Negative Transfer Of Chinese Grammar In C-E Interpreting

English belongs to the Western group of the Germanic branch of the IndoEuropean language family while Chinese is classified into the Chinese branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Consequently, there exist differences in grammar between Chinese and English. As a result, negative transfer of Chinese grammar will inevitably occur in C-E interpreting owing to such differences. Over the past several decades, a lot of studies have been done on the topic of negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting, especially from the perspective of word order and subject-verb agreement. Few studies on this issue have been done from the perspective of topic-prominent structure. As a matter of fact, it is noted that topic-prominent structure is the main cause of negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting.According to Charles N. Li and Sandra A. Thompson, Chinese is topic-prominent whereas English is subject-prominent. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out research on negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting, especially from the perspective of topic-prominent structure.Based on language transfer theory, this paper attempts to analyze negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting from the perspective of topic-prominent structure, subject-verb agreement, dangling modifiers, number and tense. Firstly, this dissertation states about some basic concepts like language transfer, topic-prominent structure and subject-prominent structure. Secondly, the present study illustrates negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting mainly from the perspective of topic-prominent structure, which includes double nominatives structure, existential construction, zero anaphora, pseudo-passive, pseudo tough movement and clauses functioning as topics. Thirdly, this thesis also presents four manifestations of negative transfer in C-E interpreting from the perspective of subject-verb agreement, dangling modifiers, number and tense. Finally, this paper offers interpreters some strategies for coping with negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting.The significance of the study is that it will help interpreters raise awareness of negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting, thus offering them the possibility to avoid negative transfer of Chinese grammar in C-E interpreting.