A Contrastive Study On Chinese And English Thinking Patterns And Its Influence On The Discourse——from The Perspective Of Mapping

Discourse is a semantic unit which has the complete meaning. The relationship between sentences and the discourse is the "realization". That is, the realization of a discourse depends on sentences. Discourse is not the sentences stack. The sentences in a discourse on the meaning and structure are related, which link together with certain cohesive devices. Discourse varies in length-a sentence, a phrase even a word can constitute a discourse. Therefore, we can narrow the sense of the discourse is that it consists by the words, the sentences according to certain cohesive devices. Based on the relationship between thinking and language, this thesis makes a contrastive study on Chinese and English thinking patterns and its influence on the discourse.The relationship between thinking and language is not only the main topic in Philosophy and Psychology; it also involves "Sapir--Whorf Hypothesis". In Cognitive Linguistics, thinking is the core of cognition, and also belongs to the process of cognition. The relationship between thinking and language embodies a mapping relation:Cognitive linguists view that when people use the same language to express some thinking or feeling, it will reflect the conventional image. The principle of iconicity in Cognitive Linguistics refers to the natural relationship between the structure of language and the structure of experience. That is, the structure of language is directly mapping the structure of experience.In the process of analyzing Chinese and English thinking patterns’influence on the discourse, the author does not confine to the levels of philosophy, psychology and culture, the author adopts the method of Cognitive Linguistics, from the perspective of mapping to explore the cognitive root which causes the differences between Chinese and English thinking patterns and its influence on the discourse, which attempts to test the theory of mapping in the specific linguistic analysis.This thesis consists of six chapters:Chapter1introduces the objective, the significance and the organization of the thesis.Chapter2makes a detailed survey of the previous study on the relationship between thinking and language abroad and at home. In the end, comes the contribution and limitation of the previous studies.Chapter3summarizes the theory that involved in this thesis, which makes a theoretical foundation for the whole thesis.Chapter4analyzes the cognitive characteristics which cause the differences between Chinese and English thinking patterns, and then based on it the author discusses the different Chinese and English thinking patterns.Chapter5starts from the perspective of mapping, the author explains the influence of different Chinese and English thinking patterns on the discourse from three levels:diction, sentence structure and discourse patternChapter6is the conclusion, summarizing the significance and study findings of the thesis, as well as limitation for future study. The differences between Chinese and English thinking patterns is only the presentation of causing the different discourses between two countries-the real root is the two countries’different cognitions. That is, the more we explore the root, the more we can solve the problem completely. The practical significance of this study is that when we make a deep exploration on the differences between Chinese and English cognitions, it will more helpful for use to understand and respect each others’discourses, and finish the intercultural activities successfully. Personally, the author considers that the in-depth exploration of differences in thinking patterns and its influence on the discourse will give helpful instruction to the language practice.