Abstract:In recent years, with the increasing focuses on English, English has gradually changed from a language to an essential tool for cultural communication. Because of different background between Chinese and English, there are certain cultural differences in the sentence structure. Why chosen it as the object is that sentences are the basic unit of language expression and human thinking. Sentences are also the link between vocabulary and discourse. In other words, sentences can reflect the difference between the two languages. This paper attempts to analyze the differences between English and Chinese sentence structure from the perspective of high context and low context culture. At the same time, the underlying causes of this difference are resolved.

Key words: English and Chinese; Sentence structure; difference

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Introduction-1

I.-Comparative Analysis of the Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures-3

A.Different Historical and Cultural influences-3

B.Different Social philosophical Values-4

C.Different Language Families-5

II. Sentence Structure Differences between English and Chinese-8

A.Subject-Prominent Sentence Vs. Topic-Prominent Sentence-8

B.Active Voice Sentences Vs. Passive Voice Sentences-9

III.-The Reflection of English and Chinese Thinking in English and Chinese Sentences-12

A.Comparison of English and Chinese Thinking Modes-12

B.Specific Performance of the Influence on Sentence Structure-13

Conclusion-15

Bibliography-16

Acknowledgements-17