Transcript Document

With what do you think and communicate?
A humor: [in a physics class]
This test doesn’t understand me.
Prof.:
Student:
Prof.:
Student:
What is matter?
Never mind.
Then what is mind?
It doesn’t matter.
 By
words the mind winged.
— ↑Power of language
Magic power of words
p. 84: The same old water
Meaning?

The sum of human wisdom is not
contained in any one language, and no
single language is capable of expressing
all forms and degrees of human
comprehension.
— ↑Limits of language

一吝啬财主聘请一教书先生立一合约为据：

“无鸡鸭亦可无鱼肉亦可青菜一碟足矣”

第一餐时，先生大叫：
 怎么没荤菜？合约写了 “无鸡，鸭亦可；无鱼，
肉亦可；青菜，一碟足矣。”

财主:
 “无鸡鸭亦可,无鱼肉亦可,青菜一碟,足矣”
Punctuation contributes to clarity.
No punctuation → conflicts (sometimes)
 The
limits of my language are the
limits of my world.
 More
languages help broaden our
horizon.
Chapter Four
Verbal Communication

Objectives

Understanding language
Languages vary from culture to culture

Language and culture (p. 87-)

Discourse styles (p. 105-)

Discourse patterns and thought patterns (p. 115-)

Discussion
Composition
Cultural problem with translation (narration)
Objectives

After studying this chapter, you are to know:

1.
About Language

2.
The relationship between language and culture

3.
Word meaning: denotation and connotation

4.
Differences between Chinese and Western thought
patterns

5.
The impact of thinking patterns on speaking and
writing: main characteristics of Chinese and Western
discourses
back
Understanding language
back
Definition: p. 85
Functions: Activity 1 (p. 85)
Language permits us to remember the past, deal with the
present, and anticipate and plan for the future. — (Samovar: 1998)
符号系统
1. 表达相互反应的中介；
2. 认知事物的工具；
3. 文化信息的载体和容器。
— （许国璋: 1991）
文字延续文明. 记录使后代不必一切从头开始。完全是靠口头延续
文化的民族基本上都衰败了。
Languages vary from culture to culture

Sound (phonology) & Word (symbols) —
“I’m stuffed.”
“Can I go somewhere?”









back
房子
a house
une maison
Grammatical structure —
In English, verb tenses
in Chinese and Vietnamese, no verb
Syntax —
In English, subject – verb -- object,
in Korean, subject -- object -- verb.
So in English，“The cat ate the mouse,” in Korean, “Cat mouse ate” .
Language：
phonology, morphology, semantics, syntactics，and pragmatics
I’m stuffed
Andrew Eggman, an American, had dinner with a
family in Australia. When the hostess asked his wife to
have more, she said “I’m stuffed”. Immediately the host
and hostess became quiet and wordless. Why?
in American English:
“I’m full.”
in Australian English:
1) “I’m pregnant.” 2) “I have too much sex.”
Somewhere
In China
a foreign teacher:
“Can I go somewhere?”
a student:
“In China, you can go everywhere.”
return
Language and culture
 Relationship
Metaphors－living organism; swimming (p. 87-)
 Language
affects culture
Story of water (p. 89) — (in Chinese)
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
 Culture
affects language
Culture and Word Meaning
back
神秘的魔圈

从前有个老太太头一次听外国话，觉得外国话毫无道
理，她说：“这明明是水，可英国人偏偏儿要叫它
‘窝头’（water），法国人偏偏儿要叫它‘滴漏’
（de l’eau），只有我们中国人好好儿的管它叫
‘水’！咱们不但是管它叫‘水’诶，这东西明明是
‘水’嘿！”
 Interpretations
back
Possible interpretations
1. We, ethnocentric; judge … with our own cultural and language
rules.
2. Language not only gives us freedom to express ourselves, but
also tends to confine our thought in a certain area. (语言魔圈)

“The difference in languages is not a difference in sounds
and signs, but a difference in worldviews.” — Von Humboldt
(German linguist, 1767-1835 )

So languages once created shape or control the thinking of the
people who speak them.
→
The theory: Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
Language--a reflection of culture
Culture -- a reflection of language
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (SWH)
(p. 89-) 简述(汉语)下面
两页
—Formulated by Edward Sapir (1884-1939)
and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf.
—The relationship between thought and language.
Its working definition:
Different languages determine or shape the ways in
which their users view the world.
Linguistic determinism /Linguistic relativity
语言的思维模具作用
back
Linguistic determinism & Linguistic relativity

Linguistic determinism
What one thinks is fully determined by their language.
Language voice ideas, and shapes them. One cannot think
outside the confines of their language. Different languages →
different worldviews

Linguistic relativity
The differences in language reflect the different views of different
people; Differences among languages cause differences in the
thoughts of their speakers. 使用明显不同语法的人，有不同的观察行为，对行
为有不同的评价.

Do you agree with this hypothesis?
back
Agree?

Not fully accepted.

But general agreement: there are differences in the
way languages represent experience, and these
differences influence how people perceive the world,
and therefore how they behave.

(Paradox: Intercultural communication would be
impossible if SWH was proved to be true.)
back
语言的思维模具作用
语言对思维的制约， 如成语反映一个民族的惰性、成见和思
维定势。
如“画蛇添足”。
如“眼见为实”。 人的视野有局限，太远、光线太强的事物
看不见，自己的内脏看不见，两眉之间也是看不见的。
如“癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉―不自量力” 俄国军事家苏沃罗夫：
不想当元帅的士兵不是好士兵。 何伟棠，《语言随笔精品》，暨南大学出版社， 1996年1月。P18－20
汉语语言“形式上的规整性，并不只是一个修辞问题，并不仅仅是个思想终极产品
的外观形象问题。因为人们是用语言来思维的，这种对语言形式的规整要求，必然深刻
地影响思想本身的面貌。可以说，要懂得中国文化和中国哲学的特性，我们不能不注意
到汉语文字上的这种齐整对仗的要求所产生的思维模具作用.”
Denotation & connotation
back
Meanings are conventionalized.
The God Must Be crazy; Kangaroo (p. 92-)
Denotation and connation
终身大事 (p. 93); 接客
Denotation（指示意义 the public, objective, and literal meanings)
Connotation（联想意义the personal, emotionally charged, private meanings.)
Words in one language rarely have complete equivalents
in the other.
Misunderstanding
The Return of Hong Kong (p. 94-)
Study the word meanings in Chinese and English.
Misunderstanding

Near the end of WWII, after Italy and Germany had surrendered, the
Allies sent Japan an ultimatum to surrender. Japan’s premier
announced his government would mokusatsu the ultimatum.

Mokusatsu could mean both to consider and to take notice of.

The premier, speaking in Japanese, meant that the government would
consider it. But, the English translators in Japan’s overseas
broadcasting agency used the to take notice of meaning of mokusatsu.
Consequently, the world heard that Japan had rejected the ultimatum.
This mistranslation led the US to assume Japan was unwilling to
surrender and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki followed.
Quite possibly if the other meaning had been selected in the translation
process, the atomic bomb would not have been used.

Of course, the atom bomb might still have been used. But, this example
does server to illustrate the importance of identifying the right meaning
of words. It also shows the difficulty of achieving equivalence in
translation. return
The categories of words
1.
a.
b.
2.
(Chinese and English)
next
Terms with the same or similar denotations and
connotations in both languages (p. 96)
water, snow, rain, etc.
sly as a fox 像狐狸一样狡猾 busy as a bee 像蜜蜂一样勤劳
burn one’s boats 破釜沉舟
Terms with the different denotations but the same or
similar connotations
the apple of one’s eye －掌上明珠
In English: 上帝宠爱的人被认为是上帝眼中的瞳孔，因为瞳孔能帮助人
们辨别真相，是眼睛里最重要的部分。
In Chinese: 珍珠是珍贵物品，故用珍珠形容…眼里的重要性。
3. Terms with the same or similar denotations but
different connotations (p.96-)
a. Different histories, customs, etc. :
ambition — passive in Chinese but active in English
west wind — “east wind”
教师休息室 — Teacher’s Restroom？
亚洲四小龙— four little dragons？
lounge
four little tigers
In English: a lucky dog; Every dog has his day.
Love me, love my dog. He worked like a dog.
In Chinese: 狗腿子； 狼心狗肺；狐朋狗友；狗仗人势；痛打落水狗
next
b. Different values:
individualism － In English? In Chinese?
c. Different political connotations (because of different
social systems or values, etc.)
human rights（人权－言论、集会、等自由权利， 生存、健康等权利）
In the United States: the Bill of Rights (e.g. Freedom
of speech, right to a fair trial, etc.).
Other countries: adequate housing, universal health
care, etc.
4.Terms in one language that don’t have any
counterparts in the other language (p. 96)
Please translate: 人情
人情 = human feelings? Emotions?
1.
[reason]∶人的感情;人之常情
2.
[human relationship]∶情面;人与人之间的社会关系
3.
[favor]∶恩惠,情谊 做个人情
4.
[gifts]∶赠品、礼品
5.
[worldly wisdom] 为人处世的方法、道理， 人情世
故。
6.
[genuine human interest]人情味儿 指重感情,符合
人之常情
back
送人情。
5.
Terms with the same or similar denotations
but connotations that are only partly
equivalent (p. 96-) More examples :
intellectual, teacher, etc.
6. Things or concepts that are represented by
one or perhaps two terms in one language,
but by many more terms in the other
language. (p. 68)
Finer distinctions of words
back
Finer distinctions of words
back
A language may have a proportionately high number of
terms in particular domains. important index to the
focus of a culture.
Examples:

An exceptionally high percentage of technical terms in most
Western European languages .

Camel for Arabs;

snow for Eskimos;

kinship terms for Chinese that are much more than those in English
and French:
beau-père = father-in-law, but 岳父、公公
beau-frère = brother-in-law, but 内兄、内弟、大伯子、小叔子；姐
夫、妹夫；连襟、丈夫的姐夫、丈夫的妹夫
belle-soeur = sister-in-law, but 小姑子、小姨子；嫂子、弟媳；妯娌、
丈夫的嫂子、丈夫的弟媳
Differences in discourse style

Definition

Impressive & informative Activity 10 (P. 106)
(P. 105)
Use of adjectives
Use of Quotations
Difference
―impression-oriented and information-oriented

Deductive and inductive
Who tends to use a deductive style of communication?
And the inductive one?

(direct & indirect)
Summary of the difference
back
Use of adjectives
A letter of recommendation
To whom it may concern,
At the request of Mr. Li, I am writing on his behalf to support his application
for …
As his supervisor for undergraduate studies, I have …a vivid and myriadminded image…
Firstly, … active man with multifaceted individuality and specialties:
fortitudinous… flexible… imaginative … dashing and energetic … masterly
and careful in painting…
Secondly, … his acumen and perspicuity*. …
…
Your favorite consideration would be highly appreciated.
Yours sincerely
…
Acumen:
quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.
Perspicuity:
(clearness and lucidity)
back
Quotations
back

A Chinese student prepares to give a speech in English appropriate for an
international audience for an English speech contest. In the speech she paraphrases
Martin Luther King, Jr. by using the phrase “I have a dream.” She is confident that the
audience will understand the reference.

What do you think will be the audience (esp. American) response?
They will know that she is quoting Martin, but they won’t necessarily be impressed,
as it was decades ago, widely known, too simple, used too many times.
Better invent a new and attractive metaphor to carry her meaning.
Why did the speech bring a different response from what the speaker expected?
China:
quoting famous people from the past.
America: fun to hear old clichés again An out-of-date metaphor reveals you to be out of
date, worse if you quote Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson.
Something unexpected is preferred. Examples:
An advertising executive may get his audience’s attention by quoting the ancient
Greek philosopher Plato; while a university professor might cleverly surprise an
academic audience by using the famous Nike advertisement : “Just do it.”
Direct vs indirect

A spoken discourse Activity 11 (p. 108)

An application letter by a Chinese student

An example （Japanese）

Showing love

How do I tell an applicant that …

Slogans
back
An application letter by a Chinese student









Dear Sir:
First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is …
Although my English is not too good yet, I have read a lot about your
University, ... I know you are one of …
I have dreamed of being an international businessman for a long time,
although my parents forced me to study Chinese because it was my strongest
subject …
As you probably know, China’s economy has been developing fast in recent
years. It is a …
Therefore, I’ve decided to apply for the MBA program offered by your
School of Business. I would be very grateful if you could kindly send me
information on the program itself and on any available financial aid, as well as
the application materials.
Wish you a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
Yours sincerely,
Li Ming
back
Clear concise courteous correct
Chinese Department
P University
Beijing, 100000
PRC
Jan. 14th, 2000
Dear Sir,
I’m interested in the MBA program of your university. I
would be grateful if you could send the application for the
program to the address above.
Best wishes.
Sincerely yours,
Li Ming
back
Another example
二次大战后，Koreo（日本一物理学教授）接待一西方科学代表团。他带他们
走了整整一天。回来时他问他们，“你们累了吧？”回答：“对，我们累了。”
教授吃了一惊，按日本礼节，该说“不太累”。他又问，“你们一定肚子饿了
吧？”回答又很干脆，“对，我们饿了”。教授又吃了一惊。按日本礼节，顶多
说，“有点累”。
在一篇专论里，Koreo总结出，日本人与西方人有八点不同：
1.
在交谈时，日本人说话尽量迁就对方的观点，不正面顶撞；西方人有话只说，毫
不含糊。
2.
日本人说话拐弯抹角，西方人单刀直入。
3.
日本人的言辞要用好些敬称，西方人觉得罗唆；西方人也说客气话，可十分简短，
日本人觉得唐突
4.
日本人先说明理由，再提出主张；西方人先提出主张，再说明理由。
5.
日本人在进行讨论前先寒暄一番，西方人无此习惯。
Showing love
English:
I love you. I must
Chinese:
那就一天给我挑两
marry you. I’m dying to
趟水……挑到我儿子娶
marry you.
媳妇，挑到我闺女出门
子，给我挑一辈子。－
（电影《归心似箭》）
back
How do I tell an applicant that they didn't get the job?

Suppose you were an employer, when your selected candidate
has accepted your offer in writing, it's up to you to decide
whether to contact the others by telephone or by letter.

How would an English native speaker do this?

Here's a sample script for a telephone contact.

In your reply, it's not necessary to explain why the person
was not hired unless you feel compelled to do so. In any case,
you should remind the candidate that your company may be
interested in talking with them should an appropriate opening
become available. (direct or indirect?)
back

"Hello Jane, this is Tom from ABC
company.

I'm calling to bring you up to date on the
selection process for the position of marketing
manager you applied for. We were very
fortunate to have an opportunity to talk with you
and the other candidates and thank you for your
interviewing with us. Jane, I have selected
another candidate for this position based on the
best match between this person's qualifications
and the requirements of the job. I wish you all
the success in your current job search."

Here's a sample letter.
Direct or
indirect?

Dear Jane:

Thank you for your interest in ABC company and
interviewing with us. We were fortunate to have
interviewed a number of candidates for the position of
marketing manager. I have selected another candidate
for this position based on the best match between the job
requirements and the person's qualifications. We will
keep your resume on file should another opening come
up that matches your qualifications. Best wishes in the
future and for your current job search.

Sincerely,

Tom Smith
Personnel manager

ABC company
return
Direct?
Slogans






在铁路上：
“横卧铁轨，死掉也要负上刑责！”
在乡村－关于计划生育：
“少生孩子多种树，少养孩子多养猪！”
“宁可家破，不可国亡。”
“宁添十座坟，不添一个人”
“谁不实行计划生育，就叫他家破人亡！”
“喝药给瓶，上吊给绳！”
在某大城市最繁华的商业街：
就英语而言，语气强硬程度为(由弱
至强)：名词－动名词－动词；被动句
－祈使句。英语告示语常用被动句且多
选用名词或动名词，e.g.: No Parking.
汉语告示语一般用祈使句，通常是一种
居高临下的口吻。差异根本原因：权力
重心的群体取向和个体取向 －－ 汉语
告示制作者自认为代表群体或群体之代
表－上级
中英文双语的“文明旅游公约”共8条，却使用了近20个硬梆梆的“不”字，如：
“不贪小便宜”、“不袒胸露背”、“不强行和外宾合影”。
在火车上：
“保持车内清洁，果皮抛出窗外”
在某公共场所暖气片旁：
“严禁坐卧”
在北京地铁各站：
“严禁跳下站台！”
“十万伏高压电，一触即死，违者罚款！”
back

When communication is conducted between people in a
close relationship or of unequal status
The deductive pattern－the direct or linear approach－is used
in both cultures, but such communications in the Chinese culture
tend to be more direct than those in the Western cultures.
return
Language, culture, thinking patterns
Synthesis vs analysis
Concrete vs abstract
实践理性与思辨理性
Summary of thinking patterns
back
Synthesis vs analysis (separation)
 Taija
Diagram
 Medicine
 Words
& Sentences
 Cooking
 Painting
 Religion
back
How do you interpret
the diagram?

太极图

黑白二色，
代表阴阳两方，天地两部；
黑白两方的界限
就是划分天地阴阳界的人部(所谓天、地、人三才)。
白中黑点
表示阳中有阴，
黑方白点
表示阴中有阳。
重综合、整体
From general to specific V from specific to general
眼光、出发点、视角、着重点不同： 宏观与微观
孟子:
“天下之本在于国，国之本在于家，家之本在于身” (《离
篓·下》)
老子:
一生二，二生三，三生万物。
中国人的眼光是从大到小，所谓综合。 而西方的眼光则是则从小到大，
所谓原子论。所以划分类别、精细分析。苏格拉底前的哲学家均在寻找
世界的始基，最小的分子。中国古代哲人则探寻“道”，最高原则。
“ 智者求同, 愚者求异, 智者有余，而愚者不足。”——《黄帝内经》指“真正
的智者必须善于从复杂多变的条件中,去发现那个相对不变的东西,即认识
事物之间所共通的相似规律”。
back
以神统形
“养病”
概念：因生病而需要修养
“打扫卫生”
如果说西方语法是以形摄神，那么汉语
语法是以神统形
概念：打扫而使之卫生
汉语－意合－重意义组合轻形式结构，
“一个房间住三个人”与“三个人住一个房间” 求语义的自相关性
英语－形合－求结构形式的完整和逻辑
“八个人一桌”与“一桌八个人”
“太阳晒着花了”与“花晒着太阳了”
的合理
抗战时期上海沦陷区，商家大甩卖：“本日大卖出”。老百姓倒着念，心里很高兴。
中国人从不误会：
只能人住房间、人共桌子、太阳晒花，怎可能相反？
More examples:
“救火”、 “晒太阳”、
“哎，你想死我了”、
“一匹马骑两个人”
“中国队大胜美国队”、 “中国队大败美国队”
－ 汉语通过语义和词序总体把握，不靠语法制约
英国东方学家塞斯说
“要是我们不把欧洲语法的那些名称术语连同那些名称术语所表达的概念一起抛弃的
话，我们就永远不会了解汉语语法。”
back
词序
古老笑话1
有个人到别人家做客，想赖着不走。碰巧下雨，他便在纸上写了一
句话：“下雨天留客。”可主人不想留他，便接上一句： “天留人不
留。”
客人看了，不慌不忙，拿笔在上面加上四个圈：
“下雨天。留客天。留人不。留。”
古老笑话2
一阔佬问饭馆堂倌：“有什么可吃的？”堂倌点头哈腰：“您老，
吃什么有什么！”
一穷酸客问堂倌：“有什么可吃的？”堂倌冷冰冰：“有什么吃什
么！”
故乡月亮
月亮故乡好，故乡好月亮。
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“人治”与“法治”语言1
汉语主语常可省去或“隐”去，英语必须主谓完整，且大量使用标明逻辑关系的连词
已经晚了，（我们）回去吧。
“山！快马加鞭未下鞍。惊回首，
离天三尺三。”－毛泽东“十六字令三首”中
Let’s go home, as it is late.
“Mountain! I whip my swift horse, glued to
my saddle. I turned my head startled. The sky
is three foot three above me!”
第一句
下雨了
两点了
真热！
It is raining.
It is two o’clock.
It’s so hot!
英语谓语一般不能无动词，汉语谓语可是动词、名词甚至形容词
今天星期天。
今天比较冷。
It is Sunday today.
It is pretty cold today.
“如果说西方语言是一种严格受形态规定制约的‘法’治语言，那么汉语则是没有
形态制约的‘人’治语言。”
“人治”与“法治”语言2
英语强调所有格人称代词（或冠词）的使用，以示确定。汉语物主代词使用频率低很多
他拿起帽子就走出屋去了。
He picked up his hat and left the
room.
如用物主代词：
他拿起他的帽子走出屋去
别把手放在口袋里。
Don’t put your hands in
your pockets.
如用物主代词：
别把你的手放在你的口袋里
Summary
汉语意合与英语形合之别反映了汉文化的整体综合与英文化的细节分析的思维方
式之别。表现为中国人认识和处理事物时习惯于概括综合，整体把握，不强求形式分
析和逻辑推理；西方人往往注重个体成分的独立作用及相互之间关系，强调形式分析
和规则的制约。
Cooking
【菜
名】豆瓣鲜鱼
Arlene Bunsen’s Tasty Meat Loaf
【主料】鲜鱼一尾（约750克）。
【配料】豆瓣酱15克.
【调料】食油、葱、姜、蒜、酱油、醋、糖、料酒、味精、团粉
、汤各适量。。
【做法】鱼去鳞、鳍、脏洗净，鱼身两边斜切一字刀纹，葱、姜
、蒜均切碎末。
烧热油，下鱼炸到七成熟捞出，留底油下豆瓣酱炒酥，再下
葱、姜、蒜炒之，加入汤、酱油、糖、料酒，开起后把鱼放入锅
内煮透，下味精，并勾芡，出勺时加入醋和油，盛盘撒上留下的
葱即可。
附注：①此菜鱼肉鲜嫩，口味辣中带甜酸。
②要求吃出酸、甜、辣、咸各味。活鱼可不炸，用油煎也
可。
Combine in a large mixing bowl:
1 Ib. ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup tomato catsup
1 tablespoon mustard
1 cup broken crackers
Place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350°
for 1 hour.
美国连锁店EARLS光明正大地在菜单上放上了中
一位在德国留过学的人说，一天他帮房东老太太
国菜：湖南宫保鸡(HOT)。我向侍者询问时，得到
做饭，老太太请他帮煮土豆，好做土豆泥。煮了
了兴致勃勃的指点：非常棒的菜，你可以点从1只
一会儿后，他见锅里的土豆有大有小，不知熟得
到7只辣椒，微辣到特辣。等宫保鸡端到面前时，
如何，于是拿了个叉子，叉叉试试。德国老太见
我看到的是半碗酱油汤泡着的干面，鸡肉、花生
和青椒。但是翻翻细数了一下，毕竟是具有西餐
精神的中餐，我点的4只辣椒一只都不少，而且都
是红的
此，问：“你在干什么?” 留学生说想试试熟了没
熟。老太大听后不高兴：“什么熟不熟，能试得
出来吗，书上已讲了，煮土豆需要20分钟，我已
看表了，还没到时间。”说着，一看表，时间到
了，“叭”的关了煤气。德国厨房
return
德国厨房好似实验室
世界上很少有像德国人那样爱用数字衡量一切的民族

蔬菜
黄瓜、西红柿、茄子、菜花… …几乎都是一样的长度、粗细、重量，连超市售货员也
说，其中的误差决不会超过5％。有的豆角包装上还标出弯曲度，东90、75到60度不等以区
别其产地、成熟度等

厨房用具
各种规格的锅碗瓢盆成打成套；刀分切肉、切火腿、削水果、切面包、切奶酪等十多
种；从称配料的秤、量杯、定时器到带刻度和温度表的锅等各种器具一应俱全
“看德国主妇做饭的时候，一边看着菜谱，一边用秤称料，用量杯倒水，还要看看温
度计，那副专心致志的劲头简直就像是做化学实验。

面包大小都一样
小面包：重量50克，热量140千卡
大面包：重量5可达1公斤，有近20种

德国食品行业有3000多种标准

德国有30000个统一标准，是标准最多的国家
Painting
What are the differences?
What do they reflect?
1、人的突出与人融于自然
2、写实与神韵（客观精神与主观感悟）。
3、单一与多样（画、诗、印章）（分析与综合）
4、技法上，中国画为散点透视，西画为焦点透视
中国诗画与西诗西画

… …中国画的味道：有浓有淡，处处留白。

… …中国的诗画，与西诗西画最大的分别，是西画的
透视，必定有一个固定的视角，以制造出一种真实的效
果。

西诗则因为西语必得有主语时态等，所以翻译中国诗的
时候，最大的问题经常是：谁在说话？“我”是谁？中
国诗说自己的时候不需要“我我”的，画面与旁白有时
时的分离。

… … “国破山河在，城春草木深” (多少感慨多少深情)
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Concrete vs abstract
Intuitional vs rational
Difference
in language
Comparison
Difference in triangle design
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Comparison
1.
“If you only sit and eat and do nothing,
even a fortune as big as a mountain will
vanish.”
2.
“There is no difference but difference
between different degrees of differences
and no difference.” (highly academic
sentence)
3. “Am I a tapeworm in his belly?”
3.
“How could I perceive his inner mental
process?” “How could I know what is
going on his mind?”
4. “Offer coal during snow”
4.
Provide timely help
5.
Rumsfied
1. “Sit eat mountain empty”
2. “What is the difference between
running away fifty steps and running
away a hundred steps (in battle)?”
What differences do you find about the two languages and thinking patterns?
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Differences

The Chinese language in its form, syntax and vocabulary, reveals an
extreme simplicity of thinking, concreteness of imagery and economy
of syntactical relationships. (－ intuitional and synthetic)

The English language reveals a tendency of being analytical,
statistical, rational, accurate and abstract
“中国人所用的语言，是特别为‘描绘’而造的，不是为分类而造的，那是一种可以抒发特别
感情，为诗人或怀古家所设计的语言，而不是为了下定义或判断而设计的语言。” －－法国语
言学家Marcel Granet
汉语表达注重整体感悟，讲究意合意会，而不求眉须必现的分析，不讲滴水不漏的逻辑，
是一种意境性语言，而英语则呈现别样风景： 它讲逻辑，重分析，求形合，追求条分缕析，漠
视所谓的整体感悟。
因此，汉语因模糊而生成的美感在英译过程中多有磨蚀（由“意义不确定”到“意义确
定”， 从诗的意境到逻辑世界）；英翻汉过程反过来，模糊美感“抬头”。
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Triangle design

The ways of the ancient Chinese and
Greeks to prove the theorem of triangle
are different. One is found in the Zhou bi
suan jing.

The other is Euclid’s Proposition 47.
G

Compare them and see which one can be
F
understood intuitively and which one has
b
to be understood by intricate reasoning.

B
a
C
c
Difference in thought patterns is reflected.
Then what difference?
H
A
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D
F
L E
K
Research papers
1.

A dissertation on ice-cream, after a series of careful observations, announces
that “the primary function of sugar [in the manufacture of ice-cream]is to
sweeten it.”
2. In “A Study of the Bacterial Content of Cotton Undershirts” “the number of
bacteria tends to increase with the length of time garments are worn.”
3. A University of Chicago student, after a “comparative study” of the impressive
power of various types of lettering, found that the blacker the lines, the more
striking they are to the eye.
4. Prof. Cason of Rochester University read a paper at the Ninth Annual
International Conference of Psychologists on the Origin and Nature of
Common Annoyances,” in which he had noted 21,000 kinds of annoyances,
which after deducting duplications and “spurious (false) annoyances,” were
later reduced to 507, and in which he succeeded in grading these “annoyances,”
like 26 makes for “hair in food,” 2 for “the sight of a bald head” and 24 for
“cockroaches.”
－ A certain amount of “stupid drudgery” is of course part of true scientific
work
What features can we draw from the examples?
Analytical, statistical, rational, accurate, detailed
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P.85 My country and my people
怪异科学实验－《重庆商报》2007年11月2日第26版

起死回生
美国加利福尼亚大学教授科尼斯上世纪30年代研究如何让人起死回生。他
把尸体放在跷跷板上晃来晃去，“以促进血液循环”，并给尸体注射抗凝学
血剂和肾上腺素。结论：无

好色火鸡
宾西法尼亚州立大学两位学者上世纪60年代研究火鸡的性行为。科学家把
一只母火鸡模型“肢解”，研究母火鸡到底哪里吸引公火鸡。实验中，模型
火鸡的“尾巴、脚和翅膀逐渐被拿走”，但直到只剩下头时，公火鸡依然性
趣不减”。结论：“火鸡对伙伴并不挑剔”。

评论
《泰晤士报》10月31日援引文章作者的话说：“除了怀疑、惊讶和恶心，
这些实验更让我发笑。但这些实验不是疯子的作品，而是出自诚实、勤奋但
不愿意接受普通观念的科学家。有时候，这种疯狂带来的是璀璨的新发现；
有时候，它可能以疯狂结尾。”
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Summary of thinking patterns

受“天人合一”思想影响，中国人在思维模式以及言语观方面都
倾向于求整体，求笼统，求综合和知识上的重直觉
悟性思维－借助形象，运用直觉、灵感、想象等思维形式，把感性材料组
织起来，使之构成有条理的知识。具有直觉性、形象性、主观性、整体性和模糊
性等特点

Relatively speaking, Westerners tend to be more
analytical, statistical, rational, and abstract.
理性思维－借助逻辑，运用概念、判断、推理等思维形式，揭示事物的本
质和内在联系。具有逻辑性、抽象性、客观性、分析性和确定性等特点

Important: The above statements are very rough
generalizations. We can never carry them to the extreme.
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Please improve the following essay by a Chinese student

After we finish this section, please summarize some features of
English writing.

Many people would like to feed a pet when they were a child, it is
because they are lovely, cute and they would not cause any unfortune
to people. People can speak out their unhappiness and secret to these
little creature and make sure those secrets would not be heard by
themselves from others mouths. For this reason, animal become a
good friend of human being. If you like to start feeding a pet, there are
a number of questions you should first consider, for example: Choose
a suitable animal as a pet for yourself, make sure you can prepare a
reasonable place for them and can spend time on them etc.

This essay is poorly expressed and grammatically incorrect.

The corrected version
“Doing Culture”P289
The corrected version

Many people like to keep pets when they are children. That is
because pets are lovely and cute and do no harm to people. People
can express their sadness and reveal their secrets to these
creatures and know that they won't hear these secrets coming out
of someone else's mouth. For this reason, animals become good
friends of humans. If you want to keep a pet, there-are several
issues you should consider. First, choose a suitable pet. Then,
make sure you are able to provide a suitable place for the pet to
live. Finally, think about whether or not you have enough time to
spend with your pet.

What do you think of this corrected version?

comment
Comment

Still it isn’t a good essay by Western standards.

A Westerner who reads this corrected version will not be satisfied,
and will undoubtedly consider the essay boring and meaningless.
Why?

It is not persuasive, because it does not include enough
information to convince the reader that the writer knows what
she is talking about. It does not sound authentic or sincere. It
carries no authority, even though the writer is bold enough to
give the reader advice.

An American teacher gives the following advice for improving
the writing