When East Meets West: The Rhetorical Influence of English on Chinese Research Articles

This study is the first to make an in-depth examination of Chinese rhetorical style over a sustained time period, not only to see how Chinese rhetorical patterns have changed over time, but also to see how English has played a role in making that change. The hypotheses were : (1) There have been English rhetorical influences on the Chinese research articles; and (2) Different degrees of that English influence will be found between the articles from China and the articles from Taiwan. From the diachronic and synchronic contrastive studies conduced, all of the findings suggest that at least for the disciplines of social science, the preferred English-influenced discourse patterns of the international discourse communities are beginning to affect the rhetorical patterns of Chinese scientific writings. All the analyses have led to the same conclusion: over the last three decades, both in China and in Taiwan, English has been a major influence in the rhetorical pattern of the scientific research articles in the field of social science. While the articles from Taiwan have always shown marked compliance with the English-influenced rhetorical pattern over the last three decades, the articles from China, on the other hand, exhibit a slower and yet steady shift toward it.

Thesis Author: Kan, Li-Fen Frances

Year Completed: 1999

Committee Members: Kristine, Hansen, Dana Scott Bourgerie

Thesis Chair: William G. Eggington