On November 29, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) hosted the 243rd lecture in the SUSTech Lecture Series, with an exclusive address from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) member Shen Jiaxuan. SUSTech Center for the Humanities Deputy Director and Competence and Language Cognition Department Director Li Lan chaired the lecture, entitled “Analysis of Chinese-English thinking processes.”
Shen Jiaxuan was the director of the Institute of Linguistics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 1999 to 2009 and the executive director of the International Linguist permanent committee. He is also the chief editor of “Contemporary Linguistics.” He graduated from the Department of Linguistics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences before continuing his studies in the United States and the Netherlands. His academic expertise is in syntax, semantics, and linguistic theory.
At the start of his lecture, Shen Jiaxuan focused first on the difference between “be” in English and “有(you)” in Chinese. He pointed out that the use of “be” in English shows a static view of existence and a logical frame of mind. On the other hand, the use of “有(you)” in Chinese takes a historically rational approach and examines things from the initial process of creation.
He then moved onto the way each language uses nouns and verbs. He noted that the Chinese language is more flexible with its verb positioning, while English does not have a nominalization issue with nouns. Shen Jiaxuan pointed out that the categorization and separation of things are dominated by the English language, and remains inconsistent with the Chinese thinking of “being.”
Shen Jiaxuan’s comparison of the English subject-predicate structure and the Chinese dialogue structure. He explained that the dialogue structure of the Chinese language results in significant attention being paid to syllabic equivalence, and thus an analogous way of thinking. The subject-predicate structure of the English language is the embodiment of logical reasoning.
At the end of his speech, Shen Jiaxuan commented on the introduction of the English language into the Chinese lexicon. He believed that Chinese people have become more aware of the subject-predicate structure, which has allowed linguists to think more deeply about the Chinese language and the thinking behind it.
He took many questions from the assembled students and faculty members at the end of his lecture.
