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语言影响思维——外语学习对中国人思维造成的(5)

2016-05-01 01:04
TheChinesescholar,JiaYuxingholdstheviewsthatWesternthinkingischaracterizedbylogic,analysisandlinearity,whileEasternthinkingisknownforitsintegrityofintuitiveperceptionandharmoniousdialectics.Westernersareaptatanalysisandreasoning,asaresult,theirthinkingpatternislinear;Easternersareprominentinholisticthinking,astheyareimaginativeandrelymoreonintuition,thereforetheirthinkingpatternisrathercircular.StilltherearescholarswhoholdanontologicalpointofviewandbelievethatEasternersemphasizetheoverallconsonanceaswellasallthingsofcreationareintegratedwithme;incontrast,Westernersarerational,analyticalandanalogical,whichisbestmanifestedbytheGreekviewpoint"Manisthegaugeofallthingsintheuniverse".Intermsofthinkingpatterns,EasternthinkingisradiatingwhileWestern’sisratherperspective,theknowledgeofwhichmightbeofgreathelptousinfurtherinvestigatingthelogicalprincipleunderlyingthestructuringoftheChineseandEnglishlanguages.
FuLei，thewell-knowntranslator,thinksthat“EasternthinkingdiffersfromthatoftheWestinthatEasternersemphasizecomprehension,inductionandimplication,whereasWesternersattachgreatimportancetosubtle,preciseandin-depthanalysisaswellascomprehensivedescription.”[18]
3.1FigurativeThinkingvs.AbstractThinking
Theabove-mentionedstylesofthinkingcanbefoundinallnations,butowingtotheirparticularhistoricalandculturalreasons,differentnationsmightbeprominentofonestyleofthinking.Generallyspeaking,ChineseisfeaturedbyconcretestyleofthinkingincontrasttoWesterners’abstractthinking.
Thetwodifferentthinkingstylesaredirectlyreflectedonsentenceandvocabulary.InChinese,moreconcretenounsareused,butthecaseisquitedifferentinEnglish,wheremoreabstractnounsarefound.AnimportantreasonwhyChineseinfigurativethinkingisthatalotofconcreteformsareusedtoexpressabstractconcepts,givingreadersthebeingconcrete,definite,directandlucidimpression.WhileEnglishlikestouseabstractnounsinEnglishsentences.Thesenouns’meaningisnonfigurativeandgeneralandcouldstrikethereceiversasabstract,indistinct,obscureandmisty.
ChinesescholarWangLibelievedtheso-callednounsinChineseareslightlydifferentfromtheircounterpartsinEnglishintermsofdenotationandconnotation.Generallyspeaking,Chinesenouns,exceptforthoseusedinsuchfieldsasphilosophy,science,economy,politics,etc.,usuallydenoteconcrete,tangiblethingsthatcanbesensedbythefivesensefaculties.Wangalsopointedoutthatstrictlyspeaking,nounsderivedfromadjectives,suchas`kindness’,`wisdom’,`humility’,`youth’,aswellasthosederivedfromverbs,like`invitation’,`movement’,`choice’,`arrival’,`assistance’,`discovery’,etc.,canfindnoequivalentsinChinesevocabulary.

内容来自www.nseac.com

Figurativethinkingrequiresthecombinationofimageandmeaning,whichmeansthataconcreteimagecarriesaparticularmeaningandtheycombinetoexpressconcepts,feelingsandimages.Todothis,abstractthinking,incontrast,usuallyresortstoconcepts,judgmentsandprecisereasoning.E.g.:
(1)枯藤老树昏鸦;
小桥流水人家;
古道西风瘦马;
《天净沙秋思》(元)马致远
Translatedversion:
O’eroldtreeswreathedwithrottenvineflyeveningcrows;
’Neathtinybridgebesideacotaclearstreamflows;
Onancientroadinwesternbreezealeanhorsegoes;