《中国日报》中美专栏作家立场副词使用的对比分析

本研究比较《中国日报》中美专栏作家三大类立场副词的使用频率、各个子类以及单个立场副词的使用情况,揭示中国高水平英语使用者与英语本族语者使用立场副词表达立场的异同。研究发现,虽然中国作者在各种立场副词使用的顺序上和本族语作者一致,但在立场副词使用总频率、不定程度立场副词的使用频率方面显著低于英语本族语作者,而在确定性立场副词的使用频率上显著高于英语本族语作者。此外,与英语本族语作者相比,中国作者存在过少使用或过多使用某些立场副词的现象。中国专栏作家在表达立场时更为直接、生硬、正式、单调,与读者互动意识不及英语本族语者同行。

The study compares China Daily＇ s Chinese and American columnists in terms of their use of English stance adverbs to reveal both similarities and differences between Chinese advanced English users and English native speakers with regard to the expression of their stance. It is found that while Chinese writers and English native speakers use the three kinds of stance adverbs in the same order of frequency, the former use stance adverbs and adverbs of indefinite degree with significantly lower frequency than the latter but use certainty adverbs with significantly higher frequency than the latter. Moreover, compared with English native speakers, Chinese writers underuse and overuse some of the stance adverbs. The research findings seem to suggest that Chinese columnists are more direct, stiff, formal, monotonous and less aware of the need for interaction with readers when expressing stance than their English counterparts.