中西思维差异在汉英语言中的体现

汉英两种语言表达方式的差异可能源于中西思维方式的差异。中国人重悟性,西方人重理性的差异导致汉语重意合,英语重形合;中国人螺线型思维,西方人直线型思维的差异导致中国人说话委婉含蓄,英美人说话直白坦率;中国人重伦理,西方人重人文的差异导致中国人贬己尊人、欧美人个性张扬的话语风格。

Reflections of Different Thinking Models of Chinese People and the Western People on Their Languages

The differences between the Chinese language and the English language may have resulted from the different thinking models of the Chinese people and the western people. First, Chinese people value the power of understanding, which makes Chinese a notional language, while the western people value the power of reasoning, which makes English an inflectional language. Second, Chinese people think in a spiral way and thus speak in a roundabout manner, while the western people think in a straightforward way and a straightforward speech style is developed. Third, the Chinese people are ethic-bound and the western people are human-centered, so the former observes the self-devaluing-and-respectful principle in the speaking,while the latter favors the self-assertive way in the utterance.