英汉商业介绍性文本的修辞特征比较
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Chapter I Introduction
1
Chapter I Introduction
This study is a contrastive rhetorical analysis of Chinese and American business
introductory texts, focusing on the culturally-embedded patterns underlying in the
English business introductions written or translated by the Chinese. It is going to
examine the differences and similarities in linguistic representations of three sets of
business introductions: American texts in English, Chinese texts and their English
versions. The author tries to probe into cultural factors behind the rhetorical differences
between Chinese and American.
§1.1 Significance of This Study
Business introductory text, as the author defines it, is a kind of written
introduction which serves as commercial communication. It is a text genre which may
concern every walk of life, such as companies, services, products, scenery spots, and so
forth. With the globalization of business and the development of computer science,
especially the Internet connecting every corner of the world, the prominence of the
written presentation of introductions in English can not be ignored in China’s trade
circle. A business introduction, as a promotional text, serves as a window to potential
customers. It has no doubt that a well-written company profile could create a favorable
image in reader’s mind, whereas a poorly-written one is likely to spoil the image that
the conveyer wants to express, and even worse, it may induce unfavorable or negative
effect among the readers. What’s more, a business introduction is similar to a sales letter
to capture the attention of the audience and then subtly persuade them to be prospective
customers or investors.
The development of China and China’s entry into the WTO make it almost a must
for every Chinese business introduction to have its English version, so as to develop
beyond the domestic market. Therefore, it is urgently needed for the professionals in
business settings to compose the introductory texts effectively. However, many English
written introductions are literally translated from the Chinese versions, failing to
express or even distort the exact meaning conveyed by the corresponding Chinese ones.
For most of these English business introductions, not only do they have grammatical
errors, but also have many rhetorical problems in regard to cultural differences. Even
A Contrastive Study of Rhetorical Features Between Chinese and American Cultures
Through Business Introductory Texts
2
though some texts are grammatically correct, they may make native speaker feel odd or
strange. In the case of English expository composing, the writers are supposed to write
what corresponds with the expectation of the English native speakers; otherwise, the
introduction will fail to fulfill its expected function.
The globalization of economy propels the contact and exchange among various
cultures, members from one particular cultural community need to be ready to have
adequate knowledge of the other cultures for the sake of better cross-cultural
communication. This study is, subsequently, anticipated to help the businessmen at
work place and pre-experience students majoring in business or business English in the
schools or institutions with their business English writing. To be more specific, the study,
in the first place, is aiming to raise the cross-cultural awareness in both the professionals
and students in that it is a pre-requisite for better business English writing. Secondly, it
may shed some light on the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of English
business introductions written or translated in Chinese context. Last but not the least, it
is hoped that the tentative explanation for the occurrence of differing cultural and
rhetorical conventions would contribute to contrastive rhetoric.
§1.2 Research Background
Initiated by the American applied linguist Robert Kaplan (1966), the study of
contrastive rhetoric reinforced the Whorfian hypothesis that each language imposes a
world view on its users, and maintained that not only spoken language but also logic
and rhetoric are culture-specific. It was claimed by Kaplan (1966) that Chinese writing
was characterized by spiral thinking, and quite contrarily, American English exposition
followed a straightforward mode of thinking. To illustrate the influence of cultural
elements on discourse pattern, an illustration of those elements from which Chinese
thought pattern developed has been made in literature review and these cultural
elements need to be further elaborated.
Since language interacts with its culture, its rhetoric and writing style preferences
are culturally embedded. In other words, the formation of rhetoric and composition
cannot be stated separately from the culture from which it emerges. As Smith (1987)
indicates, “using a common linguistic medium (English) does not mean that discourse
strategies are shared” (qtd. in Hinkel, 2001: 92), people learning English does not
necessarily master the rhetorical conventions of English, even those advanced learners.
Chapter I Introduction
3
Research has demonstrated that one of the difficulties in writing across cultures
frequently manifests itself in rhetorical inclinations. For Chinese students learning
English, most of them have learned their Chinese writing from primary school till high
school, where emphasis is placed on expressive writing and personal experience and
reflection are frequently used. However, when they are learning to write in English in
university, or when they are doing formal academic writing that requires clear
expression of the gist, they may sometimes transfer what they have learned about
Chinese writing to their English writing, resulting in obscure argument and organization
(Ding, 2003: 236). In addition to that, they have the tendency of employing some
rhetorical devices that are typical to Chinese writing rather than those expected in
Anglo-American academic compositions, which might cause misunderstandings in most
cases. Experts on the Chinese rhetorical tradition have observed that, the writers are
very likely to compose their ideas and thoughts according to Chinese conventional
writing norms, some of which are deeply rooted in the traditional thoughts of China,
while the point whether a common reader from Anglo-American culture can accept it is
overlooked. Besides, patriotism, loyalty, the collective interest, and respect for authority
are the basic moral principles taught in schools in China (Carson, 1992: 44), thus
Chinese writers have the tendency to value these factors much in their compositions,
while native English writers consider language as primarily a medium for expressing
individual meaning. By means of explicating the contrast between English and Chinese
rhetorical inclinations, a better perception of both of English and Chinese writing norms
can be expected and some constantly occurring mistakes can be avoided.
Another question that is frequently addressed is how to deal with rhetorical
phenomenon in the process of translation, while it is now very common to apply
rhetorical theories to the practice of writing. In the field of cross-cultural
communication, translation plays a critical role. Translation is not merely an
interlanguage transform, but essentially a communication of culture, thinking pattern,
tradition and so on. Therefore, a translator has the responsibility of introducing the
implied information in the source language to the target readers as much as possible
while putting the meaning of the superficial structure into target language. However, the
unavoidable existence of cultural differences coded in Chinese and English determines
the impossibility of conveying information of the same quantity in the target language
as in the source language. Sometimes, certain cultural phenomena in the source
A Contrastive Study of Rhetorical Features Between Chinese and American Cultures
Through Business Introductory Texts
4
language can even be untranslatable. Since there are remarkable differences between
English and Chinese rhetorical inclinations and a considerable amount of cultural
information is embodied in rhetorical pattern, a contrastive study of the inclinations of
English and Chinese is necessary for translating. The translator should first recognize
the rhetorical devices applied in the source language and identify the implied meaning
in it and then he needs to choose an appropriate form in the target language to convey
both superficial meaning and the implied meaning to make the target readers have the
same or similar response as the source language readers do From this point of view, a
contrastive study of English and Chinese rhetorical features, by virtue of revealing even
the subtlest in the two language, is essential in both English-Chinese and
Chinese-English translation.
Since Kaplan’s first study, a wealth of research at the discourse level has
compared writing patterns and styles in many languages and cultures (Matalene, 1985;
Ostler, 1987; Hinds, 1990; Scollon, 1991; Claiborne, 1992; Cai, 1993; and Young, 1994).
Among these studies, a variety of Chinese English writings were also proven to be
influenced by discourse of their native language. However, most researches concerning
Chinese context are only delimited in the study of ESL learners’ compositions. It hasn’t
been recognized that English is widely taught in China and widely used is mass media,
which leads to the combination of English and Chinese culture. And with English
emerging as an international language, an important shift of emphasis of contrastive
rhetoric now may be seen in the English that constitute the basis of contrastive rhetoric
research. To compensate for the limitation, a few of them turned their attention to such
more practical texts in business settings as sales letters, resumes and job applications
(Bhatia, 1993; Jekins and Hinds, 1987; Connor, 1988, and Maier, 1992;). Nevertheless,
as Yli-Jokipii (1991) and Zak and Dudley-Evans (1986) show, there is still relatively
little linguistically oriented research on business communication cross culturally.
Furthermore, the sparse literature on cross-cultural business communication has been
disappointing.
The current study is attempting to explore a different genre of written English text
in business communication—business introductory text. On account of the unique
nature of the business introductions as mentioned in the previous section, the author
anticipates to join one more subject to be analyzed in effort to testing the validity of this
hypothesis. Bearing it in mind, the author especially concentrates on the
Chapter I Introduction
5
culturally-embedded rhetorical pattern supposed to have influence on L2 writer. As
contrastive rhetoric typically considers Anglo-American English rhetorical features as
the norm and the most important role that the United States plays in China’s
international business, the corresponding American texts are chosen to be compared in
order to add more weight to this contrastive research.
A Contrastive Study of Rhetorical Features Between Chinese and American Cultures
Through Business Introductory Texts
6
Chapter II Literature Review
This chapter deals with the findings concerning the second language writing in
the realm of contrastive rhetoric. The most relevant research are worthy of a full-fledged
illumination in that their findings or the methodologies are important for the present
study. The remarks on the effects and shortages of the past research are presented
shortly after each review. Since this study falls into the domain of contrastive analysis,
the literature review shall begin with a general introduction to this division.
§2.1 General Introduction to Contrastive Analysis
Contrastive analysis is originally developed by Fries (1945) in the 1950s and then
expanded by Lado(1957), though, there is no written definition of contrastive analysis
until the 1980 when Carl James completed his landmark book Contrastive Analysis.
According to him, Contrastive Analysis (CA) is a linguistic enterprise aiming at
producing inverted two-valued typologies, and founded on the assumption that language
can be compared (James, 1980). And Xu Yulong, a Chinese scholar, defines CA as a
branch of linguistics whose task is: make a synchronic contrastive study of two or more
languages and describe the similarities and differences especially differences between
them, and finally apply the results of the study to other relevant fields (Xu, 1992).
Based on these two definitions, CA is a branch of linguistics involving language study,
and what it is most concerned with is the differences between the languages involved.
As a form of inter-lingual study, CA has much in common with the study of
bilingualism, which, by definition, is the study of the possession of two languages. But
different from bilingualism, which is concerned with how an individual or society can
possess two languages, what CA is concerned with is how a monolingual can become a
bilingual (James, 1980). Being a bilingual entails the ability of conducting smooth and
natural transfer between two different languages, so CA is supposed to explore how the
two languages in question can interact with each other, and how the mastery of one
helps master the other or how the ignorance of one hinders the acquisition of the other.
Like any other branch of linguistics, CA has its theoretical foundation. Since CA
is “a hybrid drawing on the sciences of linguistics and psychology (James, 1980)”, its
psychological foundation should be focused on. According to James, the psychological
Chapter II Literature Review
7
foundation of CA is transfer theory. As for transfer, H.C. Ellis says that it is “perhaps the
single most important concept in the theory and practice of education”. He also
maintains that it means “the hypothesis that the learning of task A will affect the
subsequent learning of task B” (Ellis, 1965). So as far as foreign language learning is
concerned, it is believed that the learning of the native language will affect the
subsequent learning of the target language and vice versa.
CA is not only a theory of linguistics, but also a theoretical foundation and
methodology employed in pedagogical field. Traditionally, CA has been applied in
predicting and diagnosing a proportion of the second language (L2) errors committed by
learners with a common first language (L1), and in the design of testing instruments for
such learners (James, 1980). As for the function of prediction, Lado, in the preface to
his Linguistics Cultures, says that the plan of his book is based on the assumption that
the patterns of L2, some of which will cause difficulty in learning and some will not,
can be predicted and described (Lado, 1957). Oller states that CA is “a device for
predicting points of difficulty and some of the errors that learners will make”. (Oller,
1971) In James’ words, “there seems then to be three things that a CA can predict: it can
predict, in the sense of ‘pre-identify’, what aspects will cause problems; or it can predict
difficulty; or it can predict errors.” (James, 1980) In short, it is held that CA, to some
extent, can reduce inter-lingual problems and remove interlingual obstacles in L2
learning. Besides, CA is also conducted to help teachers diagnose learners’ errors. James
emphasizes the importance of diagnosis in language learning by saying that “a good
teacher cannot indulge in the luxury of the ‘ours not to reason why’ attitude.” He
maintains that "an important ingredient of the teacher’s role as monitor and assessor of
the learners’ performance is to know why certain errors are committed”, for he believes
that “it is on the basis of such diagnostic knowledge that the teacher organizes feedback
to the learner and remedial work” (James, 1980). In addition, CA is conducted to guide
language testing as well. As James states, CA has two roles to play in testing. First, it
matters in deciding what to test and to what degree to test different L2 items. To support
this view, he claims that “if items isomorphic in L1and L2 are assumed to be easy for
the learner, they can be bypassed in the test”, for “it will be more informative for the
tester to test only the learning problems predicted by the CA”. And the degree to which
to test concerned, he claims that “it depends on the level of the learner, but a test for the
intermediate student that is CA-based should contain more items” that are equal to his
A Contrastive Study of Rhetorical Features Between Chinese and American Cultures
Through Business Introductory Texts
8
or her competence (James, 1980).
In addition to the traditional applications, James recommends, that CA can also be
applied in designing courses. He believes that CA can help designers properly observe
the pedagogical principles of Selection (WHAT to teach), and Grading (WHEN to teach)
of target-language items. Besides, he believes that CA can help course designers
naturally and appropriately involve contrastive teaching elements in their designing
(James, 1980).
CA, to summarize, is a branch of linguistic study. It is a theory which holds that,
in the process of a monolingual’s becoming bilingual, competence of one language
entails and influences that of the other. It, at the same time, is a methodological
principle in that it has been traditionally employed in pedagogical field to deal with
practical elements and it is to be exploited further in applied linguistics.
To emphasize, this thesis is not a further exploration into the theory of CA.
Instead, it is a specific and practical effort to contribute to Chinese business writing by
the research method of contrastive analysis. The contrastive study in this thesis is
different from CA, for it is only a method or way adopted to help make something in
question fully demonstrated and understood. But contrastive analysis to be adopted is
also closely related to CA, for it shares the same theoretical foundation that successful
interaction between the target language and the native language has to be guaranteed if
the mastery of target language is expected. More importantly, the reason why
contrastive analysis can be adopted as a research method in this thesis is that it has been
proved that CA can work as a pedagogical guidance in the teaching of business writing.
§2.2 Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and Language Relativity
Kaplan’s contrastive rhetoric theory takes Whorf’s linguistic relativity as one of
the theoretical foundations. He once elucidated: “my original conception was merely
that rhetoric had to be viewed in a relativistic way; that is, that rhetoric constituted as
linguistic area influenced by the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis” (Kaplan, 1972).
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which is named after the two American linguists
who first formulated it, also known as Whorfian hypothesis, suggests that different
languages affect perception and thought in different ways. After studying the culture of
American Indians for years, Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf started from
the view that we all have a basic need to make sense of the world and the main tool we
Chapter II Literature Review
9
have for that need is language. The language we use determines how we experience the
world and how we express that experience. Hence, their view is often referred to as
“linguistic determinism”. They asserted that one’s native language influences and
controls one’s own thought, consequently barring fluent second language acquisition.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis to some extent inquires into the relationship between
language and culture. As Whorf stipulates:
How does such a network of language, culture and behavior come about
historically? Which was the first: the language pattern or the cultural norms? In main
they have grown up together, constantly influencing each other. But in this partnership
the nature of language is the factor that limits free plasticity and rigidifies channels of
development in the more autocratic way. This is so because a language is a system, not
just an assemblage of norms. Large systematic outlines can change to something really
new only very slowly, while many other cultural innovations are made with comparative
quickness. (Whorf, 1939:156)
He also indicates that “facts are unlike to speakers whose language background
provides for unlike formulation of them” (Whorf, 1941b:235) and that “the forms of a
person’s thoughts are controlled by inexorable laws of pattern of which he is
unconscious” (Whorf, 1941:232).
More than half a century has passed since the emergence of Whorfian hypothesis,
and linguists, psychologists and anthropologists today are rather critical of the view of
language as determining the way people look at the world. Moreover, it is increasingly
obvious that there is plenty of evidence going against language determinism. David
Premack once announced during the 1975 New York Conference on the Origins and
Evolution of Language and Speech that: “The Whorfian hypothesis is attractive, but not
because of the evidence that supports it. As a matter of fact, most of the evidence goes
in the opposite direction...” In fact, the concept has generally derived into two separate
groups: “strong” determinism and “weak” determinism. Strong determinism, the
extreme version of the theory, states that language today, although in the past this
actually determines thought, few followers has not always been the case, since it has
been proven false from psychological respect, and the possibility of translation between
languages is also among the strong evidences against it. The weak version, however,
claims that thought is merely affected by or influenced by language and the linguistic
systems available to us, but not much more and it has been gaining ground gradually. As
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ChapterIIntroduction1ChapterIIntroductionThisstudyisacontrastiverhetoricalanalysisofChineseandAmericanbusinessintroductorytexts,focusingontheculturally-embeddedpatternsunderlyingintheEnglishbusinessintroductionswrittenortranslatedbytheChinese.Itisgoingtoexaminethedifferencesandsimilaritiesinlinguist...
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