A Study On Sinogram As The Basic Unit Of Chinese Language In Light Of Contrastive Linguistics

In order to overcome a succession of problems caused by “the westernized view-points”in Chinese linguistic studies, the Sinogram as Basic Unit (SBU) Theory was initiated by theChinese researchers in the early1990’s. This theory regards “sinogram” as the basic unit ofChinese language and the convergence of its phonetics, semantics, lexicology and syntax. Asinogram is a three-in-one basic structural unit of form, sound and meaning, which isapplicable in both written and spoken Chinese, and therefore is the foundation of any Chinesestudy. Since this theory came into existence, Xu Tongqiang, Pan Wenguo and other scholarshave contributed considerable research findings to this field, which have drawn muchattention from the linguistic world.In Saussure’s opinion, the sole mission of a written form is to represent a language,“Alanguage and its written form constitute two separate systems of signs. The sole reason for theexistence of the latter is to represent the former. The object of study in linguistics is not acombination of the written word and the spoken word. The spoken word alone constitutes thatobject.”(Saussure，1983:24-25) Such a great linguist even restricted his research “to thephonetic system of writing, and in particular to the system in use today, of which theprototype is the Greek alphabet.”(Saussure，1983:27) Using a theory based not on one’s ownlanguage system but on other languages to guide is like cutting feet to fit shoes, hence it isnecessary to find some laws governing one’s language based on the unique traits of thelanguage concerned.In the light of the actualities of the Chinese language and the special nature of theChinese sinograms, the SBU Theory, taking sinograms as the starting point of research, putforward the following basic views:1) Sinogram is a basic structural unit of Chinese. Syllablesand Chinese characters are just different expressions of the Sinogram for it is a logicalconcept of a high degree of abstraction. Sinogram is a Chinese basic unit referring both to asyllable representing a significance in spoken Chinese and to an independent Chinesecharacter which transcribes it in written Chinese.2) Chinese is a semantic-based languagewhose sentences are generated by semantics. Sinogram is a basic structural unit of Chinese.Language units at all levels above Sinogram are generated by it, and during the process of generation, parataxis occurs without morphological changes.3) The structural framework ofChinese is “topic-comment”, thus it pays attention to the order of thinking in harmony withthe natural thinking.This thesis aims to make a contrastive analysis of Sinograms (the basic structural unit ofthe Chinese language) and English Words (the basic structural unit of the English language) inthe perspective of Contrastive Linguistics, to probe the dual status of Chinese characters andspecial characteristics of English words and to reveal how Chinese characters and Englishwords affect ways of thinking so that in one way or another this thesis may voice itstheoretical support to the SBU Theory.This thesis is made up of eight chapters:In the first chapter, the purpose and significance of this study are stated, the methodologyof this study is introduced and the organization of this thesis is listed. Then in the followingchapter, literature review concerning the SBU Theory is provided and a brief introduction ismade concerning the previous studies of the SBU Theory both at home and abroad. Relativity,dialecticality, and adaptability in the basic unit in linguistic analysis are discussed. Researchquestions for this thesis are decided. In Chapter3, a brief introduction to contrastive analysisis made and the status quo of CA in China is evaluated. Research objectives of contrastiveanalysis are outlined. In Chapter4, sinogram is defined. As a basic unit of linguistic analysis,its functions are dwelled upon. For a better understanding of Chinese characters, principlesabout the formation of Chinese Characters are illustrated. The overlapping of Chinese Zi,morphemes and words are discussed. In Chapter5, a contrastive analysis of Chinese writingand English writing is made. By tracing the origins of the two writings, this thesis isattempting to probe the pictographic nature of Chinese character and the abstract nature ofwestern alphabetical writing. And in Chapter6, differences between the grammars of Chineseand English are discussed. The pictographic nature of the origin of Chinese writing systemhas played a role in the making of the directness and the paratactic nature of the grammar ofChinese. European alphabetical writing systems, represented by English writing system, arethe abstract representation of the objects and reality, and the grammars of EuropeanLanguages convey the logical analysis about the objects and events together with the relationsin between through the grammatical devices such as inflections, complex hierarchical...