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A Comparative Study of Chinese and Japanese Word Order and Its Teaching Methods

Author: ShiYuanAnMei
Tutor: LiBaoGui
School: Liaoning Normal University
Course: Curriculum and Pedagogy
Keywords: Japanese Chinese Syntax Comparative analysis Teaching methods
CLC: H36
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2013
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Abstract

Syntax is an integral part of grammar. Comparative studies of Japanese and Chinese syntax are also considered a significant link between Japanese and Chinese linguistic studies. With the pace of China’s internationalization speeding up, it appears the importance of Japanese and Chinese language teaching is becoming more and more important. However, suitable academic comparative research between the two languages is few and far between. This dissertation will not only analyze the differences between Japanese and Chinese word order, it will also explore the teaching methods used for both languages.The third chapter takes a macroscopic approach to understanding more clearly Chinese and Japanese word order and analyzes the theories in each language to better understand their differences. Every language has its own inherent grammatical rules and guidelines. The study of syntax is an important component of linguistic theory as well as one of its fundamental aspects. Language is used for the exchange of information and ideas but consistently follows certain rules and standards. All the languages in the world share this commonality.Chinese is known as an isolating language, or an analytical language. This linguistic typology category typically uses a low morpheme-per-word ratio and fixed word order to express grammatical meaning. Syntax is the single most important method of grouping a language’s morphemes together and for Chinese specifically, is very influential in expressing meaning. Japanese word order, on the other hand, is known to be more flexible and free. Aside from the conventional predicate/verb being fixed at the end of the sentence, word order is a lot less important in Japanese.Chapter four explores the problems rooted in more complicated sequences with adverbial and adjective modifiers. With languages like Chinese and Japanese, adjective modifiers tend to influence each other in word sequences and therefore the majority of word orders are similar yet there still exists differences. Japanese and Chinese adverbial modifier differences are more complicated than the differences in adjective modifiers. This chapter will focus specifically on those complicated word orders that differ between Japanese and Chinese.Chapter five will explore the word order of ambiguous sentences as well as the difficulties in teaching them. Ambiguous sentences are sentences that have two or more possible meanings because of the structure of the sentence. This dissertation will address ambiguous sentences from the perspectives of both Japanese and Chinese. The S-V-O/S-O-V word order in Chinese can sometimes be non-concordant, thus producing many ambiguous sentences. Japanese has less ambiguous sentences due to its more concordant S-O-V word order. However, a sentences’ ambiguity does not rely solely on its word order. This chapter will also discuss the different methods to make sentences less ambiguous.Chapter six reflects on the teaching methods of word order. Although this is only one aspect of language teaching, it is still an important topic for students’ language acquisition and comprehensive language competency. Through a thorough understanding, Japanese students will learn how to master the Chinese language both faster and more accurately. In order to achieve the goals set by language teachers, there must be targeted teaching methods. Teachers, teaching materials and teaching methods must have strict requirements and specified methods for assessment. Teachers should be bilingual; teaching materials should be practical, efficient, entertaining, and keep students’ interest.

A Comparative Study of Chinese and Japanese Word Order and Its Teaching Methods

Abstract

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