation.AnotherChinesescholarZhangGuangminginhisConceptualThinkinginTranslationbetweenEnglishandChineseconcludesthatsuchdiffer