English vs Chinese: Ten Pairs of Features

英汉对比研究

1. Synthetic vs. Analytic （综合语与分析语）

A synthetic language is characterized by frequent and systematic use of inflected forms( 曲折变化形式，词尾变化的词语 ) to express grammatical relationships.

An analytic language is marked by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations, rather than of inflected forms. Modern English has become analytic but still frequently uses some hereditary inflections from Old English. It is therefore a synthetic-analytic language. Chinese is a typical analytic language. Inflection, word order and the use of function words are employed as the three grammatical devices in building English sentences. 1.1 Inflectional vs Non-inflectional In English, nouns, pronouns, and verbs are inflected. Such grammatical meanings as parts of speech, gender, number, case, person, tense, aspect, voice, mood, etc. can

be expressed by the use of inflected forms with or without the help of function words and word order, which is generallynot true of Chinese. In Chinese the above grammatical meanings are mostly implied in contexts or between the lines,Though often with the help of word order. E.g. He moved astonishingly fast. He moved with astonishing rapidity. His movements are astonishingly rapid. His movements astonished us by their rapidity. 他行动之快令人惊讶。 他行动之迅速令人惊讶。 他行动之迅速令我们惊讶不已。 1.2 Word Order: Flexible vs. Inflexible The less inflective a language, the more rigid the word order. Word order in English is not so rigid as in Chinese. More waysOf inversion are often seen in English. E.g.

What in the world do you mean? 你的意思究竟是什么？ What a beautiful voice you have! 你有多美的嗓音啊！ Not a finger did I lay on him? 我从来没有指责过他。 1.3 The Use of Function Words: English and Chinese Employ Different Types of Function Words English function words include the articles,prepositions, auxiliary verbs, coordinators andsubordinators, While Chinese function wordscomprise particles, connectives, and prepositions.

Each has its own features in the use of these words. E.g.

She was with a child. 她身边带着一个孩子。 She was with child. 她怀有身孕。 They are students of our school. 他们是本校的一部分学生。 They are the students of our school. 他们是本校的全体学生。 Chinese is rich in particles( 助词 ), which can be classified into aspect particles( 动态助词，如：着、了、过 ), structural particles （结构助词，如：的、地、得） , and emotional particles （语气助词，如：嘛、吗、吧、呢） . The frequent use of Chineseparticles is a hard nut for foreign learners of Chinese.

这回我可亲眼看见啦！（感叹语气） This time I’ve actually seen it for myself. 打吧，打不下去；跑吧，跑不了，敌人只好投降。 Unable to fight on or escape, the enemy was forced to surrender. 你呀，老这样下去可不行啊！（加重语气） Look! You can’t go on like this. 这也不能怪他，头一回嘛。 （答辩语气） He is not to blame. After all, it was the first time that he had done it.

1.4 Intonation vs. Tone( 语调与声调 ) English is an intonation language, while Chinese is a tone language. In a language in which inflection has been greatly reduced, word-order must be-come relatively more rigid. One consequenceof this tendency to a fixed word-order is anincrease in the role of intonation in the lan-guage. The varying of tone to indicate mea-nings is characteristic of both English and Chinese. Musical variety of tone to indicateshades of meaning becomes natural in both

1.1.4

English and Chinese. Chinese finds its naturalway of development through a fundamental system of tones and tone-groups. A change of tone in Chinese will turn “to buy” into “to sell”. In English, intonation has a very important and far-reaching role. A rising or falling tone in the parts of a sentence determines much of its meaning. Moreover, there is a very close bond between stress and tone or pitch, a strong stress, for instance, often corresponding with a rising tone. Such a sentence as “You are going to buy that house” may be statement of fact(declarative) or a question (interrogative) according to whether the tone is falling or

rising at its end. One of the important features in modern Chinese is the predominance of disyllables and quadrisyl-lables （双音节化和四音节化） . As a result, redu-plication of characters, repetition of words, four-character expressions, and parallelism of syllables, words, phrases, and sentence structures have become popular grammatical and rhetorical devices in Chinese. Look at the following example. It was a day as fresh as grass growing up andclouds going over and butterflies coming down canmake it. It was a day compounded from silences ofbee and flower and ocean and land, which were notsilences at all, but motions, stirs, flutters, risings,

fallings, each in its own time and matchless rhythem. (E. Bradbury: The Vacation) 绿草萋萋，白云冉冉，彩蝶翩翩，那日子如此清新可爱。蜜蜂无言，春花不语，海波声歇，大地静谧，那日子如此万籁俱寂。然而并非安静，因为万物各以其适宜的时刻，特有的节奏，或动，或摇，或振，或起，或伏。

2. Rigid vs. Supple ( 刚性与柔性 ) English sentence structures are composed of noun phrases, verb phrases, etc. It has becomean invariable custom to have a subject before a verb, and therefore a sentence that does not con-tain a subject and a verb is felt to be incomplete. The subject must agree with the predicate verb in person and number, etc. This rigid S-V concord forms the kernel of a sentence, with the predicateverb controlling other main members. English sen-tences, however long and complicated, can be re-duced to five basic patterns: SV, SVP, SVO, SVoO,and SVOC.

English sentences are characterized by their variants （变式） , expansion （扩展） , combina-tion （组合） , omission （省略） , or inversion ( 倒装 ).(1) Variants: interrogative, negative, and passive; “There be + subject”.(2) Expansion: adding modifiers, including words, phrases, and clauses; using phrases or clauses instead of words as members of the basic patterns.(3) Combination: combining simple sentences into compound or compound-complex sentences.(4) Omission: omitting certain members of the sentence.(5) Inversion: inverting the word-order of the sentence.

Etc. This rigid S-V concord （主谓协调一致） forms the kernel of an English sentence. English sentences, however long and complicated, can be reduced to five basic patterns: SV, SVP, SVO, SVoO, and SVOC. Chinese, however, is relatively free from the government of the rigid S-V concord. The subject-predicate structure is usually varied, flexible, andtherefore complicated and supple. E.g. 文章翻译完了。（受事主语） The essay has been translated. 全市到处在兴建新工厂。 （地点主语） New factories are being built all over the city. 现在正下着毛毛细雨。 （时间主语）

It is drizzling at the moment.累得我站不起来了。（无主句）I am so exhausted that I can’t stand up.The predicate of a Chinese sentence isso varied and complicated:天高云淡。（形容词作谓语）The sky is high and the clouds are pale.他出国留学去了。 （连动式谓语）He has gone abroad for further studies.我介绍他加入协会。 （兼语式谓语）I recommended him for membership ofof the association.这项合同经理要签名。 ( 主谓词组作谓语 )

This contract should be signed by the manager. 这姑娘长得漂亮，鹅蛋形脸，两眼又深又黑，披着又长又密的头发。 She is a pretty girl, with an oval face, deep dark eyes, and long heavy clingingtresses. 许多房子，盖着琉璃瓦，曲曲折折，无数的朱红栏杆。 Many houses are roofed with glazedtiles and set within numerous winding red balus-trades. In addition, there are quite a few “illogical” expressions in Chinese. E.g. 晒太阳 to bask in the sun 晒衣服 to sun one’s clothes

救火 to fight a fire 救国 to save the nation 补充缺额 to fill a vacancy补充人力 to replenish manpower恢复疲劳 to get refreshed恢复健康 to recover one’s health打扫卫生 to do some cleaning打扫房间 to clean a room吃大碗 to eat with a big bowl吃苹果 to eat an apple

More ambuguity can be found in Chinese due to the lack of connectives, inflectionsand other grammatical markers. E.g准备了两年的食物 （准备了两年的 +食物 / 准备了 + 两年的食物）神秘的少女的心 （神秘的 + 少女的心 / 神秘的少女的 + 心）The suppleness of Chinese also manifests itself in the “run-on” sentence （流水句） , which is composedof “the full sentence” and “the minor sentence” （小句） .A full sentence has a subject-predicate structure,while a minor sentence has only a word(s) or phrase(s) . As 吕叔湘（ 1979 ： 27 ） points out,”用小句而不用句子做基本单位，较能适应汉语的情况。”

因为汉语口语里特多流水句，一个小句接一个小句，很多地方可断可连。” 接着，他继续设想，鸡又生鸡，用鸡卖钱，钱买母牛，母牛繁殖，卖牛得钱，用钱放债，这么一连串的发财计划，当然也不能算是生产的计划。（马南：《燕山夜话》） He went on indulging in wishful thinking:chickens would breed more chickens; sellingthem would bring him money; with this money he would buy cows; the cows would breed, too, and selling oxen would make more money for him; with the money he could become a money

lender. Such a succession of steps for getting rich, of course,had nothing to do with production. The rigidity of English generally requiresa complete sentence structure, SV concord,and formal cohesion ( 形式衔接 ), while the suppleness of Chinese enjoys flexibility of sentence structure and pays more attentionto semantic coherence ( 语义连贯 ). Jespersen(1954:334) points out, “ Analysis means sup-pleness, and synthesis means rigidity; in ana-lytic languages you have the power of kaleidos-

copically arranging and rearranging the elements that in synthetic forms are in rigid connexion.” 王力 (1984:53) 指出 : “就句子的结构而论 ,西洋语言是法治的 , 中国语言是人治的。所谓‘法治’，即句子的形式严格受到语法的制约， 如句子必须有主语和谓语动词，及物动词必须有宾语，这些不管用得着用不着，总要呆板地求句子形式的一律。所谓‘人治’， 即句子比较不受形式的约束，可以因表意的需要而加以变通，词语的分合伸缩比较灵活，用得着就用，用不着就不用，只要双方意思明白，就可以了。英语有综合语

的特征，受形式的约束，因而语法是硬的，没有弹性；汉语是分析语，不受形态的约束，因而语法是软的，富于弹性。 ” 三 . Hypotactic vs. paratactic ( 形合与意合 ) Hypotaxis ( 形合 )is the dependent or subordinate construction or relationship of clauses with connectives. English sen-tence building is characterized by hypota-xis. Parataxis ( 意合 ) is the arranging of lauses one after another without connec-tives showing the relation between them

Chinese sentence building is featured by para-taxis. To clarify the relations between words, phrases or clauses, English more often re-sorts to overt cohesion(显性衔接 ), frequently using various cohesive ties (衔接纽带 )such as coordinators ( 并列连词 )(e.g. and, or, but, yet, so, however, as well as, either… or…, neither… nor…),subordinators ( 从属连词 )(e.g. when, while, as, since, until, so… that…, unless, lest), relative pronouns and adverbs( e.g. who, whom, whose, that, which, when,

where, why, how), prepositions and others. Let’s look at some examples. (1) All was cleared up some time later when news came from a distant place that an earthquake was felt the very day the littlecopper ball fell. 过了一些时候 , 从远方传来消息 : 小铜球坠落那天 , 人们感受到了地震 . 这一切终于得到了澄清。 (2) We will not attack unless we are attacked. 人不犯我 , 我不犯人。 (3) Let everybody share the food if there is any . 有饭大家吃。

(4) Until all is over, ambition never dies. 不到黄河心不死。 （紧缩句） (5) 不进则退。（四字格） He who does not advance falls backward. Move forward, or you will fall behind. (6) 聪明一世，糊涂一时。（对偶） Smart as a rule, but this time a fool. 四、 Complex vs Simplex (繁复与简短 ) Subordination ( 从属结构 ), the placing of certain elements in modifying roles, is a funda-mental feature of English. With plenty of su-bornate clauses and phrases, English has

comparatively longer and more complicated sentences than Chinese, which, on the other hand, is marked by its coordination ( 并列结构 ),loose or minor sentences (松散句 ), contrac-ted sentences (紧缩句 ), elliptical sentences, run-on sentences (流水句 ), and composite sentences ( 并列句 ). English sentence buildingis featured by an “architecture style” (楼房建筑式 ) with extensive use of longer or subordinate structures, while Chinese is marked by a “chronicle style” (流水记事式 ) with frequent

use of shorter or composite structures. In short, English sentences are often complex, while Chinese setences are often simplex.

(1)In the doorway lay at least twelve um- brellas of all sizes and colors. 门口放着 一堆 雨伞 ,少说也有十二把 , 五颜六色 , 大小不一。

(2) There are many wonderful stories to tell about the places I visited and the people I met. 我访问了一些地方 ,也遇到了一些人。

要谈起来 ,奇妙的事儿可多着哩。

( 3) Can you answer a question which I want to ask and which is puzzling me? 我有一个问题弄不懂，想请教 你，你能回答吗？ (4) Gentlemen, I am ashamed to see men who embarked on so great and glorious an undertaking as that of robbing the public, so foolishly and weakly dissenting among themselves. (Fielding: Jonathan Wild) 诸位先生， 有些人正在干着一番光荣而 伟大的事 业，即掠夺大众。他们居然如此愚蠢， 如此虚弱，甚至在自己人中间发生内讧。

看到他们做这种事，我真觉得丢脸。 (5) Closely linked with this commitment is the new last paragraph of the preamble whichreaffirms that principle of the Charter of the United Nations in accordance with which Mem-ber States must refrain from the use of force orthe threat of force against the territorial inte-grity or political independence of any State and which declares that the establishment and the maintenance of international peace and securityare to be promoted with the least diversion forarmaments of the world’s human and economic

resources. 与这一承诺密切相连的是序言中新增加的最后一段 , 它重申联合国宪章的一条原则 ,即会员国不得使用武力或武力威胁来侵犯任何国家的领土完整或政治独立 , 并且声明要尽量减少把世界人力和经济资源用于军备 , 以促进建立和维护国际和平与国际安全。 From the examples above, it can be seenthat an invloved sentence in English is nor-mally turned into two or more than two sen-tences, or into a full sentence, followed by some minor sentences in Chinese. This translation technique is called division ( 分译法 ).

五、 Impersonal vs. Personal ( 物称与人称 ) Formal written English often goes with an impersonal style, in which the writer does not refer directly to himself or his readers, and he avoids using the pronouns I, we, and you, thusthe writer and the reader are out of the picture,hiding themselves behind impersonal language.Some of the common features of impersonal language are passives, setences beginning with the introductory word it and abstract nounsas subjects(Leech, 1974:25). Chinese, by con-trast, prefers to use the personal style, which

is featured by more active sentences, or more active sentences in form but passive in mea-ning, personal subjects, or subjectless and subject-omitted sentences when the subject isself-evident, unknown or implied in the context. As a result of the above differences, the conversion of English impersonal subjectsinto Chinese personal subjects is often em-ployed in translation. (1) An idea suddenly struck me. 我突然想到了一个主意。 (2) A strange peace came over her when she

was alone. 她独处时感到一种莫名奇妙 的宁静。 (3) Alarm began to take entire possession of her. 他开始变得惊恐万状。 (4) From the moment we stepped into the People’s Republic of China, care and kindness surrounded us on every side. 一踏上中华人民共和国国土 , 我们就随 时随地受到关怀与照顾。 (5) The happiness –– the superior advan- tages of the young women round about her, gave Rebecca inexpressible pangs of envy. 丽贝卡看见周围的小姐那么福气，

享受种种优越的权利，就有说不出的 眼红和痛心。 (6) Specialties in colleges and universities should be adjusted and teaching methods improved. 应该调整高等院校的专业设置 , 改进教学方法。 六、 Passive vs. Active （被动与主动） Passives of various forms are frequent-ly used in English mainly due to the following reasons: 1) When the agent of action is unknown

or self-evident, or it is unnecessary or impos-sible to mention the agent. E.g. It is said thatthe murderer will be hanged. 2) Syntactic factors: for cohesion, balance,end focus, weight, etc. E.g. I was astoundedthat he should be prepared to give me a job. 3) Rhetorical factors: for variation, etc. e.g. The basic English sentence pattern of sub-Ject-verb-object can be varied in many ways. 4) Stylistic factors: more passives in infor-mative writing, notably in the objective, imper-sonal style of scientific articles, news items and

government communications. E.g. The resis-tance can be determined provided that the voltage and current are known. The passive voice allows us to express ideas without attributing them to a specificindividual source. That is why it is so widely used in government communications in whichdecisions and opinions are presumed to be those of the bureau or agency as a wholeand not considered to be those of individual officials. Anyone who does not wish to take personal responsibility for his statements finds

a way out by saying or writing “It is directed that” instead of“I direct that”. The weak passive is used in newspaper articles for the same reason: to achieve the impersonal note, and thus, in many instances, to disclaim direct responsibility for statements that are based on hearsay. By contrast, active forms, including those in passive sense are often used in Chinese. There are some reason for the limited use of the Chinese passive forms marked by 被 ,让、给、叫、挨、受、遭、蒙， etc.

The Chinese passive form marked by 被 is traditionally felt to be an “inflicting voice”（不幸语态） , mainly expressing things un-pleasant or undesirable to the subjective person, as 被捕、被杀、被剥削、被压迫，though there is a modern tendency to denotethings desirable or neutral, as “被选为工会主席”、“被选为先进工作者”。 The Chinese passive form generally has an agent after被 , which restricts the use of the passive form when the agent is unknownor difficult to mention.

Instead, Chinese generally prefers to use active forms; besides, there are many other ways to denote passive sense which is usual-ly expressed in the English passive form. E.g. 1) Notional passives （意义被动式） : ac-tive in form but passive in sense. Pattern: receptor subject （受事主语） + verb + agent (1) 一匹马骑两个人。（不说“一匹马被两个人骑”。） Two persons rode one horse. (2) 这锅饭能吃十个人。（不说“这锅饭能被十个人吃”。） A pot of rice like this can feed ten people.

(3) 昨晚我盖了两条被子。（不说“昨晚我被两条被子盖着”。） Last night I was covered up with two quilts. (4) 爸爸，你想死我们了！ Daddy, we’ve been missing you very much. (5) 困难克服了，工作完成了，问题也解决了。 The difficulties have been overcome, the work has been finished, and the problem solved. 2) Subjectless or subject-omitted sentenceswhen the subject is self-evident, unknown, or implied in the context. (6) 要制造飞机 ,就必须考虑空气阻力问题。

Air resistance must be given careful consideration when the aircraft is to be manufactured. (7) 为什么总把这些麻烦事推给我呢 ? Why should all the unpleasant jobs be pushed onto me? (8) 注意看看信的地址是否写对了。 Care should be taken to see if the letter is properly addressed. 3) Using generic persons (通称或泛称 ) as subjects: “ 人 , 有人 , 人们 , 大家 , 人家 ,别人 ,某人”, etc. eg.

(9) Voices were heard calling for help. 有人听见呼救的声音。 (10) It is well known that the compass was invented in China more than 2000 years ago.众所周知 , 中国人在两千多年前就发明了指南针。 4) Using “executive form” ( 处置式 ), 即”把” / 将 / 使字式 （ 11 ）凡是做功，都是把能从一种形式转换成另一种形式。 Whenever work is being done, energy is being converted from one form into another. （ 12 ） 1964年 10月，中国爆炸了第一颗原子弹，这把基辛格吓了一条跳。 Kissinger

was alarmed by the exblosion of China’s first atom bomb in October, 1964. 七、 Static vs. Dynamic （静态与动态） Broadly speaking, nouns are believed tobe static in that they refer to entities that areseen as stable. At the opposite pole, verbs are featured as dynamic, for they are fitted by their capacity to show tense and aspect, to indicate action, activity, and temporary orchanging conditions (quirk, 1973: 48). Adjec-tives and prepositions often go hand in handwith nouns, while adverbs are frequently used

with verbs. English is featured by its predominance of nouns over verbs. S. Potter (1969:101) points out, “Our western civilization, it has been said, favors an over-development of the intellect at the expense of the emotions.That is why people prefer nouns to verbs.Theysuffer what the Germans call ‘noun disease’. They say John’s arrival was prematureinstead of John came too soon.” Therefore, nominalization ( 名词化 ) is a common occur-rence in English.

English makes more use of nouns, adjec-tives, and prepositions; as a result, it is is morestatic. Conversely, Chinese often employs verbs, adverbs, verbal phrases, repetition and redump-lication of verbs; accordingly, it is more dynamic. Let’s compare some English sentences with their Chinese versions. (1) The doctor’s extremely quick arrival and uncommonly careful examination of the patientbrought about his very speedy recovery. 医生迅速到达 , 并仔细地检查了病人 , 所以 , 病人很快就康复了 .

(2) The abuse of basic human rights in their own country in violation of the agreementreached at Helsinky earned them the condem-nation of freedom-loving people everywhere. 他们违反在核尔辛基达成的协议 , 在国内侵犯基本人权 , 因此受到了各地热爱自由的人们的谴责 . As a result of the above difference, the conversion of the English nominal style intothe Chinese verbal style, e.g. English nouns converted into Chinese verbs, adjectives intoadverbs, prepositions into verbs, etc. is often employed in translation.

(3) He is a good eater and a good sleeper. 他能吃能睡。 (4) I used to be a bit of a fancier myself. 过去我常常有点喜欢胡思乱想。 (5)The computer is a far more careful and industrious inspector than human beings. 计算机比人检查得更细心，更勤快。 (6) He has someone behind him. 有人 给他撑腰。 (7) Ford’s first pledge was, “Mr. President, you have my support and my loyalty.” 福特一开始就保证说： “总统先生， 我支持您，并效忠于您。”

(8) It came not as a Nixon revelation, but rather as a confirmation of The New York Times’ story. 这不能算是尼克松 透露了什么新东西 , 而是证实了《纽约 时报》的报道。

八、 Abstract vs. Concrete （抽象与具体） In English, nominalization often results in abstraction. An excessivereliance on the noun at the expenseof the verb will, in the end, detach the

mind of the writer from the realities of here and now, from when and how and in what mood the thing was done, and insensibly induce a habit of abstraction, generalization, and vagueness (Gowers, 1987:79). This me-thod of abstract diction is found in the fre-quent use of abstract nouns. By contrast, Chinese prefers to use concrete or specific words and employs a “down-to earth style”, expressing abstract ideas often by metaphor,simile, allegory, or other devices for making a thing plain. Let’s compare some English sentences with their Chinese versions.

(1) He waited for her arrival with a frenzied agitation. 他等待她到来 ,急得像热锅上的 蚂蚁。 (2) I marveled at the relentless determina- tion of the rain. 雨无情地下个不停， 我感到惊异。 (3) No country should claim infallibility. 任 何国家都不应自称一贯正确。 (4) The absence of intelligence is an indica- tion of satisfactory developments. (= No news is good news.) 没有消息表明有 令人满意的进展。

(5) Was this the realization of an antici-pated liability? (= Di you expect you would have to do this?) 你意识到了你必须做这件事吗？ (6) The actual date of the completion of the purchase should coincide with the avai-lability of the new facilities. (= The purchase should not be completed until the new facili-ties are available. 必须等到有了新设备，才能购买这批货物。 As a result of the above difference, the conversion of English abstract words into

into Chinese concrete words, figurative expressions, or verbs, is often employed in translation. More examples are as follows: (7) He had surfaced with less visibility in the policy decisions. 在决策过程中 , 他 已经不那么抛头露面了。 (8) High blood pressure is a contraindica- tion for this drug. 高血压患者忌服此药。 (9) These problems defy easy classifica- tion. 这些问题难以归类。 (10) In handling the materials of history, each act of selection is also an act of

judgement, and therefore the charge of bias is never completely answerable. 在处理历史资料时 ,每选一项资料就是做出一种判断 , 因此不能说完全没有偏见。 (11) She wondered whether her outspo- kenness might be a liability to Franklin. 她怀疑自己那么心直口快，是否会成为 弗兰克林的包袱。 (12) When young he quitted his home and traveled to the metropolis, which he reached in a state of almost utter destination. 青年时代 , 他背井离乡 ,

徒步来到首都 , 几乎身无分文。 九、 Indirect vs Direct （间接与直接） The wider use of such devices as euphe-mism, understatement, litotes, indirect nega-tion, periphrasis, as well as the impersonal style and abstract diction makes English more indirect than Chinese. 9.1 Euphemism （委婉） Compared with Chinese, English euphe-mism is widely used in all kinds of subjects,covering taboo, privacy and other differentaspects of social life, such as religion, birth,

death, sex, love, age, disease, money, pover-ty, crime, profession, commerce, advertising,education, politics, economy, war, diplomacy, etc. e.g.(1)Sanitary engineer (=garbage man) 垃圾清洁工(2) meat technologist (= butcher) 屠夫(3) human resources underdevelopment / underutilization (= unemployment) 失业(4) At first, I was poor. Then I became needy. Later I was underprivileged. Now I am disadvantaged.I still don’t have a cent to my name, but I sure have a great voca- bulary. 起初，我贫困，后来我拮据，再后来

我受到不公正待遇。现在我处于社会地层，依然一文不名，词汇却学了一大堆。 9.2 Understatement （克制陈述） A statement which is not strong enough to express the full or true facts or feelings, or which makes big things seem trifle （以含蓄的语气，用轻描淡写的言辞，故意把大事化小）is known as understatement, which is particu-larly common in English. An Englishman will say “I have a little houseIn the country.” When he invites you to stay With him, you will discover that the little house

is a place with 300 bedrooms. If you are a world tennis champion, you say “Yes, I don’t play too badly”.If you have crossed the Atlan-tic alone in a small boat, you say “I do a littlesailing.” (A. Maurois) 9.3 Litotes ( 间接肯定 ) Litotes is a way of expressing a thought by its opposite, especially with “not” as in “not bad” (=good), and “no” as in “no small” (great),“no easy” (= very difficult). Similarly, in our Chinese language, we often say “ 不虚此行” ,“不无遗憾” , “难免错误” , “未尝不可” . But we

Chinese prefer to use direct affirmatives for the English litotes. E.g. (1) To my no small astonishment, I found the house on fire. 我发现屋子着火燃烧 起来 , 这使我大吃一惊 . (2) It serves no little purpose to continue public discussion of this issue. 继续公 开讨论这一问题是大有裨益的。 (3) I couldn’t feel better. 我觉得身体好极了。 (= I am feeling first-rate.) (4) I couldn’t agree more. 我最同意不过了。 (= I agree to the fullest degree.) (5) One could not be too careful in a new neighbourhood. 在一个陌生的街道，

9.4 Indirect Negation ( 间接否定 ) A strange feature of the syntax of subordina-tion in colloquial English is the transfer of the negative (转移否定 ) from a subordinating that-clause, where semantically it belongs, to the main clause (Quirk, 1972:789). e.g. “I don’t think that he will come” instead of “I think that he will not come”. Chinese prefers direct nega-tion “ 我想他不会来” instead of “ 我不想他会来” . More examples are given below: (1) We don’t believe that the two boxers

越小心越好。 (J. Galsworthy)

are very well matched. 我们认为这两个 拳击手并非势均力敌。 (2) I don’t think that we can or should remain indifferent to it. 我认为，我们不能也不应 对此袖手旁观。 (3) It is not our opinion that your proposed contract is practical. 我方认为，贵方拟 订的合同并非切实可行。 Other ways of using affirmative forms to express negative meanings are often found in implied subjunctive sentences (含蓄虚拟句 ),

disjunctive questions (反意疑问句 ), ellipsis, swear-words (诅咒语 ), and ironical idioms (讽刺语 ). More examples are supplied here. (4) You should have come at a better time. 你来得不是时候。 (5) As if anyone would believe that story. 别人才不信那一套哩！ (6) Are you telling me ? I know all about it. 不用你告诉我，我都知道了。 // 要你 来告诉我吗？我对此了如指掌。 (7) I’ll see you dead before I accept your terms. 见鬼去吧 , 我才不接受你的条件呢。

9.5 Tactful Implication ( 婉转暗示 ) English speakers are often careful not to cause offence or upset people in their exp-ressions, which leave gaps in the develop-ment of thoughts. E.g. (1) It can be worse. 还过得去。 / 还算不 怎么坏。 / 凑合凑合吧。 (2) You are late for the last time. 你被解雇了。 (3) You ought to know better than to do such things. 你不该做这样的事情。 (4) She has much more than just a pretty face. 她不仅有一张漂亮的脸蛋儿，还

真有本事呢！ / 还真有两下子呢！ 9.6 Periphrasis or Circumlocution （迂回） Periphrasis is a round-about way of expres-sion in speaking or writing （拐弯抹角的说法） , i.e.the use of long or many words, phrases, or unclear expressions when short simple ones are all that is needed. We Chinese generallyprefer to be straightforward. E.g.(1) Will you be good enough to advise me whether I should accept the invitation? (= Please tell me whether I should accept the invitation.) 请您告诉我是否应该接受

这项约请 ,好吗 ? (2) In London there reigns a complete absence of really reliable news. (= There is no reliable news in London.) 伦敦没有可靠的消息。 (3) I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voices a little. (= Would you please lower your voices a little?) 请你 们讲话小声一点，好吗？ (4) Careful consideration of relevant data is imperative before the procedure most conducive toward a realization of the desired outcomes can be determined. (=

Look before you leap.) 三思而后行。 Compared with English, Chinese has fewer indirect modes of expression,but other means such as polite expressions or terms of respect (敬辞 ), and self-depreciatory expressions(e.g. humble words, 谦辞 ) are often used, espe-cially in classical or early Chinese. E.g. (1) 贱姓李 ,请问尊客贵性 ? My surname is Li. Could I have your name? (2) 不知高见以为何如 ? I wonder if you could be kind enough to enlighten me on this matter. / May I have your advice?

(3) 我拜读了您的大作。 I had the pleasure of perusing your work. (4) 不想误触犯了官人 ,望乞恕罪 , 高抬贵手。 (施耐庵：《水浒》 ) We had no thought of intruding upon your attention and hope you will overlook our offence. 十、 Substitutive vs. Repetitive (替换与重复 ) Repetition of words in English is generally more or less abnormal and objectionable exceptthat it is rhetorical or significant (Fowler, 1951:218)

To avoid repetition, English often employs substitution, ellipsis, variation, and some other devices. 10.1 Substitution (替代 ) English generally uses pro-forms or sub-stitutes to avoid repetition, while Chinese often repeats the same words or clauses. (1) Translation from English into ChineseIs not so easy as that from English into French. 英译汉不如英译法容易。 (2) In any case, work does not includetime, but power does. 在任何情况下 ,功不

包括时间，但功率却包括时间。 10.2 Ellipsis （省略） English usually leaves out the same word(s) from a sentence (zero-substi-tution) to avoid repetition, while Chineseoften repeats the same word(s). (1) A man is called selfish, not for pur-suing his own good, but for neglecting hisneighbor’s. 说一个人自私自利 , 并非因为他只图自己的利益 , 而是因为他不顾邻居的利益 . (2) Ambition is the mother of destructionas well as of evil. 野心不仅是罪恶的根源 ,也是毁没的根源 .

(3) Work with, and not against, nature. 要 顺应自然工作，不要违反自然工作。(4) Reading exercises one’s eyes; speaking, one’s tongue; while writing, one’s mind. 阅读训练人的眼睛，说话训练人的口齿， 写作训练人的思维。

10. 3 Variation （变换） English often uses synonyms or near-synonyms （同义词，近义词） , super-ordinates （上义词） , hyponyms （下义词） , or general words （概括词） to avoid repeti-tion, while Chinese usually repeats the same word(s). Look at the following Examples.

(1) John has bought himself a new Ford. He practically lives in the car. 约翰给自己买了 一部新的福特牌汽车 , 他几乎就住在这部汽 车里。(2) An electron tube is generally used for amplification, and vacuum tube is another name for this device. 电子管通常用来放大， 而真空管则是电子管的另一名称。(3) The monkey’s most extraordinary accomp- lishment was learning to operate a tractor. By the age of nine, the monkey had learned to solo on the vehicle. (R. Quirk) 这只猴子 最了不起的技能是学会驾驶拖拉机。到了九 岁的时候，这只猴子已经学会单独表演驾驶

拖拉机了。 Chinese, however, is more tolerant of repe-tition. Reiterative devices such as reduplica-tion, repetition, antithesis and parallelism areoften used in Chinese. 10.4 Reduplication (重叠 ) Chinese often employs various patterns ofcharacter-reduplication for rhetorical or otherpurposes, while English has fewer devices ofthis kind. (1) 路上挤满了男男女女 , 他们熙熙攘攘 , 正在 买卖各种各样的东西。 The road was

packed with a noisy crowd of men and women, who were selling and buying all kinds of things.（ 2 ）房间空空荡荡，他走来走去，这儿停停， 那儿停停，东摸摸，西瞧瞧。 Walking up and down the empty room, he stopped here and there to touch or look.（ 3 ）她希望所说的情况真真假假，足以使他 糊里糊涂。 She hoped she had mixed enough fact and fiction in her story to mislead him.

10.5 Repetition (重复 ) Compared with English repetition which is generally rhetorical, Chinese repetition of of word(s) and meaning(s) is rhetorical or gram-matical, and is much more frequent.(1) 不懂就是不懂 , 不要装懂。 We must not pre- tend to know what we do not know.(2) 他说他的，我干我的。 Let him say what he likes; I’ll just get on with my work.(3) 我们的一些旧衣服和旧家具，当的当了，卖 的卖了。 Our old clothes and furniture have been either pawned or sold.(4) 想喝就喝，想吃就吃，别客气了。 Eat or

drink as you like. Please make yourself at home.(5) 沉默呵，沉默呵！不在沉默中爆发，就在 沉默中死亡。（鲁迅：《纪念刘和珍君》） Silence! Silence! Unless we burst out, we shall perish in this silence. 10.6 Antithesis and Parallelism ( 对偶与排比 ) Chinese antithesis ( 对偶 ) consists of two balanced structures that are matched in soundand sense. Parallelism(排比 ) uses three or more parallel phrases or sentences of relevant

meanings and similar structures. In writing and speaking, these two rhetorical devicesare much more frequently employed in Chinese than in English.(1)人有失误 ,马有失蹄。 It is a good horse that never stumbles.(2) 人多力量大 ,柴多火焰高。 There is strength in numbers: more logs make a bigger fire.(3) 画虎画皮难画骨，知人知面不知心。 (施耐 庵 : 《水浒》 ) While drawing a tiger, you show its skin, but not its bones; while wat- ching a man, you can see his face, but not his innermost feelings.

（ 4 ）沉鱼落雁之容，闭月羞花之貌。 Be love- ly enough to outshine the moon and put the flowers to shame. / The beauty would put the flowers to shame.（ 5 ）用点画成线，用线画成平面，用平面画 成立体。 With points you can make a line; with lines, planes; with planes, solids.（ 6 ）啊，我思念那洞庭湖，我思念那长江， 我思念那东海，那浩浩荡荡的无边无 际的波澜呀！那浩浩荡荡的无边无际 的伟大的力呀！ 那是自由，是跳舞，

是音乐，是诗。（郭沫若：《屈原》）Ah, I long for the Dongting Lake, I long for the Yangtze River, I long for the East-ChinaSea! That mighty and boundless expanse of waves! That mighty and boundless expanse of strength! That is liberty! That is dancing, music, and poetry! Which rhetorical device is most clearly involved in the above version?

That is the end of this topic!