现代汉语的欧化现象 = STUDY OF ENGLISHISATION OF MODERN CHINESE

Abstract

This Academic Exercise aims to investigate the linguistic phenomenon of the'influence' of the English Language on Mordern Chinese. This phenomenon is known as "Englishisation". The May Fourth Movement which promoted the use of "vernacular" Chinese marks the beginning of Englishisation. The "vernacular" Chinese language, being new, is highly susceptible to Western influence coupled with the influx of western ideas and translations of western literary works. The spread of this influence has been extensive throughout all levels of the Chinese language, namely, vocabulary, morphology and syntax. However this significant linguistic fact has regrettably been under-researched. This Academic Exercise attempts to make a contribution to the field by exploring the different levels of Englishisation in modern Chinese language. The author discovered that paratactic Chinese as opposed to syntactic English, shows a tendancy of syntactic development as a result of Englishisation. Some Englishisation phenomena though initially unstandardized, gradually transit to become standerdized through more common usage that it has been unquestionably accepted into the domain of modern Chinese. Chapter 1 defines the aim and scope of this study. Chapter 2 traces the source of Englishisation in modern Chinese language. Chapter 3 studies the Englishisation of vocabulary. Chapter 4 deals with the area of morphology and syntax. Chapter 5 discusses issues pertaining to the process of determining the acceptance of Englishized vocabulary, morphology and syntax. Chapter 6 surveys Singapore's largest Chinese newspaper, "Lianhe Zaobao" as a case study of Englishisation. Chapter 7 then concludes the Academic Exercise and bring forth areas for further research.