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