Important Differences betweenChinese and English Language

If you are a Chinese, learning English, you may have noticed how many English speakers don’t say each syllable and word with complete clarity, haven’t you?

And that’s not all. The English and Chinese languages are quite different, in terms of the rhythm of speech, word stress, pronunciation and grammar.

Read on to know more about the linguistic differences between English and Chinese.

Rhythm

In Chinese, every syllable is important and takes the same amount of time to say.

However, many English speakers don’t clearly say each syllable and word. In fact, while chatting, some soundsare simply skipped! For example, instead of ‘I will’, you can get away with simply saying ‘I’ll’.

To learn the speaking rhythm, you could practice jazz chants or grammar chants. They’re fun, and the rhythmic speaking practice will help youquickly internalize the grammar.

Syllables and word stress

The Chinese language is monosyllabic. That means each character is a single syllable and receives the same stress and time allocation.This gives the language a sing-song sound.

This is why when Chinese ESL students say each English syllable too carefully, the word-stress pattern changes, making it sound unusual and sometimes causing confusion.

The solution is to first learn the word stress rules. Then practice correct word stress and stress patterns until it becomes second nature.

Pronunciation

Asian students often face difficulty in pronouncing/l/ and /r/, /v/ and /w/, /th/, etc.but often teachers don’t realize that.

So, the first step is to understand the difference in pronunciation. Practice by putting the tip of the tongue against the top of the mouth for /l/, and moving it away for /r/. For /v/, practice touching the top teeth to the bottom lip, and rounding the lips for /w/.

Grammar

English and Chinesegrammar are significantly different from each other, in sentence structure, word order, male and female pronouns and so much more.

For example, in English, sentences have a subject (S), verb (V) and often an object (O). In Chinese the subject is not necessary present in every sentence.

Chinese word order is so different that students run into difficulty in a word-by-word translation.

To understand and master the nuances of English language, watch movies, listen to music and stories and watch the news, all in English language. Participation and practice of natural English is the most effective way to learn to speak English.

When you pay attention to these differences, you will soon become fluent in the English language. Good luck!

If you are looking for accredited ESL courses for Chinese students, teaching English to Chinese students or programs for non-English speaking students, visit Dongchen International Education or call (716) 861-3396 NOW!

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Dongchen International Education Joined: March 24th, 2020