Analysis of the Grammatical Passive Voice in English and Chinese, A Comparison Between the Two Languages
- October 30, 2021
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue X, October 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Amerigo Quatrini
Shanghai University, School of Foreign Languages, Shangda Rd 99, Shanghai, China
Abstract— The usage of the grammatical passive voice in English and Chinese is analyzed and investigated by this study, making a comparison of the two different approaches Chinese and English have. When using a different language, different rules and customs are bound to appear, hence a different form of the passive voice with its different rules and usages is very likely to appear as well: this research highlights the differences between the two language and gives and insights for learners of either language. The reasons why the passive voice is used in both language and how are explained. The main features of both passive voices are also described.
I. INTRODUCTION
When talking about language and its usage, there are many details to be put into consideration; being a language composed by its own rules and conventions, and therefore speaking habits, a language even when it belongs to the same family, might have different characteristic. This is the case for every language in the world; each language is a unique concoction of rules and features that only belong to that specific one. This of course, applies to specific grammatical rules as well then. The main focus of this paper is the passive voice, in the specific the passive voice of the English language, and the passive voice of Standard Mandarin Chinese.
Motivations of the study
The present study focuses on Mandarin Chinese and English, reason being the two languages are two of the mostly spoken languages in the world; not only that, but as a non-native speaker of both, I personally encountered difficulties when switching from active to passive in both languages, especially when translating from one to another. This issue seems to be very common among Chinese speakers and English speakers as well; this research aims to highlight when this happens, as well as explaining how this phenomenon occurs.
Significance of the Study
Despite the countless research on the matter, non-native speakers of English and Chinese still struggle to successfully translate meaning in their second language (from now on abbreviated as L2; first language will be abbreviated as L1) passive form. This issue, though it does not affect communication, still manages to create confusion and misunderstandings. As such, it is worth investigating on how to tackle the problem and how to improve the use of passive form in either language.
