English Chinese Mark The Phenomenon Of Contrast

The mark is a universal phenomenon: there are mark phenomena at different levels to different degrees in any language. The mark phenomenon is not only a feature of the language itself but also the product of social life and cultural element. Because there is tremendous difference of the cultural background and social environment between English and Chinese, their mark phenomena also have differences and common points since they are closely connected with language, society and culture. This dissertation targets nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns in English and Chinese, comparing and analyzing the mark phenomenon of the above.In Chapter â… , the mark phenomenon of English and Chinese nouns will be compared mainly on two aspects: Noun number category and gender contrasting nouns. In English, class nouns are usually countable and have plural meaning through form change. The singular form is simple, the meaning is basic and it is unmarked; the plural form is complicated and has extra meaning and it is marked. There are many special usages about collective nouns, material nouns and abstract nouns, so the mark phenomenon of number category is quite complicated. Proper nouns normally involve no singular or plural issues.In a strict sense, Chinese nouns do not have form change. The markedness of noun number category mainly reflects on the suffix "men" expressing plural meaning. When expressing plural meaning, the usage of "men" is flexible. The contrast between the structure of "men" and bare nouns is not so strict. Usually we assume that bare nouns are unmarked and the structure of "men" is marked.In English and Chinese, the mark phenomenon of gender contrasting nouns is apparent; there are more common points than differences. Usually, masculine nouns are unmarked, and feminine nouns are marked. The mark phenomenon of gender contrasting nouns reflects that females are discriminated in the male society.In Chapter â…¡, the mark phenomenon of adjectives in Chinese and English will be analyzed. This chapter chooses gradable antonyms as the target and discusses the mark phenomenon of measurement antonyms, evaluable gradable adjectives and unevaluable gradable adjectives. In measurement antonyms, the high measurement is unmarked, and the low measurement is marked. Among evaluable gradable adjectives, commendatory adjectives are unmarked, and derogatory ones are marked. In unevaluable gradable adjectives, the markedness is temporary.In general, the basic rules and forms of the mark phenomenon of gradable adjectives are consistent, reflecting the common points of human psychological and cognition: for example, the "perfection"complex and "being polite" principle.In Chapter III, the mark phenomenon of English and Chinese grammar will be compared. From human cognitive point of view, active voice is natural, sequential and unmarked, and passive voice emphasizes result, not consistent and unmarked.But the choice of voice and style in English are associated. In scientific and journalism objective style, passive voice is normal, natural and unmarked. But in literature style, active voice is normal and passive voice is marked.Voice and style do not have this association in Chinese. Sentences with no subject are used to express objectivity, but not passive voice. The mark phenomenon of Chinese voice reflects on the contrast between the expression of passive voice such as "Bei" (passive voice key word in Chinese) and normal SVO and "Ba" sentences. Moreover, "Bei" sentences consist of markedness and unmarkedness.In Chapter â…£, the mark phenomenon of personal pronouns and demonstrative pronouns are to be compared. Among personal pronouns, the mark phenomenon involves the contrast between male pronoun and female pronoun of the 3^rd person pronouns. In English and Chinese, the 1^st person pronouns have the widest range and the strongest unmarkedness. In the singular gender contrast of the 3^rd personal pronouns, male pronouns can also refer to people with no indication togender, and are unmarked. In Chinese, although people with no gender indication and male can both be referred to by "Ta", the situation is not exactly the same with English. It is not that the meaning of the male personal pronoun is generalized, but the personal pronoun that generally refers to "Ta" has changed into the male specific meaning. Therefore, it is not appropriate to simply classify "Ta" into unmarkedness category.