The Relationship Between Graphie And Pronunciation Of Chinese And English Under Different Backgrounds Of The Relationship Between Writing And Speech

Many linguists comment on the relationship between writing and speech mostly from the synchronic view. Besides, most of them draw their conclusions based on their mother tongue. This essay, from the diachronic point, selects the relationship between graphie and pronunciation of Chinese and English as a breakthrough and compares them. Then this essay tries to make out the common and different things in the course of the developments of the two languages. The further aim of this comparison is to try to dig out the hidden relationship between writing and speech. Writing is the tool of recording speech, which applies to nearly all the languages that have mature writing. However, the relationship between writing and speech in different languages has some imperceptible difference, which is always neglected by many linguists. Through the motivation difference of the relationship between graphie and pronunciation, this essay hopes to find out the effect of the different relationship between writing and speech in Chinese and English on the motivation difference and gives some rational explanations. In China, a lot of linguistic theories are borrowed from the Occident. After the borrowing, the applicability in Chinese language is held the most importance. This essay also hopes to do something in the field ofapplicability.This essay consists of the following five parts:The first part is the determination of the comparing units. Chinese characters arecompatible with English words. Pronunciation refers to the reading sound of Chinese characters or English words. In Chinese, graphie refers to those segments that are concerned with pronunciation, including phonetic-loaning expressions and the phonetic parts in determinative-phonetic characters. In English, graphie refers toletters. Graphie is the most characteristic part of writing, and pronunciation is the most characteristic part of speech.The relationship between graphie and pronunciation is a kind of relationship between signifier and signified. While the relationship between writing and speech is also a kind of relationship between signifier and signified. The both relationship have something in common. Thus, the relationship between writing and speech is hidden behind the relationship between graphie and pronunciation.In the second part, this essay elaborately selects the most representative three stages in the developing history of the relationship between graphie and pronunciation. Through the research of these stages, this essay tries to seek out the common things in the developing history of the relationship between graphie and pronunciation of the two languages. The first stage is the turning point, which Chinese and English both have to experience. Before the turning point, graphie is comparatively remote from pronunciation. After that, graphie becomes closer and closer to the pronunciation. Although graphie has became close to pronunciation, they have some disagrees. The following stage is the second stage, that is the close stage. The third stage is the departing stage. Although graphie and pronunciation have become close, the demand of unification and the different changing speed of graphie and pronunciation make them depart a little bit from each other. The developing trend of graphie and pronunciation potentially reflects that writing is not close to speech from the very beginning. The intimateness of the two is the result of development. Even they have become intimate, with the development of time, disagrees will affirmatively emerge.In the third part, this essay analyses the effect of the difference of the relationship between writing and speech in Chinese and English on the relationship between graphie and pronunciation. Chinese has a little more writing characteristics, while English has more linguistic characteristics. Thus, graphie in Chinese language finds motivation from speech and the motivation can be also found from writing, while graphie in English language finds motivation all along from linguistic aspects.The fourth part probes into the difference of the relationship between writing and speech in Chinese language and English language from the levels of philosophy andphilosophical spirits. Chinese philosophical issues unconsciously show that Chinese attaches importance to writing, while occidental philosophical issues show that English language attaches importance to speech. Chinese philosophical spirit—Tao, shares the characteristics of writing. Occidental philosophical spirit—logos, shares the characteristics of speech. Thus, Chinese has more writing characteristics than English.The fifth part is the conclusion.