Similarities and Differences between Chinese and English Sentences in Information Arrangement
Zhou Hui-xian · Journal of Yunnan Normal University · 2006
The distribution of the sentence elements in the linear sequence is not only affected by syntactical rules,but also by the kinds of information the sentence elements carry.Since the information arrangement in sentences abides by the same rule—from given information to new information,there exist some similarities between Chinese and English sentences in the information arrangement.In some Chinese and English sentences,the information focuses are the elements that are at the position of unmarked information focus or the ones that are emphasized via information focus markers.However,owing to some striking differences in syntactical rules between Chinese and English,there exist some great differences in the information arrangement between Chinese and English sentences.Some information focuses are at the position of unmarked information focus in Chinese sentences,but they are at other positions in corresponding English sentences.The information focuses,which convey new information,but are not at the position of unmarked information focus,are at different positions in some Chinese and English sentences.In such linguistic structures as SVO and SVOiOd,the elements conveying given information are moved to different positions in Chinese and English so that the elements conveying new information are at the position of unmarked information focus.