School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses

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A contrastive analysis of Chinese and English writing of Singaporean students

Chew, Si Ying Esther ( 2008)

This thesis compared the essays of 13 Singaporean students, written in English and Chinese, within the theoretical framework of contrastive rhetoric. The study responded to criticisms made of contrastive rhetoric, by including new methodologies, particularly the experiences of participants as a significant part of the qualitative analysis. The analysis of essay data focused on how arguments were framed and their content. The questionnaire and interview data investigated student's experiences and attitudes towards learning and using the two languages.. It was found that (a) there were similarities in terms of overall structure of the essays and transfer of certain Chinese stylistic devices, (b) there were differences in the use of other Chinese stylistic devices, and the arguments in Chinese essays clustered around personal-informal-emotional arguments whereas those in the English essays clustered around impersonal-formal-rational arguments. These themes were reflected in the questionnaire and interview data as well.