The Relation between Thought and Language中英思維與語言比較

1、中英思維與語言比較the relation between thought and languagethe opinions vary on the relationship between language and thought although the studies on it have been lasted for over 2000 years. to sum up, there are five parlances, i.e. theory of equation of language and thought, language determinism, and though

2、t determinism, independent language-thought theory, and separate-combinative theory. theory of equation of language and thought: language and thought are two names of the same thing. they are produced simultaneously, in which thought is silent language, and language is the voiced thought.determinism

3、: language characteristics play a determined role in the process of cognition. language is the basis of thought, and various languages lead to various thought and world outlook.thought determinism: thought exists before language; the category of thought determines that of language. it is thought tha

4、t first comes into humans mind, and then people can speak it out by means of appropriate words or other symbols.independent language-thought theory: language and thought are relatively independent. there are various kinds of knowledge in human world, and the process of acquiring natural language is

5、unique which is restricted to special theories, principles and rules. whereas, the other knowledge is acquired through observation, generalization and conditioned reflex, etc. many examples can prove the existence of thought systems which is independent of language. separate-combinative theory: both

6、 language and thought have its separate source. from the perspective of polygenetic development, different language and thought hold different genetic source; meanwhile, their development is not parallel, whose development curve often intersect. in terms of development of individuals, the developmen

7、t of thought and language enters a stage of concourse (合流 ) and form a new kind of behavior pattern only when the baby grows to age two. in a word, language and thought have different source and they combine at later time.1. sapir-whorf hypothesissapir-whorf hypothesis, put forward by the american l

8、inguists edward sapir and benjamin lee whorf, is a mould (鑄 ) theory of language. this hypothesis is widely quoted and discussed in intercultural communication field. sapir (1929) argued in a classic passage that: .it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without th

9、e use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection. the fact of the matter is that the real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. no two languages are ever sufficiently similar

10、 to be considered as representing the same social reality. the worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached. (sapir, 1929: 209)this position was extended by his student benjamin lee whorf. it was found that the background ling

11、uistic system (in other words, the grammar) of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individuals mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade.

12、. . (cole et al.，1974: 40) the sapir-whorf hypothesis can be broken down into two basic principles: linguistic determinism (language determines thought) and linguistic relativity (there is no limit to the structural diversity of languages).thought and language are interwoven and interrelated, both l

13、anguage determinism and thought determinism are too absolute. this point is convincingly illustrated in the following remarks:language does not exist in a vacuum. it serves and is modeled by other systems in the human mind. because it must be spoken and understood easily and efficiently, its structu

14、re and function are forced to stay within the limits imposed by peoples processing capacities. because it is used for communication within a complex social and cultural system, its structure and function are modeled by these factors as well. (clark&clark, 1977: 515)2 piagets cognitive hypothesis swi

15、ss psychologist piaget (1972) claims cognitive hypothesis which is opposite to the sapir-whorf hypothesis. in his opinion, sense is prior to language, and thought determines language. compared with the origin of language and thought, the origin of logic calculation is much earlier than language, hen

16、ce language is not the origin which forms logic. on the contrary, language is made up of logic. logic calculation is subordinate to the common coordinate law of action. this coordination (配合；協(xié)作 ) controls all the activities including language.piaget takes the development of childrens language and th

17、ought as an example. he finds that their intelligent activities do not come from language but from movement, and the movement of a one-year or two-year-old child stays in a sensorimotor (感覺驅(qū)動) period. by assimilation（模仿） and adaptation, the child learns to coordinate his feelings with sensorimotor.

18、for instance, if he sees a rope, he will pull the rope and makes the bell ring. at this time, the child does not have thought and languages, a language might appear in the middle of the second year since he is born. after doing so many experiments, piaget draws the conclusion that language is the qu

19、alification for people to develop formal thought, but it is not enough. people develop their ability to think while contacting with reality, after which their language ability develops. piaget also quotes other peoples research to support his argument. the scholars such as vincent, furth and hatwell

20、 compare the normal children and the deaf and mute children and find that those deaf and mute children have the ability of thinking but no language ability (furth, 1972).3 traditional chinese opinionsthe chinese has a long tradition of highlighting thought and they treat language as a tool to expres

21、s ones thought and opinions. most ancient chinese philosophers suspect the capability of language to express the thoughts, which can be viewed from lao tzus remark, dao can be expressed in words but dao is not the principles and ways talked about in common words. in his opinion, the use of language

22、is an unwilling choice and the power of language is limited. he also claims that language cannot express the nature of things and objects since there are different names of conceptions for the same thing or object according to different people.some other ancient philosophers hold the similar opinion

23、s as lao tzu. according to chuang tzu, the objects existing in the nature are concrete things, so there is no necessity to use language to refer to the different objects. and confucius holds that the purpose of language is to express the correct meaning of the subject meaning and the most famous lan

24、guage principle is language should comply with the real things.to sum up, thought pattern is closely related to language, which is the deep mechanism for the generation and development of language. on the other hand, language impels the formation and development of thought pattern. thought embodies

25、itself by some means, and reflects itself in some languages. different thought pattern is just an important reason for diversity in language. but the application of language incarnates (體現(xiàn) ) the choice and creation of thought. language and thought influence each other and reflect each other. the com

26、parison between chinese and english thought patterns1 synthetic thought pattern and analytic thought patternsynthesis is a kind of thought which combines the separate parts, elements of the objects into a whole while analysis is a kind of thought which separates the whole into parts. synthetic and a

27、nalytic thought patterns are not only opposite, but also unified. we cannot appreciate the essence of one object if we do not decompose (分解) it in thought or only stay on the surface of the substances. in the same way, if every part of the object can not be combined, people will only have a lopsided

28、 （不平衡的 ） acknowledgement for an object and fail to understand it on the whole. so it is said that synthetic thought pattern and analytic thought pattern connect and interact mutually. in thought, chinese prefer synthesis, english analysis. this results in chinese preference in holistic（整體） thought p

29、attern while english speakers partial. their differences are shown in many fields, such as medicine, opera, painting, language, etc.chinese medicine is the typical reflection of chinese thought patterns. according to its theory, the human body is an entirety which is connected by different organs, a

30、nd these internal organs depend on each other and restrict each other. doctors of traditional chinese medicine will not cure the disease separately but treat it as the whole. for example, if a person suffers from insomnia（失眠）, he can massage on his left and right shin（脛骨 ） to relieve the uneasiness

31、of both his body and mind. chinese medicine takes the whole body into consideration rather than only the condition of certain organs. these theories are different from western medical theories, which emphasize the pathological（病理學(xué)的 ） phenomenon according to the nine biological structures of the huma

32、n body. in a sense, chinese medicine is the result of synthesis while western medicine of analysis.peking opera also reflects the above synthetic thought pattern. from its performance feature, it belongs to a kind of synthetic performance which includes singing, reciting, and dancing and again this

33、dance is different from the western ones, which is a kind of chinese wushu. it is the artistic synthesis that can be divided into four western arts: opera, ballet, drama and stage play. in western arts, singers do not dance in the opera while dancers do not sing in ballet and the performers neither

34、dance nor sing in stage plays. however, as western ballet is imported into china, songs appear during the performance. for instance, in the ballet the white-haired girl, the audiences can appreciate the graceful dances as well as the beautiful songs. once the songs are added into the ballet, they ju

35、st make the performance suitable to chinese tastes, which pursue a kind of lively atmosphere. elgin (1981), samovar and porter (1995) note that the western view is dualistic, which regards mind and body as well as god and human as separate. the eastern view is profoundly non-dualistic, which regards

36、 the world as a place composed of separate parts which should be manipulated and examined. chinese tend to see the world as a unit-a world continuously creating and intimately infusing （融合）every aspect of the cosmos from its smallest detail to its grandest feature. human beings in this orientation a

37、re at once body, mind and spirit. this is a world that is profoundly holistic.ji xianlin (1997) notes that synthesis is the eastern thought pattern while analysis is its western counterpart（對等物）. in the west, for several hundred years, dated from the scientist galileo, the western natural science ha

38、s got great development by analyzing. the more they analyze the more concrete the object is. while in the orient, chinese philosophers study nature: lao tzu holds that tao is something with a form of formlessness and an image of nothingness; it is independent of all other things. moreover, it consta

39、ntly changes and moves in cycles. then tao can give birth to the heaven, earth and myriad（眾多方面的 ） things between them. it also nurtures them to grow, bloom and bear fruit. even so it does not take possession of them, does not dominate the man and does not regard itself mighty and powerful as their m

40、aster. zhuang zi says:heaven and land live together with me, everything exists with me；we regard the nature, society as a whole and we prefer entirety to part. all these have influenced chinese thought patterns so much that chinese are likely to grasp reality in suchness (本質(zhì),本性 ) or isness (如是性 ) or

41、 in its totality, seeing things as they are in themselves.chinese do not analyze or divide things into categories, so much as they synthesize (合成 ) elements into a unified whole. in this sense, chinese emphasis is upon the whole. (xu, 1992) 2 imaginative thought pattern and abstract thought pattern

42、imaginative thought is a psychological process in which human beings remake memory presentations in brain so as to form new ones. it is a special form of thought, namely, imagination, a common psychological phenomenon of human beings. while abstract thought refers to a kind of rational cognition tha

43、t uses concept to judge and reason, and concept is the basic element for abstract thought.the imaginative thought and abstract thought of human being is interrelated. people often use various kinds of thought in solving problems, but due to their cultural and historical differences, every nation has

44、 its own tendency of selection. generally speaking, chinese speakers prefer imaginative thought while english speakers abstract thought. analogy (類比), metaphor, simile and symbol on which imaginative thought depends belong to the same category. metaphor is the expressive form of analogy, while simil

45、e is a kind of metaphor. the three of them use imagination as the foundation to express the special concept, emotion and purpose. according to guan (1995), the fact that chinese put so much stress on image shows that chinese attach much importance to imagination but fail to develop conception. for i

46、nstance, confucius mentions an important idea “ren” for 105 times in “the analects”（論語）, but what is the real meaning of this idea is not explained clearly. therefore, every scholar has his own understanding about it. chinese philosophers consciously reject the notion of controlling ones life by rea

47、son. their reasons lie in the fact that they appreciate a mysteriously higher, more profound view of the value of the right brain, of intuition. on the contrary, the abstract thought of english is embodied in its grammar. english is also dominated by logic. the conception is very clear and the sente

48、nces are organized tightly. the well-organized, logical english structures reflect english thought patterns, as even in the omitted sentences.3 circular thought pattern and linear thought pattern after analyzing seven hundred foreign students compositions, robert. b. kaplan (1966) concluded: “some o

49、riental writing (specifically chinese and korean) is marked by what may be called an approach by indirection. in this kind of writing, the development of the paragraph may be said to be turning and turning in a widening gyre. the tangential （外圍的 ）circles or gyres （回旋 ） turn around the subject and sh

50、ow it from a variety of views, but the subject is never looked at directly. things are developed in terms of what they are not, rather than in terms of what they are. again, such a development in a modern english paragraph would strike the english reader as awkward and unnecessarily indirect. (p. 7)

51、as for english, kaplan considers, the thought pattern which speakers and readers of english appear to expect as an integral part of their communication is a sequence that is dominantly linear in its development. (1966:3) so according to him, the structures of chinese and english discourse can be ana

52、lyzed as in the following figure:circular thought is characterized by circumlocution（婉轉(zhuǎn)曲折 ）, that is, not stating opinion directly or frankly but beating about the bush at first, and using rhetorical devices such as metaphor, analogy to develop opinion, then going back to the topic at last, or inten

53、tionally referring to history, tradition or something else to conceal the true theme. circular thought is also called inductive thought or particular-general thought. karl pribram (1949) poses the concept of induction or inductive thought. induction refers to the process in which the people infer co

54、nclusion on the basis of facts or draw a conclusion from particular to general. induction goes from infiniteness to finiteness, from big to small, and makes independent parts into a whole.linear thought is characterized by speaking of ones opinion directly and by speaking without reservation. linear

55、 thought is also called deductive thought and general-particular thought. it goes from general to particular, from generality to individuality, from abstract to concrete, from outcome to reason, from small to big, and makes use of general to understand particular. deduction goes from finiteness to i

56、nfiniteness, and generates infinite relevant parts.4 subjective thought pattern and objective thought pattern subjective thought refers to the thought with which human is the center to observe, analyze and research into objects. influenced by the traditional philosophical concept of unity of subject

57、 and object, chinese thought usually lays much stress on human-oriented and subject consciousness, and they believe that only human can do consciously. for example confucius says between heaven and earth, man is most precious and mencius holds the conception of all things of creation are prepared fo

58、r me. therefore, in chinese, theme is treated as the center, from which the sentence develops and it is the human being who executes the actions. as for the expression, it always describes the objective things from the perspective of self. so person is served as the subject and sentences tend to be

59、used in form of active voice in chinese.objective thought refers to a thought that takes objective natural world as the center to observe, analyze, research and vanquish（征服，戰(zhàn)勝） . objective thought takes object and nature as the core, and lays much stress on observation and research of natural object. english thought pattern originates from the western worldview. one of the reflections of this kind of worldview on thought is that the opposition of su