论文总字数：44215字

摘 要

随着全球化的进程加快，英语中带有中国文化的特色的外来词越来越多，在中西方文化交流的过程中起到了不可忽视的作用这一现象。从而发现，中国文化对英语词汇的影响，是一个机遇，利用英语这一国际性语言，趁着全球化的潮流，将中国文化推向世界，提高中国文化影响力势在必行。

对于英语中汉语外来词的研究发展较为缓慢，有一定成果，也仍有许多进一步研究的空间。对于英语中汉语外来词来说，现在需要系统性的整理，深入分析中国文化在其背后的影响因素，从而可以在实践中充分运用这些汉语外来词。

本文旨在分析英语中汉语外来词的历史沿革和发展历程、影响因素和方式以及现实运用，从而得出中国文化为何能影响英语中外来词以及怎样去影响英语中外来词的结论。本文分别从历史的角度和现实的角度进行分析，选取经济、政治、文化等三个主要影响因素和官方交流、民间交流、著作翻译、媒体报道等四个影响途径，从而得出中西方文化交流的潮流趋势，总结中国文化如何对英语产生影响，又如何运用这些影响下产生的汉语外来词来为传播中国文化而服务，从而为未来的发展提供一定的参考。

关键词： 中国文化， 汉语外来词， 英语

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements i

English Abstract ii

Chinese Abstract iii

Table of Contents iv

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Research Background 1

1.1 Research Target 2

1.1 Research Significance 2

1.1 Research Method 3

1.1 Structure of Thesis 3

Chapter Two Literature Review 5

2.1 The Historical Development of Chinese Loanwords in English 5

2.2 Define of Loanwords 7

2.3 Research on Loanwords in English 8

Chapter ThreeImpact of Chinese Civilization on Chinese Loanwords in English 10

3.1Influence Factors 10

3.1.1 Economic Factors 10

3.1.2 Political Factors 11

3.1.3CulturalFactors 12

3.2Ways of Influencing 13

3.2.1Intergovernmantal Communication 13

3.2.2 Non-governmental Communication 14

3.2.3Translation of Works 15

3.2.4Media Report 16

Chapter Four The use of the impact of Chinese loanwords in English 18

4.1 The Use in Cross-cultural Communication 18

4.2 The Use in Translation 19

Chapter Five Conclusion 21

5.1 Summary 21

5.2 Future Directions 21

Appendix I 23

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Loanwords, also called alien words or borrowings, are used to refer to words borrowed from foreign languages. English is the most widely used language in the world. It also has one of the biggest word bases. Its inclusiveness and openness makes it possible to borrow various useful loanwords to enrich and develop its own lexical resources. A great number of English words and expressions are derived from many other languages like Latin, German, French, Greek, Italian and so on, including Chinese.

There are more than 1300 English words derived from Chinese in the Oxford English Dictionary (the second edition in 1989) (Li, 2015). Recently, the Global Language Monitor (GLM) in the United States claims that Chinese has contributed 5% to 20% of the new English words since 1994, more than any other language sources.

This phenomenon may be justified from an objective and pragmatic perspective. In the past, people use “Chinglish” to jokingly define pidgin English. However, with the deepening of the world’s political, economic and cultural exchanges, people begin to lay emphasis on this cultural phenomenon to break down the barriers and strengthen mutual understanding.

Actually, it can be found throughout the history that English words affected by Chinese civilization appeared quite early. The origin dates back to the period of the Silk Road. English words like “silk”, “tea” and “china” emerged at that time because of the trade contacts between China and the west.

In recent years, some online Chinese buzzwords spread throughout the world gradually. A good illustration is the word “gelivable”, created by Chinese people, meaning “给力.” An article on the New York Times in August, 2010 said that this word has got its official recognition and was translated into “gelivable” in English and “très guélile” in French. What is more, it was also included in the American online slang dictionary, the Urban Dictionary.

These all show us the impact of Chinese loanwords in English in today’s society.

1.2 Research Objective

The goals of this study are to analyze the history and development of the Chinese loanwords in English, and to discuss relevant affecting factors and the way Chinese civilization affects Chinese loanwords in English.

In particular, this thesis aims at making an comparison among the Chinese loanwords in English in different historical periods driven by different influencing factors. In that way, it may be safely concluded how different influencing factors function in different periods and how these loanwords help in political, economic and cultural communication between China and the west.

Based on the comparisons above, this paper attempts to make a summary as to how to apply this impact into practice when China is engaged in inter-cultural communications and translation and interpretation. It is advisable to seize the opportunity of globalization to increase the influence of Chinese civilization in the whole world (Liu, 2006). So, this paper will also suggest some measures for reference in practice.

1.3 Research Significance

Language is the carrier of culture and civilization, playing a crucial role in the communication among various countries and areas. A systematic study on the impact of Chinese civilization on Chinese loanwords in English is conducive to providing guidance for the exchange between China and the west in a variety of aspects. On one hand, these Chinese loanwords reflect the unique Chinese civilization and history, which can help us to find the way to use English, the international language, to effectively promote and popularize Chinese civilization. On the other hand, these recognized Chinese loanwords are distinguished from the so-called non-standard Chinglish. So, it can be helpful to teach Chinese learners to use English and translate Chinese into English in a more idiomatic way and make China English more acceptable in the world.

Additionally, with the pace of globalization becoming faster and faster, Chinese loanwords in English which contain distinctive Chinese culture become more and more common. These loanwords reflect the impact of Chinese civilization in today’s world. So, the study on the impact of Chinese civilization on Chinese loanwords in English can do good to help people develop an awareness of this linguistic phenomenon. To a greater extent, this research may lay a foundation for the study of the impact of Chinese civilization in the whole world, as a result of which, China’s “going out strategy” can be more practicable and China’s soft power can thus be enhanced.

1.4 Research Methods

Considering the nature and purposes of this thesis, this research adopts the following approaches:

This research adopts the methods of investigation and document analysis to unfold the historical evolution of Chinese loanwords in English. Then, it focuses on how well Chinese people know about Chinese loanwords in English through relevant investigations.

Furthermore, this research uses loanwords used by both domestic and foreign media and those included by foreign dictionaries for reference in this research. Finally, this paper draws a conclusion of the influencing factors and ways of Chinese loanwords in English and analyze their development tendency.

1.5 Thesis Structure

This thesis includes five chapters:

The first chapter is an introduction. It is used to introduce the background, goal, significance, methodology and thesis structure of this research.

The second chapter is to introduce the historical evolution of Chinese loanwords in English and the definition of loanword. Meanwhile, it will review the research status of Chinese loanwords in English both at home and abroad.

The third chapter is the body part of this thesis. It is about the specific influencing factors and how they affect and help bring about these Chinese loanwords. In this chapter, this paper will discuss and organize all the important influencing factors and ways in a systemic way, including those in the economic, political and cultural field.

The fourth chapter is about the application of this research. It will give some advice for reference in the practice of translation and inter-cultural communication.

The fifth chapter is a conclusion. It is a summary of the whole thesis. Then, it will point out the implication and limitation of this paper for later research.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Historical Evolution of Chinese Loanwords in English

Chinese loanwords in English boast a long history. These loanwords develop and enrich the English vocabulary with the evolution of Chinese history and civilization. The historical evolution of Chinese loanwords in English can be divided into the following periods:

2.1.1 The first period: before the early 1600’s

The time from the establishment of Qin Dynasty to the Mid-Ming Dynasty is the first period in which Chinese loanwords in English began to appear.

In this period, although China’s economy was prosperous and the commercial interaction between China and the west appeared, this kind of communication was still unfledged mainly because of the long distance and the backward transportation technology.

The word “sinae” was the original form of “China” and “Sino” was the transliteration of the Chinese character “Qin”. It was used to refer to Qin Dynasty. Later on, it was developed into the word “China” and “sino” through Latin, Greek, Arabic and French language. (Tao, 2006) “China” was often used to refer to this country and combined with other words to form some new words like “China rose” and other 174 Chinese loanwords. (Tao, 2006) Currently, “sino” has become a word formation component in English. It is often combined with other country names to form words like “Sino-US”.

The word “china” was called “chini” at first. Then, it was introduced to Britain by Indians. Since chini was from China and its sound and spelling was like “China”, the lower case “china” has replaced “chini” to refer to porcelain.

According to Oxford English Dictionary(the second edition in 1989), “silk” is one of the first Chinese loanwords in English. It became an English word through Latin and Greek words because of the Silk Road in 888 A.D. The word “tea” was brought in English in 1601. Its sound was from Southern Fujian Dialect. After being borrowed by English, the word “tea” was commonly used in more than 190 compound words like black tea, green tea and so on.

Material civilization is the most active part in civilization. So, the Chinese loanwords such as china culture, silk culture and tea culture in English before the early 1600’s perfectly revealed the material civilization at that time.

2.1.2 The second period: from the early 1600’s to the early 1900’s

The time from the later Ming Dynasty to the Revolution of 1911 is the middle part of the evolution of the Chinese loanwords in English. In this period, the commercial interaction between China and Britain became increasingly frequent and direct. Chinese loanwords in English increased a lot after 1637 when Britain began to directly communicate with China.

However, China adopted a policy of isolation, as a result of which, the communication was mainly concentrated in southern coastal areas and cities like Xiamen and Guangzhou. So, at first, Chinese loanwords at that time was mainly about food, commerce, customs and traditional culture in Fujian-Guangdong areas. For example, loanwords about food include “bok choy”(小白菜) and “longan”(龙眼); loanwords about commerce include “kaolin”(高岭土) and “tsatlee silk”(七里丝); loanwords about customs and traditions include “kow tow”(磕头) and “kung hei fat choy”(恭喜发财).

After the Opium War, China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. From the perspective of the west, China was a poor and backward country with many Chinese earning a life overseas at that time. But Chinese people could only do some menial and heavy work such as working as laborers or running a Chinese restaurant. So, Chinese loanwords at that time mirrored Chinese people’s tough life although they contained some traditional Chinese culture. The most typical loanwords were “coolie”(苦力) and “chop-suey” (炒杂碎). There were also loanwords about Chinese history and religion culture. Take “mandarin”(官话), “fengshui”(风水) and “tao”(道) as examples. They represented Chinese politics, superstition and religion respectively.

During this period, Chinese loanwords contain not only China's material civilization but also some local customs and practices and spiritual civilization like philosophy and politics.

2.1.3 The third period: from the early 1900’s until now

The time after the Revolution of 1911 is the later period of the development of Chinese loanwords in English.

At that time, Chinese society experienced many drastic changes. These changes contributed to English a great number Chinese loanwords about politics and revolution. These loanwords often adopted free translation and transliteration. For example, “gung ho”(共和) and “Sun Yat-senism”(三民主义) were typical loanwords related to revolution. What is more, “household contract responsibility system”(家庭联产承包责任制) and “four modernizations”(四个现代化) were typical loanwords about the policy which were implemented after the foundation of P. R. China.

With the continuous increase of China’s comprehensive national strength, communications in all aspects between China and the west have been deepened and expanded gradually. So, Chinese loanwords in English have flourished. Besides loanwords about the policy mentioned above, in the economic field, there are loanwords like “fairly comfortable standard of living”(小康水平) and “knowledge economy”(知识经济); in the art and culture field, there are loanwords like “quyi”(曲艺) and “Chinese checkers”(中国跳棋); in the field of science and education, there are loanwords like “Chinese herbal medicine”(中国草药) and “pinyin”(拼音); in the social life field, there are loanwords like “cheongsam”(旗袍) and “guanxi”(关系).

This period witnesses a quick development of Chinese loanwords in English. During this period, loanwords concerning more aspects appear. Now, some online language and catch phrases are becoming Chinese loanwords in English and gain acceptance.

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