Using Contrastive Terminology Analysis in Teaching a Foreign Language

This study focuses on teaching Chinese for Special Purposes (CSP) and explores how terminology used in Chinese commercial contracts can be taught using a contrastive terminology analysis. Firstly, we outline the contextual differences that exist between commercial contracts drafted in Chinese and those drafted in English. Secondly, we describe the method of contrastive semantic analysis and show how it can be paired with corpus linguistics in order to help L2 Chinese learners acquire vocabulary used in Business Chinese, focusing specifically on Chinese commercial contracts. Thirdly, we shall explore the semantic equivalence between lexical items of different languages. Lastly, we present a semantic analysis of terminology found in Chinese and English commercial contracts. We hope that the theoretical framework presented in this paper will be of use to teachers of Chinese for Special Purposes.

___

  • Adams, J. P. (2009). The Roman Concept of Fides. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/fides.html Aston, G. (Ed.). (2001). Learning with corpora. Houston: Athelstan. Bennet, G. (2010). Using corpora in the language learning classroom: Corpus linguistics for teachers. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Breeze, R. (2017). Corpora and computation in teaching law and language. International Journal of Language & Law, 6, 1-17. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14762/jll.2017.001 Cao, D. (2016). Chinese law: a language perspective. New York: Routledge. Cheng, L. & Sin, K. (2008). Terminological equivalence in legal translation: A semiotic approach. Semiotica, 172, 33-45. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/SEMI.2008.088 Dubroff, H. (2006). The implied covenant of good faith in contract interpretation and gap-filling: Reviling a revered relic. St. John’s Law Review, 80(2), 559-620. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1200&context=lawreview Elliott, C. & Quinn, F. (2009). Contract Law (7th ed.). UK: Pearson Education Limited. Garside, K. J., Pigott, A. R., & Bates, J. (2018). UK: The Basics: The Current Position On Good Faith. Retrieved from http://www.mondaq.com/uk/x/709832/Contract+Law/The+Basics+The+current+position+on+good+faith Hafner, C. A., & Candlin, C. N. (2007). Corpus tools as an affordance to learning in professional legal education. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(4), 303-318. Johns, T., & King, P. (Eds.). (1991). Classroom concordancing. Birmingham: University of Birmingham. Juodinytė-Kuznetsova, K. (2015). Contrastive semantic analysis of contract law terms in studies of foreign language for specific purposes. Sustainable Multilingualism, 7, 58-72. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.7.3 Kocbek, A. (2006). Language and culture in international legal communication. Managing Global Transitions, 4(3), 231-247. Retrieved from http://www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISSN/1581-6311/4_231- 247.pdf. Makino, S. (1974). Contrastive semantic analysis and teaching Japanese. The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, 9(1), 21-34. Mattila, H.E.S. (2006). Comparative legal linguistics. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Matulewska, A. (2016). Semantic relations between legal terms: A case study of the intralingual relation of synonymy. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 45(1), 161-174. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/slgr-2016-0022 McEnery, T., & Xiao, R. (2010). What corpora can offer in language teaching and learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 364-380). US: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Oxford University Press. (2019). Definition of contract in English. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/contract Sandrini, P. (1996). Comparative analysis of legal terms: Equivalence revisited. In Galinski, Ch., Schmitz, K. D. (Eds.). Terminology and Knowledge Engineering (pp. 342-351). Retrieved from http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/%7Ec61302//publik/tke96.pdf Sinclair, J. (Ed.). (2004). How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Yu, J. (俞江). (2003). “契约”与“合同”之辨——以清代契约文书为出发点. (Difference between “Agreement” and “Contract”- Starting with Qing Dynasty Agreements). 中国社会科学 (Social Sciences in China), 6, 134-148. Retrieved from http://article.chinalawinfo.com:81/article_print.asp?articleid=38124 Zhang, J. (1999). Evolution of the Chinese legal civilization. China: University of Political Science and Law Press. Zhang, M. (2006). Chinese contract law: Theory and practice. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.