幼儿绘画活动——风筝涂鸦

Differences Between Chinese and English Thinking Modes I. Introduction Language by nature is the embodiment of human thoughts and thoughts in turn is the mental reflection of the world around us on basis of some analysis, generalization, judgment and reasoning. Animals have thoughts as well, but their awkward sounds for communication are far from being language. Language is therefore closely related to and supported by human thoughts. That is to say, language has no basis for its existence if there is no thought. But thoughts, though accessible by various means, are best represented in language and can thus best fulfill its obligations to the speakers by such means. Language as an arbitrary, phonetic and morphologic semiotic and audio system of communication, has long defined as human and is thus the most convincing distinctive features of human beings from animals. The thinking patterns are one of the most important cues in culture. It is closely related to cultures and embodies the characteristics of cultural psychology. Besides, the modes of thinking also are closely related to language. Different modes of thinking are embodied in language. (i) The relationship among language, culture and thought Language is part of culture. Such as Chinese language is part of Chinese culture. Each country has its own language in a specific culture. However, their relationship is not just between part and whole. Language is the carrier and contained of culture, as many aspects of culture can be expressed in language. As a mirror of culture, language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture. In all, language and culture are closely related; each influences and shapes the other. Language is an instrument used in the communication of thought. It is closely related to thought, too. It represents thought and is influenced by thought. In turn, thought is influenced by language. In addition, thought is determined by cultural value. Their relationships with each other seem more complex. In a word, each of them influenced and shapes others. They are seem as three parts of a whole. (ii) Different ways of thinking between Chinese and Western “The ways of thinking is quite different, actually, people live in certain area have their own way of thinking. It connects to various kinds of factors, such as geography, history, nation and so on. The ways of thinking are the important reason of cultural difference. It includes knowledge, concepts, methods, language and custom and so on.”(邓炎昌483)There factors influence each other, which led to different ways of thinking. Therefore, the ways of thinking have their own characteristics, like geography characteristics, social characteristics and national characteristics, etc. according to geography characteristics, it can be divided into Han nation, English and American nation, etc. Here we will make a comparison on Chinese and Western ways of thinking. “The different ways of thinking in fact are the reflection of cultural difference. People who live in different areas for a long time have different cultural characteristics; therefore, their ways of thinking are different,” (ibid. 484) . Under the influence of different geography environments, life styles, customs and different cultural values; the East and West are different from ways of thinking. Let us examine some phenomena: In the college, a foreign teacher is teaching in a class, he is talkative and expressive. Everyone listens to him interestingly. Suddenly, he stops and asks them a question. However, the students don’t know how to answer, they don’t tell the answers. The teacher got a little angry but he had no idea on their behavior. This scene often happens in Chinese classroom. In the foreigners’ eyes, they consider that keeping silent is not a good way when we contact with others. Even you don’t understand, you should say something instead of keeping silent, as it often is regarde d as rude and impolite. The reason lies in that the East and the West have a different way of thinking. The Eastern people are conservative, introvert and inactive, they put more emphasis on harmony, and they like common and stable life; 1 while the Western people are more open-minded, extrovert and active, they like changeable life and thus they emphasize on competition. In this way, their different ways of thinking lead to their different understanding on each other’s behavior. If Chinese see somebody is ta lkative, they could think he or she wants to extent himself or herself to be the focus of everyone. In China, we seldom see a couple making close contact in public. They are always walking side by side in a certain distance. While in the West, the couple will open to the public; they are free to show that they are a couple. Even they meet the acquaintances; they always give them a hug or kiss as greeting. Controversially, Chinese will shake hands with their friends but seldom hug them. They don’t kiss them as they regard it as an intimate action between husband and wife. The reason why the east and the west people behave so differently is that people live in the East emphasize on ethic principal, morality, they focus on direct feeling and image. The westerners focus on freedom, democracy and emphasize on individual. In all, Chinese traditional way of thinking has its own characteristics. It emphasizes the morality, harmony of the society; it promotes the collectivism, responsibility and devotion and so on. The western way of thinking also has its own characteristics. It emphasizes on logic and science, individual achievement, it promotes human right, equality and so on. The great geographic distance between the British and the Chinese peoples, together with the accompanying different living conditions and cultural environments, has much accounted for the diverse conceptual patterns of the two nations. Such conceptual differences have been duly reflected in and shed great influence on the two languages. Translation between the two languages is consequently far beyond linguistic rendering, but more of cultural transferring and exchange of conceptual patterns. II. Literature Review According to Jia Dejiang, “thinking patterns, thought characteristics and thinking styles are the philosophical mechanism of language production. Language actually attaches closely to the thought that is the profound mechanism.”(Jia DeJiang 166) Thinking patterns are the deep-rooted mechanism in the formulation and development of language, which in turn promotes the specialties in certain conceptual patterns. Language is the carrier of reflection and abstraction of reality, and mode of thought is the conscious activity when people reflect and recognize the objective reality.(汪德华36)The differences between thinking patterns are the main reasons that result in the differences of language forms, so the study of the transition between different languages should begin with the study of modes of thought in close connection with the cultures and the languages. Another well-recognized Chinese linguistic scholar Liu Miqing has offered apparently different but essentially similar remarks on the relations between language and thought. His standing is that modes of thought has controlled over languages (ibid.35) , and that languages are the concrete manifestation of modes of thought. English-Chinese modes of thought have their own characteristics in thinking core, thinking pattern, cognition habits and thinking principles. As a tool for communication the basic attribute of English and Chinese are the same. But because of the influence of their own cultures, there are many differences between the two. The English individualism and the Chinese entirety, hypotaxis as against parataxis, as passive vs active, static vs dynamic, and impersonal vs personal, have long been recognized as the most distinctive features of the two conceptual patterns which are justified by the apparently different cultures and living methods. As Nida once puts it, the most important different characteristic between Chinese and English is the difference of parataxis and hypotaxis.(Zhang Sijie&Zhang Boran 13) Li u Miqing holds the opinion that hypotaxis and parataxis are the “unique characteristic” for English and Chinese. (ibid .13) Conceptual pattern, or mode of thought, is a very complicated abstract conception connected closely to philosophy. English people prefer individualism, which lead to their subordinating the recognized objects into small parts. While Chinese people like entirety, they prefer to take the world as a whole. Thinking patterns have been clearly reflected on languages, as a result of which English is hypotactic and Chinese is paratactic. R. Kaplan found that in their English writing English learners of different nations show national tendencies in accurate correspondence with their native tongue and national thinking patterns. For instance, the Chinese and the Korean learners are spiral while the native English learners are more straightforward, and those of Latin (French and Spanish) cultural background are tortuous in approaching the theme, the Russians tend to be parallel and segmental and those of Arabian and Hebrew display parallel thinking modes. In this aspect, a Chinese scholar Zhang Daishan in his Chinese Thinking Tendencies (Zhang and el) summarizes the differences between the English and the Chinese in three aspects: unit vs. opposite, integrity and organic vs. concrete and mechanical as well as circulative vs. straightforward, with the former characteristic of the Chinese while the latter typical of the English. They hold that the Chinese are characterized in their thinking patterns by their introspection, pursue of similarity, circulation, stabilization and visual representation. Another Chinese scholar Zhang Guangming in his Conceptual Thinking in Translation between English and Chinese concludes that such differences are best displayed in four aspects, e.g. linguistic concept, comprehension vs. reasoning, comprehensive vs. analytic and unity vs. oppositeness. Lian Shuneng in his essay “On the Thinking Patterns of the Chinese and the Westerners” develops the differences into ten aspects. According to Rong Kaiming (1989, p30), thinking modes refers to “a established system of thinking patterns, thinking methods and thinking procedures of the subject in their reflection of the objective world.” Thought is a intrinsic process of human brains in understanding and memorizing the physical as well as non-physical world that we live in, and is a special organic function of the brain. The close interrelation between language and thought further denotes the linguistic differences between different nations as the realization of their thinking modes or conceptual modes. Therefore different languages of different nations can well explain their different thinking modes. As Fu Lei once put it, “…the Easterners are essentially different fro m the Westerners in their thinking modes. The Easterners tend to be general, inductive, implicit and denotative while the Westerners are more analytic, intricate and detailed and descriptive. The two mentalities can hardly be combined. (Fu Lei,521). In this sense, translation between English and Chinese is apparently a linguistic transition but essentially mental transferring between two thinking modes. Too much practice have proved that such transferring of thinking modes are not only necessary and applicable but also an efficient means to pursue quality translation. So far much has been done and said on the interrelationship between language and modes of thought (or conceptual patterns, as preferred in the present thesis). The most outstanding is Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Much criticized though, the hypothesis is more trustworthy in that it offers a new insight into the interrelationship between language and thought. Its strong version, the so-called “language relativity”, holds that language has determining effects on modes of thought, which is formed relatively to languages and different languages will bring on different thinking patterns (Zhao Xia & Xu Ruifeng, 35) is still more often than not a topic of debate in the linguistic community which convincingly proves its marking-stone significance in language study.(王武兴, 2004 ) III Differences between Chinese and English Thinking Modes As discussed above, differences between the Chinese and the English in their thinking patterns are obvious among scholar. The d ifferences among scholars’ attitudes or classification of the thinking patterns between the two nations are not essentially diversified but rather lie in the degree of detailed typology. Actually, the issue can be approached and considered from various viewpoints. Here are but a few instances for illustration. 3.1 Differences between Chinese Thinking Patterns and English Thinking Patterns 3.1.1. Visual Thinking VS Rational Thinking The visualized thinking mode, or empirical synthesizes thinking pattern as Zheng Yanhong (Zheng Yanhong, 2003 )puts it, establishes the essential difference between the Chinese and the English nation who favors the rational analytic thinking modes. The Chinese is perceptual in their comprehensive thought, but the English and other Western nations lay have developed their own rational and analytic thinking modes. In the empirical comprehensive thinking, the human and the nature (including society) are considered as an organic whole, with the “beauty gathers” (or the union of heaven and human) as its basic characteristic. The doctrine of “yin and yang as one” (or “masculine and feminine elements in one body”) in the Chinese philosophy, not denying the opposition though, lays greater emphasis on the aspect of unity. But the separation of God and human (or the isolation of the heavenly from the earthly) in the English and the Westerners philosophy stresses the opposition aspect though not obviously denying the unity. Such difference has been typical of the two different thinking modes. The Chinese stresses the whole and abstract, and the Westerners stress the components and the specific; the Chinese favors synthesis while the westerners analysis. For instance, when talking about time, the Chinese always start from general units and move on to smaller units, but the English is opposite; and this is also true of their expression of locations. Even in their acquaintance introduction, the Chinese would list the titles (whole) first (from the higher to the lower) before referring to the specific names (individual), but the English would announce the specific name first (individual), then list a succession of duties from the lower to the higher. The westerners, esp. the English, have been accustomed to fuzzy thinking since the ancient ages under the philosophical doctrines of the ancient Greek and Roman thinkers. In such philosophical concept, logic and formal testimony is the chief concern and concepts, judgment and reasoning dominate the thinking procedures and thus great emphasis has been lai d on the obscure reflection on the world around us. That’s why various concepts, methods and principles abound in western philosophy and essays. The Chinese, on the other hand, seem more favorite of concrete images and tend to reflect on the world from the view point of specific objects. They would rather describe the objects to generalized principles and inspirations. That to great extent accounts for the image thinking modes of the Chinese. E.g. S1a. But this very formulation is indicative of the understanding attitude. S1b. 但这一说法本身就清楚地表明了其基本态度。 S2a. His weariness and increasing heat determined him to sit down in the first convenient shade. S2b. 他疲惫不堪,天气也越来越炎热,于是他下定决心一碰到舒适的阴凉处就坐下休息。 S3a. Shortness of time has required the omission of some countries. S3b. 由于时间不够,他取消了对某些国家的访问。 In the above specimen of S1a, S2a and S3a, , the subjects are not any person or object but rather some state or concepts although the sentences are more person-oriented. Yet in the Chinese version, the persons concerned are used as the subjects to directly reveal the speaker’s concern. Even when the Chinese means to express some attitude or impression, they may not state it directly but rather use metaphor or indications by means of some specific images. E.g. S4a.He had sacrificed with less visibility in the policy decision. S4b.在决策过程中,他已经不那么抛头露面了。 S5a.我的心里七上八下的。 *S5b.There are seven ups and eight downs in my heart? S5c.My mind is greatly upset. The concept of “visibility” in S4a is replaced by the image expression of “抛头露面” in S4b in which “头”(head) and “面”(face) are used to show his presence or visibility in the occasions. In S5a and S5b, the specific numbers of “七”(seven) and “八”(eight) in the Chinese are replace by “upset” in English because the Chinese phrase “七上八下” just use the two numbers to vividly describe the get chaos in the speaker’s mind. Yet S5b, the direct rendering sound rather confusing to English readers as few of them can understand why there are such things as “seven ups and eight downs” in a person’s mind. Such instances are just abundant in our daily speech, not to mention the numerous classic essays and literary masterpieces and EST papers. 3.1.2 Generalizing Thinking VS Analytical Thinking The differences of philosophy and cultural background between English and Chinese have resulted in the rethinking of the Han nationality as an entirety thinking country and the English people individual characteristics of thinking. The Chinese people are concerned more with their own bodies in expressing emotions, so intuition thinking is the main feature of their mode of thought, for which people study objects as a whole and emphasize entirety. Chinese philosophy is systematical naturalism. (毛荣贵420) In the English thinking pattern, individualism is greatly emphasized. The English people link their own emotion to planetary influence and the natural elements, so they prefer analytical logic thinking. Target objects are subordinated into small parts in order to be scrutinized, which, of course, may lead them to place the components before the whole when they try to know something.(ibid. 420) From the historical viewpoint, we can easily find that the Han nationality has long established such thinking modes even since the ancient ages. The Book of Changes put forward the framework for the theory of entirety which con siders the natural phenomenon and the human affairs as a whole. That’s why the book proposes to predict human fortunes by yin and yang poles consisting of the eight (and later further developed into six-four) gua (divinatory symbols)system. Such a doctrine was later perfected by daoism in its chaotic and pure status, by taiji in its dao and reasoning, and then by metaphysics, Buddhism, and by rationalism of the Song Dynasty. That’s why in the Chinese language, sense has always been the dominator while the expression forms has been much neglected. But the Westerners, esp. the British nation has always stressed analysis and rationality in their thinking. In their minds, individualism is the prime concern and is always dependent, which has resulted in their dualistic philosophy. Following such perceptions, materials and spirits are separated, just like human and nature, content and form. Such thinking modes can date back to Decartes’ conception elementalism and lasts to Russell’s logical elementalism, which has greatly contributed to the typologies in natural sciences in the late 1500s Europe which tends to segment the nature and all objects to the infinite smaller units. In modern linguistics, the IC analysis has cut our language to morpheme. S6a: 尽管她很年轻,但她懂的东西比你多。 S6b: Young as she is, she knows more than you. S6c: Though she is young, she knows more than you know. S7a: 她气的连话都说不出来。 S7b: So angry was she that she couldn’t speak. S7c: She was so angry that she couldn’t speak. S8a: 只有这样才能解决问。 S8b: Only in this way can you solve the problem. S8c: The problem can only be solved this way. The Chinese sentences clearly demonstrate the difficulty in understanding Chinese without necessary generalization. S6c, S7c and S8c are literal translation of the Chinese, as most Chinese learners of English more often than not would do. Such translations reveal that the Chinese learners tend to generalize the English expressions without sufficient attention to the analytical nature of the target language. Similar instance just abound in both English and Chinese literature at various levels ranging from diction, semantic connotation, denotation, syntactic structures to contextual preferences. It’s absolute unnecessary and impossible to list them one by one here. 3.1.3 Subject-oriented Thinking VS Object-targeted Thinking It is also categorized as intent thought and the cognition thought. The Chinese habitually take the person or subject as the object in their intent thought while the Westerners tend to take the nature as the object for their cognitive thought. The intent thought is introverted, the contraction, emphasizes the main body, therefore Chinese linearity delays extremely limitedly, was frequently counter (front has pointed out); The cognition thought is the extroversion, the radiation, the emphasis object, therefore English extremely little counter extends the expansion. Thus linguist Mr. Wang Li spoke Chinese is the rule by people language, English is the government by law language. Chinese expresses the subject take the main body as the center with to state the topic the relations, but frequently does not indicate initiative or passive, the prominent subject the non-subject, often is the subject with states the topic compound advancement, thus multi-short phrases, simple sentences (without clauses); The subject custom person, uses sends out the movement on own initiative or has thing of the life to fill a position the subject, thus the multi-verbs, favor the verb. English often uses cannot send out the movement or the lifeless thing words and expressions on own initiative makes the subject, passive sentence, long verse, compound sentence; A sentence becomes the straight line development take a verb as the center, thus the multi-nouns, favor the noun, multipurpose function words and so on preposition, conjunction. E.g. S9a: 托马斯·杰弗逊对美国的教育事业做出了巨大的贡献。 S9b: American education was a great debt to Thomas Jefferson. S10a: Academically the fact that insects could be sterilized by exposure to X-ray had been known since 1916, when an entomologist by the name of G. A. Runner reported such sterilization of cigarettes beetles. S10b: 1916年,一位名叫G.A.朗纳的昆虫学家说,可以通过X光照射使烟草甲虫不育,从那时起,人们就已经从理论上知道可以这样使昆虫失去生育能力。 S11a. Another idea suddenly struck me. S11b: 我突然想到另一个主意。 S12a. The second world war brought him rapid battle promotion. S12b: 他在二战中屡建战功,晋升很快。 The above English sentences, with the abstract subjects, sound quite natural to English readers, but would sound quite awkward to the Chinese readers if literally transferred into Chinese. The Chinese translation, on the other hand, begins with the personal subject and sounds quite smooth and comprehensible to the Chinese readers. 3.1.4 Tortuous Thinking VS Straight Thinking In the Western philosophy, it has been a lasting convention to pursue alternate contrast in its reasoning, thus establishing a straightforward thinking mode. But the Chinese, on the other hand, have been more accustomed to the harmony and unity of the world, esp. that between the nature and the humans, and are more likely to adopt both sides of a matter, thus establishing a tortuous thinking mode. As reflected in their speech, the English tend to stick to the point at the very beginning of the speech, offering a straight and frank theme of the speech before proceeding on to present the relevant details and accompanying situations. That may well account for the syntactic features of a compact head and a long and heavy ending with the emphasis at the front part of the sentences. And the Chinese sentences, due to the speakers’ thinking modes, will present the relative information i n great detail before hitting upon the theme, are abound in expressions with a long head with a short ending. E.g. S13a: I met with my middle schoolmate at the entrance of the theater at 7:30 yesterday evening, when I haven’t seen for years. S13b: 昨天晚上7点半在剧院门口,我遇到了我多年未见的中学同学。 In consequence of such thinking modes, the Chinese would organize their speech in logic order by telling the causes before describing the consequences, and offering some prepositions before the deductive reasoning, and describing th e facts before offering the speaker’s attitude. And even in the spacious or sequential order, they tend to list from the more general to the more specific. As for the sequence of importance or significance, it’s not difficult to see why they would begin with the most important or significant and then move on to the less important or less significant. The English speakers, with the assistance of conjunctions and prepositions, can be more flexible than the Chinese in this aspect. S14a: He didn’t come because he was ill S14b: 他因为下雨而没来。 S15a. And there are others who say their suspicions were aroused over time, as the 55-year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared on weekends turned out in fine suits, brought up property by property. S15b: 也有人说他们的怀疑与日俱增,因为55岁的威廉姆斯先生总是西装革履地在周末出现,买下一笔又一笔地产。 S15c: 55岁的威廉姆斯先生总是西装革履地在周末出现,买下一笔又一笔地产,因此,也有人说他们越来越怀疑了。(张萍82) And in still another aspect, the Chinese would deal with the ready information before discussing the unknown information, following a trail from the speaker to the further world around him. This is a vivid reflection of their practical living styles. As Zhao Weijun puts it, 50% of the Chinese sentences or speeches follow the order of known to unknown. E.g.. S16a: What on earth do you mean by talking about these at that moment when we were all in high spirits? S16b:当大家兴高采烈时,你却谈论这些问题,到底什么意思? S17a. I think a successful old age is easiest for those who have great impersonal interests involving appropriate activities. S17b: 我认为,如果老年人对于个人以外的事情怀有强烈的兴趣,并参加适当的活动,他们的晚年是最容易过的好的。(Yang Sheying, et el, 2008, 70) In the Englis h version in S16a and S17a, the English speaker focuses on the leading concept (or the speaker’s concern) at the very beginning of the sentences before presenting the ready information. Yet the Chinese version in S16b and S17b, the Chinese speaker begins w ith the ready information (“大家兴高采烈” in S16b and “老年人对个人以外的事情怀有强烈的兴趣,并参加适当的活动” in S17b) before touching those distant information. 3.1.5. Fuzzy Thinking VS Accurate Thinking Fuzzy thinking is more emphatic of the general impression or the general principle of reflection and is not so much concerned with the specific details of the objects or the relative information. That’s more typical of the Chinese than of the Westerners, esp. the English. The Chinese has long been influenced by such a fuzzy philosophy. Even in the remote classic “Lao Zi”, dao (principle) has been assumed as the general origin of the world and heaven. But the book described dao as something fuzzy and shaky without any embodiment and yet with reference to and implicative of everything under the sun. Then in Zhuang Zi’s arguments, dao was further applied to explain the relationship among things in the world, in which unity and harmony among all objects (including human beings) was greatly extended. According to Zhuang Zi, the world around us is incomprehensible in detail but perceivable in general. This is vividly embodied in the Chinese language. For instance, there is no article in Chinese. When we refer to some special items, the reader or audience have to guess which special item is being referred to in light of the context. Another instance is the omission of numerical before nouns, e.g. “冰箱里有鸡蛋和西红柿”------There are eggs and potatoes in the freezer. But how many are there in it? Nowhere to learn. Still another example is the contextual cohesion in Chinese depends heavily on the internal relationship between paragraphs and sentences, and conjunctions or prepositions are often unavailable. E.g. “他吃完饭去了学校”------He finished meal went to school (He went to school after dinner). The English, in contrast, lay great emphasis on the accuracy of description and speech. Such thinking modes are also deep rooted in their philosophical convention. The westerners have always shown more interest in science and technology that demand accuracy and precision and objectiveness. And so have been their languages. Whenever they talk about something, they try to be accurate and syntactically well-constructed and there are more functional words in English than in Chinese essays. In Chinese we have a word “气” (qi)-----物质之气,人生性命之气,能动的实体之气,正气. But how shall we understand these qi in English? Actually they are greatly diversified in meaning, referring to material force, air, vitality, vital energy and integrity. S18a: 此刻自己也跟了进去,一则宝玉不便,二则黛玉嫌疑。罢了,倒是回来的妙。(《红楼梦》第七十二回) S18b: If I go in now after him, he is sure to feel embarrassed and she is sure to start imagine things. It would be better to go back without seeing her. (Chapter 72, A Dream in Red Mansions) It’s not difficult to see that the Chinese version is quite obscure in many cases. “跟了进去”----- follow inside, but follow whom? The author doesn’t tell as it’s not necessary to tell in Chinese and it’s up to the reader to understand from the context. But the English version puts it clearly----“after him, Baoyu”. What does “不便” (inconvenient) mean here? What kind of inconvenience is it? And what kind of “嫌疑”(suspicion) is referred to? The Chinese version is quite ambiguous and even confusing. But the reader can understand it. Yet it should not be literally render ed into English. Instead the above questions are both answered in the English version. “不便” (inconvenient) means Baoyu’s embarrassment to talk love to his love in face of a third person. And “嫌疑”(suspicion) refers to Daiyu’s suspicion of Baoyu’s sincerity in his love-------why should Baoyu get someone around if he really means to express his true love to her? Daiyu may imagine that Baoyu has got the guy around on purpose------find reasons not to express his love for her because he has no love for her at all. So the English version reads “start to imagine things”, as vivid representation of the Chinese version. 3.1.6 hypotaxis VS Parataxis The differences between hypostasis and parataxis have helped to form the two languages their own styles. In the comparisons and theory stated above we have known that English uses many conjunctions, prepositions and other connective means to make links between phrases and words, because of which the language is more logical and better organized. So Mao Ronggui holds the opinion that English is a kind of language that is full of virile qualities, for the character of linear logic, organization and ration, which has led it to be “masculinity”.( Larry A. Samovar,420 ). On the other hand, Chinese has got its own beauty, which doesn’t pay too much attention to logical description of the objective reality. Further more, it is not clinging with the criterion of the language structure. Chinese is a kind of language t hat shows the character of “femininity”, and the charming of it lies in its loose structure. ( 胡文仲420). From the comparisons above we may see that the differences between hypotaxis and parataxis have resulted in the different sentence structures and language expression forms. The forming of these differences, in my opinion must be traced back to the diversity of their thinking patterns, for they are closely connected with the way to recognize the world and to judge what is the most important. S19a.你学习努力,就能通过考试,不努力就通不过考试 * S19b. You will work hard and you can pass the exams. You won’t work hard and you will fail in the exams. S19c. If you work hard, you will pass the exam, otherwise you’ll fail. S20a. 他是个很有经验的商人,他从事外贸好多年了。 *S20b. He is an experienced businessman. He has engaged in foreign trade for many years. S20c.He is an experienced businessman because he has engaged in foreign trade for many years. S21a. 他们之间了解的多一些,相处得就好一些了。 S21b. Now that they know more about each other, they get on better. The above specimens are convincing enough in demonstrating how the Chinese emphasize hypotaxis in their speech while the English are more parataxis-considerate. 3.1.7 Some other classifications As different scholars may approach this issue from different viewpoints, the differences between the Chinese and English thinking modes can be further categorized in some other aspects. Actually there are so many factors to consider in distinguishing the thinking modes of the two nations that it is neither practical nor necessary to discuss them all here. The few briefed below are just a few sands on the seashore. a. Backward Thinking vs. Predictive Thinking It has been found that the Chinese tend to consider matters in predicative order while the English prefers backward thinking.(周方珠95) For instance, the Chinese would usually give reasons before presenting the consequences while the English would rather state the result before giving the causes. E.g. S22a: She was amazed that he should arrive so soon. S22b: 他来得真快,让她惊奇不已。(He had arrived so soon and this surprised her very much) S23a: He realized that she was crying because of what he had said. S23b: 他认识到他的一番话让她哭了。(He realized that because of his words she cried) And such tendencies can be examined in many other aspects such as time sequence, physical directions, psychological distances, etc. b. Introspective Thinking vs. Extroversive Thinking It is generally agreed that the Chinese are introspective in their thinking, which is best illustrated by some widely accepted C hinese sayings such as “静坐常思自己过,闲谈莫论他人非”(Try to reflect on your own faults when spared, but never gossip on others’ mistake while chatting), “修身,齐家,治国,平天下”(upgrade yourself to support the family, help the state and benefit the people). In most cases, modesty has been one of the essential morals of the Chinese, which serves as another instance of the introspective thinking of the Chinese------they should never boast of being the best but should always strive for the better by finding flaws in their work or behavior. The English, in contrast, strive for success with great self-confidence and praises from others are usually accepted immediately and parents are always trying to find progress in their children. “Making a difference is the order of the day” has been common belief for mos t English-speaking nations. Even when presenting some principles, the Chinese prefer to imply or indicate while the English would state them straightforward without any hesitation. c. dialectical Thinking vs. Logical Thinking Another specialty of the Chinese thinking mode lies in the dialectical elements. The Chinese seldom consider things isolate but rather dialectical. The easiest instance is the Chinese phrase “舍得”(“afford to lose” in the common sense) which actually implies that you should first of all offer something to others if you mean to get something back. To give and to take are two opposite actions but in Chinese the contradictory actions are combined in one phrase “舍得”------ to take by giving. The English have strict sense of logic and things are black or white, no middle position or combination of the two. d. collective and selective thinking In correspondence to other aspects of their thinking modes, the Chinese prefer collective thinking while the English selective. That is, the Chinese would focus on the general impression or final result or the dominating tendency without caring much about the details of matters. Yet the English would focus on the details before concluding the final results. Such thinking modes have accounted for the different political, economic, cultural and even scientific and technological development trails in the history of the two nations. For instance, the Chinese are art-oriented in such techniques as cooking, garments, painting and music, and above all, personal politicalprogress while the English have proved greater advantage in technological sciences such as machinery, mathematical analysis and similar techniques demanding great focus on accurate measuring and calculation of details. In spite of the great differences between the two nations in their thinking modes, similarities are obvious and easily available in too many aspects. But this is not the focus here and does not demand or deserve any detailed argumentation here. 3.2 Linguistic Features Resulting from Differences of Thinking Patterns The effect of different thinking modes on linguistic construction is also apparent in the lexical, syntactic, contextual and grammatical features of the two languages. 3.2.1 Lexical Features Morphemes are the essential units of language. So vocabulary usually reveals the classification of the speakers of a language. That is, they have divide the objects around us according to different criteria. For instance, we have “黑色金属” and “有色金属”. But can they be translated into “black metal” and “colored metal” literally? Of course not. The Chinese “黑色金属” refers to “ferrous metals” and “有色金属” to non-ferrous metals. This means that the Chinese distinguish metals from the external colors while the English classify them on light of the existence of iron in the metal. Another instance may better explain the difference. In English we have “white meat” and “red meat” which are not available in C hinese. That means the English have classified animal meat in a way completely different from that of the Chinese. Such examples are just too easy to find in the vocabulary of the two languages. “炒”----stir-fry; “预备党员”----probationer party member; “high table”-----大宴会中高出其他桌子的餐桌;hillbilly----美国南部山区的人, etc, are just a few. All these are hardly directly translatable and need to be explained with some additional explanation as they are not directly available in the target language (TL). English word formation takes various forms such as affixation, compounding and conversion, blending, clipping acronyms, backformation and adoption from proper nouns. But Chinese words (characters) never experience such formation process. Their grammatical functions and meanings are decided by their relations with other words (characters) in their context and are thus more flexible and context-dominated. In English, we have “we, our, us, ours” and “I, my, me, mine” for the first personal, but in Chinese we have only one word(character) “我”(wo3, I or me) and by adding another word “的”(de4, of)we get the phrase “我的” (wo3de, my or mine) to indic ate the possessive relationship or adding “们”(men2, plural form for all nouns, esp. personal pronouns)to get “我们”(wo3men2, we or us) for the plural form of “我” and we can get another phrase “我们的” by adding both words “们” and “的” after “我” to get the plural possessive form of the word “我”. This implies that the Chinese morphemes enjoy more liberal combination with other morphemes to establish new and more complicated phrases. But the English morphemes, when forming new words, or even conducting different grammatical functions, will follow strict rules and even take completely new forms. Such differences in lexical features have also caused great trouble to translators. Actually in too many cases translation is impossible, and the original meaning is only partly conveyed via metaphor or explanation as no other alternative is available for such translation. 3.2.2 Syntactic Features Wang Ying (王寅)the famous professor once said that some linguistics lively compare English structure as “grape structure”, for the trunk of the grape is very short with many fruit attached on it to form very long sentences. Different from that, the Chinese sentences are shorter with phrases in sequential order by themselves just like the bamboo joints. So Chinese is called “bamboo structure”. (胡文仲2) The most commonly used word order for English is the strict SVO. English sentences take verbs as their cores, which are their center controlling all the relationships between the sentence components. Except the predicate verb all the verbs take the form of indefinite form to make difference from the predicate verb, and many prepositions and conjunctions are used to connect the phrases contained. For Chinese it usually makes good use of verbs together in one sentence to present the things one by one according to the time when the things happened. (ibid.57) Structuralism linguistics promotes the theory of constituent incision, which means to separate the sentences to phrase unities.(ibid.31) Moreover they prefer the constituent analysis, which means to connect all of the language components to others when they are analyzed. This kind of method will change the English to the recognized objects from structures. An English sentence on global energy supply reads: S24a: Renewable sources then will help to address the social inequality across the globe that we see in the currently marked and unacceptable difference between rich and poor nations in terms of access to and use of energy supplies. The Chinese statement of similar meaning reads: S24b: 在能源供应的选择与使用方面,我们看到富国与贫国之间存在着今人难以接受的显著差距,再生性能源将有助于消除这种全球性的社会不公。 From the English-Chinese comparison above we may see that besides the basic components ----subject, object and predicate there are also many other component attached closely, Small components: across the globe that we see in the currently marked and unacceptable difference between rich and poor nations in terms of access to and use of energy supplies. The strict SVO sentence structure is commonly used word order in English, while the sentence structure for Chinese is not so strictly required. Usually several SVO structures can be placed one by one to express some things in one sentence only. In my own opinion the SVO phrase is perfectly used to connect the small components together, and the detailed components are where the English people start their thinking. In this condition I would like to assimilate the predicate verb to the trunk of the grape that combines all the grapes together. While for the Chinese the whole intuition is formed at first and then the phrases are placed one by one without using too many connecting forms just like the bamboo joints which grow one by one. 3.2.3 Semantic Features The semantic features of English and Chinese thinking modes can be analyzed in two sub-sections: the intra-sentence relationship and the inter-sentence relationship. The former refers to the relationship among different parts within a sentence and studies the way that different parts are composed to establish meaningful sentences. The latter, in a broader sense, tends to expose the relationship between or among different sentences and how they are related to each other to conve y the author or speaker’s intentions. Yet the latter, inter-sentence relationship is different from contextual relationship in that contextual relationship studies such relationship in light of whole paragraphs or even whole passages while inter-sentence relationship is more sentence-oriented. i. Intra-sentence relationship: Even within a sentence, the Chinese would rather shift from the general information to the more specific and detailed and would usually give the minor information before focusing on the key points. This well embodies their thinking patterns such as tortuous thinking and subject-oriented etc. S25a: 为了保障涉外经济合同当事人的合法权益,促进我国对外经济关系的发展特制定本法。 S25b: This law is formulated with a view to protecting the lawful rights and interests of the parties to Chinese-foreign economic contracts and to promoting the development of China’s foreign economic relations. The Chinese sentence introduces the objectives in great detail before bringing out the key point of the whole sentence, but the English translation, instead, begins with the focus------the law is formulated----before offering the objective and other minor information. When reading the Chinese sentence, we can also find that the speaker is more concerned with the law-maker’s consideration in m aking the law while the English emphasized the fact that the law has been formulated and shall be duly implemented. Similar instances are readily available in English and Chinese writings of various sorts and demand no further demonstration here. ii. Inter-sentence relationship: The relationship among sentences are also different between Chinese and English. As the Chinese are hypotaxis-oriented while the English are parataxis- considerate, Chinese sentences are usually more distant from each other in connotation and demand few conjunctive phrases, thus offering the speaker or writer greater freedom in thought and composition. To sum up, the Chinese inter-sentence relationship are more like a brook flowing freely. E.g. S26a: 又是春天,窗子可以常开了,春天从窗外进来,人在屋里坐不住,就从梦里出去,不过唔知喎的春天太贱了,到处都是阳光,不想射破物理阴森的那样明亮,到处都是给太阳晒得懒洋洋的风,不象搅动物理沉闷的那样有生气,就是鸟语,也似乎琐碎的单薄,需要物理的寂静来做衬托。我们因此明白,春天是该镶嵌在窗子里看的,好比画配了框子。(钱钟《窗》) The above paragraph implies that the author is just following his own free thoughts, as if in the stream of consciousness and the sentences just flow out of his mind and drip off his pen happily. The thoughts are so happy and free that the sentences enjoy the same without any zigzag from any conjunctive phrases. The four governing sentences composed of 3-6 clauses are so naturally combined that they establish a whole by themselves without any external assistance. S27a: 祥子想找个地方坐下,把前前后后细想一想,哪怕想玩智能哭一场呢,也好知道哭的是什么,事情变化的太快了,他的脑子已经赶不上,没有地方给他坐,到处是雪。小茶馆们都上了门,十点多了,就是开着,他也不肯进去,他愿意找个清静的地方,他知道自己眼眶中转着的泪随时可以落下来。(老舍《骆驼祥子》 In contrast with the Chinese in thinking sequence, the English prefer rational analysis in their thinking and judgment and inference based on accurate concepts before reaching a logical conclusion. Such thinking mode is best represented in the syntactic order and the rigorous thoughts in their speech which contributes to the final radioactive structure of the sentences. S28: We don’t understand that pain may be telling us that we are eating too much or the wrong thins, or that we are smoking too much or drinking too much, or there is too much emotional congestion in our lives, or that we are being worn down by having to cope daily with overcrowded streets and highways, the pounding noise of the garbage grinders, or the cosmic distance between the entrance to the airport and the departure gate. Long as the whole sentence may be, the frame is but a simple SVO structure followed by some parallel clauses or short semantic segments connected by some “ors”. The structure is clearly outlaid and the relationship between clauses readily comprehensible. This is actually true of even short sentences in English. S29a: She’s such a sympathetic lady that a sad movie always stirs her sympathy. S29b: 她是个富有同情心的人,往往一场伤感电影就足以让她产生怜悯之情。 When translating the above paragraph about Xiangzi, we have to add some functional, esp. conjunctive phrases so as to realign the original segmented loose clauses into well-structured full sentences dominated by some core semantic units, and the reading thus reads: S27b: Xiangzi wanted to find a place to sit down and mull things over. Even if he only ended up by crying, at least he would know why. Events had moved too fast for his mind to keep up. But there was nowhere to sit, since everywhere was covered with snow, All the little teahouses were boarded up as it was after ten, and had one been open he wouldn’t have gone in anyway, he wanted to fine somewhere quiet, because he knew that his tear-filled eyes would brim over any minute. The above translation indicates that the translator begins with sorting our the logical interrelations among three key clauses inside the original text------ to sit down and mull things over(祥子想找地方坐下), boarded up as it was after ten (茶馆上门和时间) and because he knew that his tear-filled eyes would brim over any minute (找清静的地方和眼泪落下)and proceeds with relocating their relationship logically by integrating them into five statements of SVO patterns, thus making the translation readily comprehensible to English readers while consistent to the Chinese original text in essence. It’s necessary to mention that hypotaxis here refers to the integration among sentences and phrases by means of functional and grammatical components. Parataxis is the connection by means of the connotations of the semantic units rather than by means of external functional components. Cohesion is the focus in hypotaxis whereas coherence is the main concern in parataxis. 3.2.4 Contextual Features Also based on the Chinese hypotaxis-tended thinking mode and their dialectical consideration in expressions, the contextual features in Chinese writing or speech are also apparently different from the English. The Chinese do not pay so much attention to the external connection among sentences but the sentences join themselves by the internal correlations logically and semantically. The English, in contrast, pay great attention to the formal connection among sentences and use various conjunctive phrases to indicate the logic relationship in the context. Therefore, reading Chinese paragraphs, the reader will have to understand the author on basis of the whole context so as to get a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the paragraph or the essay. The readers of English passages will not be so burdened. S30a: 十月五日第ot-5号合同项下的20万吨大米,原定于十二月底前交货。你放在合同中保证提前交货,并且以此作为签订合同的条件,但是,这批大米迄今尚未装运,对此我们深表遗憾。 This is a typical business message in which the author presents the background information for his claim and then offers two evidences for it and finally puts forward the claim. Such sequence is typical of Chinese thinking modes, but if literally rendered, it reads:: *S30b: The 200000 tons of rice under Contract No. OT-t of October 5 is scheduled to be delivered by the end o December. You have guaranteed an early delivery in the Contact and it is on this understanding that we signed the contract. Up to now however, the shipment has not yet been made. We very much regret for that. Such literal translation in conformity with the Chinese sequence of thoughts, is loose in structure and logic and is lacking in theme, making the whole passage appears confusing. But native English speakers would prefer to express the same as follows: S30c: We very much regret that the 200000 tons of rice under Contract No. OT-5 of October 5, scheduled to be delivered by the end of December, is up to this moment not dispatched, in spite of the fact that you have guaranteed an early delivery in the Contract which as actually signed on this understanding. In S30c, the speaker/author begins with the theme of his writing-----to claim on the failure of delivery of the 20000 tons rice,which will sound natural and readily acceptable and comprehensible to native English speakers. The sequence of thoughts, the purpose and the reasoning are all well composed. Another justifiable instance comes from a joke in Chinese that reads: S31a: 其翁见子,趔趔趄趄从猪舍转出。情知醉酒,忙购糖水梨四瓶,强灌之,方解其酒。子酒醒,再看猪,猪已醉死。 If literally rendered, it will surely make no sense to English readers, as the sentences seldom tell the logical relationship between each other. So the English translation reads: S31b: When the sir saw his offspring reeling out of the pigsty, he gathered t hat he’d had a drop too much. He hastened out, bought four bottles of pears in syrup, forced them down the throat of his son and succeeded in having the effects of liquor alleviated. His son sobered up, the old man turned to look at the pigs. They were all dead, victims of alcoholism. A brief comparison will indicate that there are not only syntactic changes in the translation but also great changes in the viewpoints of narration, esp. in those sentences without subject in the Chinese original story. The internal logic relations among semantic segments are not clearly or directly stated in the Chinese but rather indicated by the context and have to be recognized by the reader. Yet in the English, i t’s always necessary to state the relationship clearly or the sentences would sound awkward or meaningless. The reason for these is the difference in the thinking modes of the Chinese and that of the English. 3.2.5 Grammatical Features Due to the English p eople’s emphasis on objective observation and the Chinese nation’s focus on subject perceptions, sentence with an inanimate subject or in passive voice are more popular in English while the Chinese prefer active voice or sentences without subject. E.g. S32a: Yet the Nile has been changed by modern man in ways not yet fully understood. S32b: 然而现代人却使尼罗河发生了变化,不过就连他们自己也不完全了解尼罗河就近发生了什么变化。 S33a: Standing on a sandy beach at the mouth of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, I was puzzled by what seemed a ghost town. S33b: 罗塞塔河是尼罗河入海口出的一个之流,我站在河口的沙滩上看到一个小镇,感到迷惑不解,这仿佛是一个被人遗弃了的小镇。 In some other grammatical aspects, Chinese has no grammatical changes in the morphemes while it is just too common in English to change the forms of words for different grammatical functions. Referring to almost any Chinese writing and comparing it with similar English version, we have little or no difficulty finding abundant instance to this effect. IV. The Impact of Thinking Patterns on Translation In practical translation, green hands have never shown enough errors resulting from insufficient consideration of the different thinking modes between the English and the Chinese. Such translations are usually literally and grammatically flawless, and sometimes read native, yet genuine native speakers of English will feel awkward in reading such translation and yet stay at loss where the problem lies. Such problems can be categorized into five: stubborn rendering, misleading rendering, awkward transferring, wordy diction and inaccurate translation in sequential ranks in light of degree of inaccuracy. 4.1 Stubborn Rendering Resulting from Ignorance of Different Syntactic Preferences The most serious problem resulting from ignorance of differences in thinking modes between the Chinese and the English is the stubborn rendering, even without considering the syntactic preferences of the two nations. Such problems are related to the basic language skills of the translator and are easily solvable by improving demand of the two languages. S34a: 如果要从过去的某个时间向前衡量时,只有下面的结构才是常用的。 *S34b: In measuring forwards from a point of time in the past, only the following construction is normal. S34c: In measuring backward from a point of time in the past, only the following construction is normal. S34b will surely mislead the English readers, as it is stubborn literal word-for-word translation of the Chinese origin. S34c conveys the true meaning of the Chinese. How to translate the Chinese idiom “惩前毖后”? The proper English version reads “to learn f rom the past time to avoid future ones”. But if stubbornly rendered into “to punish the future mistakes to avoid past mistakes”, the phrase will be rather puzzling to English readers. Here the phrase “前” (forward) and “后”(backward) are just opposite in the Chinese and English thinking patterns and should not be literally rendered, as the two nations have different syntactic preferences. 4.2 Misleading Rendering due to Differences in Viewpoints In the rational English thinking patterns, objective items are usually positioned as the subject of the sentence, to be followed by systematic and strictly logical analysis, but without much emphasis on the human perceptions. The Chinese, in contrast, is person-oriented and lays great emphasis on the observer’s perso nal experiencing and perceptions. In too many cases, ignorance of such sharp contrast leads to misunderstanding and inaccurate or even opposite translation between the too nations. S35a. What I saw that day in Madrial was mild compared to what happened in Italy and Brazil when their two favored terms was shamefully defeated in early rounds. *S35b: 那天我在卫德里的所见可算温和了,与在早先的比赛中,意大利人和巴西人喜爱的球队不光彩地踢败时,在意大利和巴西引起的轰动相比。 S35c: 那天我在卫德里看球时,意大利人和巴西人的表现可算温和了,早些时候他们喜欢的球队惨败时,他们可没这么温和。 S36a. American education was a great debt to Thomas Jefferson. *S36b: 美国教育对于托马斯。杰弗逊来说是一个巨大的债务。 S36c: 托马斯。杰弗逊对美国教育做出了巨大贡献。 S35b and S36b are both instances of misleading rendering due to differences in viewpoints. But S35c and S36c are much better because the translator has taken into consideration the differences in the viewpoints in the thinking patterns of the two nations and has changed the viewpoints in accordance with that of the TL nation. 4.3 Awkward Transferring for Ignorance of Rhetoric Preferences The English and the Chinese peoples have developed their own special rhetoric preferences in the long history of their generations. What appears natural and quire rhetoric to one nation may sound awkward or confusing to the other. So such rhetoric preferences shall also be considered in the translation between the two languages. The most common instance is the understanding of west wind and east wind. In England, west wind is mild and pleasant and stands for something good, and east wind is not so much appreciated. But in China, west wind is tough and causes damages to people and is symbolic of wicked power, while east wind blowing in from the Pacific Ocean is moderate and humid and has done so much favor to the nation that it has always been symbolic of positive power. So, if literally translated, readers of the other nation may have great difficulty perceiving the author or speaker. Unfortunately, similar instances abound between the two nations and are available almost everywhere. E.g. “入木三分”( three inches into the wood)-----penetrating (analysis); “胸有成竹”(with a bamboo in one’s stomach)------quite confident; “work as hard as a horse”-------“埋头苦干”(work very hard), “Milky Way”-------“银河系” S37a: How does this happen? *S37b: 这是怎么发生的呢? S37c: 这是怎么回事呢? S38a: The idea came to him in his bath. *S38b: 那个主意在他洗澡中来到他这里。 S38c:他在洗澡时想起那主意 S37 is of course consistent with S38a the English sentence and comprehensible to the Chinese but sound awkward and can hardly comply with the Chinese rhetoric conventions. S38c is much better. The same is true of S38 group. All these phrases and sentences, if literally rendered, will cause jokes and misunderstanding in the TL, and shall be absolutely avoided. What we should do is just consider the rhetoric preferences of the two nations and try to find equivalents in the TL. 4.4 Wordy Diction regardless of the Syntactic Structural Differences As previously discussed, differences in thinking modes have caused some syntactic variations in English and Chinese literature. So, it’s quite crucial for transla tors between these two languages to take into consideration of such syntactic factors and try to decode the SL text with thorough understanding and to encode it in the TL accordingly. The following examples S39a: 听到他的话不禁打了个寒战。 *S39b: I heard his words and quivered. S39c: His words sent a quiver through my body. S40a: 有一种方言,这间屋子里的每位语言学家都懂得。 *S40b: There is a dialect, every linguist in this room knows it. S40c: A dialect is known by every linguist in this room. S41a: That girl is a very subtle study psychologically. *S41b: 那个女孩是一个心理方面非常微妙的研究。 S41c: 那个女孩是研究微妙心理的好对象。 S42a: He is dishonest. S42b: 他不诚实。 S42c: 他没有说实话。 S39b, S40b, S41b and S42b are all instances of literal rendering regardless of the syntactic structural differences between English and Chinese. They are literally correct and corresponding to the SL sentences but the TL translations are mostly awkward and sometimes misleading. All this has been caused by the syntactic preferences of the two nations. So it’s quite important for tran slators to avoid such mistakes and try to abide by the syntactic conventions of the TL nations. 4.5 Inaccurate Translation Caused by Improper Diction As known to all, diction is not only important in writing and speaking, but also essential for quality translation. Thorough understanding or comprehensive decoding is not enough for successful translation. Proper diction in the TL can greatly improve the quality of our translation, and can sometimes even help avoid mistakes in our translation. E.g. S43a: 当前,车辆横冲直闯,严重地威胁着城市生活,路上行人无不提心吊胆。 *S43b: Nowadays, cars dash around like mad on the road, it imperils the city life, and pedestrians are in constant fear. *S43c: Nowadays, the clashing and rushing car seriously menaces the citizens’ life. No one can cross the road without fear. S43d: The present onslaught of vehicle poses a serious threat to urban life and pedestrians peace of mind. S44a: It had been a fine, golden autumn, a lovely farewell to those who would lose their youth, and some of them their lives before the leaves turned again in a peacetime fall. *S44b: 这个秋天叶子还未完全凋零。秀丽、平和的金秋,是对那些可能耗去青春,甚至献出生命的人们的美好祝福。 *S44c: 那是一个美好的金秋。在告别了那些可能丢失他们的青春甚至生命的人之后,树叶才慢慢地落下。 S44d: 那是个天气晴朗,金黄可爱的秋天,美好的秋色为那些青年们送别。待到战后和平时期,黄叶纷飞的秋天再度来临时,当日的青年已经失去了青春,有的丧失了生命。 It’s not difficult to find that the above translations are all acceptable to the TL readers but those with “*” are much inferior in diction and do not offer native English narrations. Such requirement is somewhat beyond the translation strategies but is also quite helpful to improving the quality of our translation. Translators may achieve this goal by improving their own writing skills. V. Some Practical Approaches in Translation between the Two Languages 5.1 Sufficient Cultural Background Information Sufficient cultural background information is not only helpful but also necessary in successful translation between two languages as distant from each other as Chinese and English. But it’s easier said than done, as culture is such an all-round concept and concerns so may aspects of our lives and languages. No one can be fully informed in this aspect, and what we can do is try to learn more about it and put it into our translation. The phrases “我们看到富国与贫国之间存在着今人难以接受的显著差距” and “再生性能源将有助于消除这种全球性的社会不公” are unique sentences in Chi nese, but can be directly placed together, which is unacceptable in English. In the Chinese version there are three phrases, which are placed directly together without clear conjunctions. But though there is not any conjunction to link them it can also be clearly understood. So the readers could not judge the relationship from the language expression just like that in English. In order to understand the meanings implied in the phrases the readers must judge from a higher degree ----intuition. In a word, based on visualized mode of thought, Chinese tends to express abstract concept using paratactic forms that contains many implied meanings between the lines. Only in simple sentences can the author express abundant meanings with artistic conceptions. What is assuring now is that, with the expansion of globalization, inter-cultural communication is also developing rapidly and peoples of different cultural backgrounds are more and more ready to learn and adopt the cultural elements of other nations. This has and will greatly facilitate translation in concern of cultural differences. But Rome is not built in a day, and translators shall spare no effort in promoting such cross-cultural integration and mutual development. 5.2 Shifting Translation Shifting translation has originated in psychological study of language behavior, meaning the alternation between two languages concerned. But here it is adopted to refer to the changes of speech parts between the two languages concerned in translation. It is somewhat similar to borrowing, the term commonly accepted in translation strategies, but is also essentially different from it. Borrowing translation has been widely applied in those with ready equivalents between the SL and the TL. In such cases, the translations in the TL are not only readily accepted but also vividly perceived by the TL readers. First shifting is lexical shifting-----not only change the parts of speech of words, but also specify or expand the sense of some words: e.g. S45a: To it we owe the existence of the motor cars; To it we owe the possibility of flying. S45b: 因为有了这种油。我们产能用上汽车,就是因为有了这种油。我们才有可能飞行。 S46a: Their galabias and tables strained by the sweat and dirt of a long day’s work, they sat in front of a wayside ship, enjoying those of the best things in life along the Nile---tea conversation and the water-pipes. S46b: 他们干了一天活,袍子和头巾上又是汗又是土,这时候他们坐在路边一家店门口,享受尼罗河沿岸人们生活里的三件最大的乐事---喝茶,聊天,抽水烟。 In S45a and S46b, the word “it” is specified as “oil” in light of the context while in S46a and 46b, the noun phr ases “ tea, conversation and water-pipes” are shifted into verb phrases. There are also some other shifts in some other cases: S47a: The sight and sound of the jet plane filled me with special longing. S47b: 看见一架喷气式飞机,听见隆隆分飞机声,我特别神往。 S48a: The author is grateful to his colleague for their valuable suggestions. S48b: 作者感谢同事们提出的宝贵意见。 S49a: We opened the window to let the fresh air in. S49b: 我们打开窗户放进新鲜空气。 S50a: They kept on fighting in spite of all difficulties and setbacks. S50b: 她们不顾一切困难和挫折,坚持战斗。 In these sentences there is shifting between different parts of speech. But in still other cases, the shifts take place not on the lexical level but on syntactic or grammatical levels: e.g. S51a:Yet the Nile has been changed by modern men in ways not yet fully understood. S51b:然而现代人却使尼罗河发生了变化,不过就连他们自己也不完全了解这些变化。(from passive voice to active voice) The shifting of semantic order is also possible in translation: e.g. S52a:I met an old friend in the street yesterday evening when I haven’t seen for years S52b: 昨晚我在大街上遇到了我多年未见得老朋友。(information sequence within a sentence) S53a: James Briedley of Staffordshaire started his self-made career in 17833 by working at mill wheels at the age of seventeen having being born poor in a village. S53b: 斯塔福郡的詹姆斯布林德雷,出生在一个贫苦的农村家庭,1733年,他17岁,就着手改良磨坊离得车轮,从而开始了他自我奋斗的生涯。(change in time sequence and logic order) 5.3 Graphic Translation One particular kind of stylized illustration---- graphic translation----evolved from the poster tradition of Switzerland and Germany in early part of the twentieth century. Graphic translation combines some attributes of both icon and symbol. It depicts subject in a literal way, like an icon, but also in a self-conscious abstract way that takes on symbolic quality. [1] The process of graphic translation produces drawings of instant recognition and startling visual interest. Graphic translation is as much art as it is design and focuses on the creation of an image with point, line, plane, shade, and shadow. Over 300 examples portray a multitude of individual approaches to the drawing system and give the designer, educator, and student insight into understanding and learning this method of graphic drawing.[2] The two quotations above show that graphic translation has originated as a technological term. But here, graphic translation means “taking the SL text into the TL text it is, without any modification or rhetoric amendment”. Sometimes the English and the Chinese, though distant and different from each other, have developed similar thoughts and similar expressions for similar issues. In such cases, shifting translation will be most advisable. Such translation can not only best convey the core value of the SL text, but also retain the special rhetoric and stylistic features and will be readily perceived by the readers of the TL. E.g. 1 S54a. 挂羊头,卖狗肉。 S54b: He cries wine and sells vinegar. S55a. 老牛不喝水,不能强按头 S55b: You may take a horse to the water, but can’t make it drink. S56a. 三个臭皮匠,赛过诸葛亮 S56b: Three cobblers together have more with than Zhuge Liang. S57a: Wisdom prepares for the worst, but folly leaves the worst for the day it comes. S57b: 聪明人防患于未然,而愚蠢者临渴掘井。 S58a. 望梅止渴。 S59b: Console oneself with false hopes. *S59c: Quench one’s thirst by thinking of plums. S60a: Four scores and seven years ago, our father brought foot on this continent S60b: 87年前,我们的先辈们在这个大陆上创立了一个新的国家,它孕育于自然中,奉行所有人生来平等的原则。 Lexically, in S57a, wisdom and folly refer to two kinds of people though literally the two terms are two kinds of intellectual status. The refore the Chinese translation personalized the two terms into “聪明人(wise men) and愚蠢者(foolish people) respectively. Yet if literally translated, the Chinese readers would feel quite some discomfort in reading such translation. S58a is another instance of th e tactic. But it’s easy to find that S59c may not be so well received because it only coveys the literal meaning of the SL and may lead to puzzle to the TL readers. Therefore we can see that shifting translation is really simple and efficient in some cases and shall be adopted as the best approach to such translation. 5.4 Backward translation According to La Hejj, (La Hejj 648-665), backward translation (different from back translation) refers to a psychological process in translation in which previous translation of a SL text is amended and adjusted in light of latter parts of the text being translated. That means, translator have to make some improvement, amendment or realignment of his translation when the translated part(s) do(es) not agree with the later part(s) of the translation in the TL text. This is of great importance in light of the differences between the Chinese and the English in their thinking modes. E.g. S60a: In that case, you must realize that while you can still render them material service, such as making them an allowance or knitting them jumpers, you must not expect that they will enjoy your company. S60b: 在那种情况下,您必须意识到,当您能仍然给他们提供物质服务时,例如给他们零花钱或织毛衣,您不能期望他们将享受您的陪伴。 S60c:在这种情况下, 你可要明白, 虽然你还可以在物质方面给他们以帮助, 比如给他们零用钱, 或者为他们织毛衣, 但你绝不要指望他们会喜欢跟你做伴。 It’s not difficult to find that backward translation has made S60c a much better translation of S60a. Actually in longer contexts, backward translation is even more important and beneficial. VI. Conclusion From the comparison of the English-Chinese languages and their modes of thought, we may see that they are of one thing but two aspects. Resulted from different cultural background, the differences of their modes of thought have greatly determined their own languages. On the other hand, the languages also reflect and influenced their thinking patterns. So in order to learn English well and better master the two languages the thinking patterns should be studied deeply. In my own opinion, the study of languages from the degree of thinking pattern will greatly benefit the learners. 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