Anaphoric And Cataphoric Reference In English And Chinese And Its Function In Translation

The distinction between anaphora and cataphora was made by Buhler in 1934. We can distinguish between anaphoric and cataphoric uses of reference according to whether the element with which it co-refers (the Antecedent), precedes or follows it. Cataphoric reference occurs less frequently than anaphoric reference, and under limited conditions while anaphora is much more frequently used. However cataphora may increase the interest of the reader by generating an uncertainty. To study reference phenomenon from language comparison is an area relatively neglected. Though it is not difficult to find papers or books concerning this area, they all only focus on a certain individual reference phenomenon and its function(s), and there lacks an overall consideration on the two kinds of references. This paper attempts to present a comprehensive or generalized account of reference phenomenon, compare anaphoric and cataphoric reference in English and Chinese, get its similarities and differences and at last guide translation activity.The contents of this paper include three aspects: I) Through a large amount of comparison of language resources, to find out the similarities and differences of anaphoric and cataphoric reference in English and Chinese; II) From the angle of language system and cultural tradition, analyze the reasons of differences which exist in the two language systems; III) One of the important purpose of comparative study is to guide language communication. Based on the conclusions of my studies, this paper at last discusses the application of reference in translation. The theoretical foundation of my paper is the cohesion theory of Systemic Fuctional Grammar of Halliday.This paper gets the following conclusions through analysis: I) The differences of anaphoric and cataphoric reference in English and Chinese are: The use frequency of pronouns in English is much higher than in Chinese; Zero anaphor is a unique coreference form in Chinese text; Cataphoric reference occurs less frequently than anaphoric reference, therefore it is always explained as exceptional cases with communicative motivition or means to strengthen stylistic effect. This is common both in English and Chinese, while the frequent use of zero-cataphor is the most strikingdifference in English and Chinese, which can be used to explain Chinese as a parataxis language, as contrast to English, which is generalized as hypotaxis;II)The apphiation of anaphoric, cataphoric reference in Translation: anaphora and cataphora should be included in a larger category of reference. Considering translation transform, personal reference has the most practical and theoretical value in a text, and demonstrative reference is also important.