Parataxis and hypotaxis in modern Chinese

Abstract

The paratactic features of Chinese has been specifically discussed and emphasized by linguists in the past decades and, particularly on the issue of Chinese-English translation, a comparative analysis on the paratactic Chinese and hypotactic English has always been made. It seems that parataxis and hypotaxis should stand on the opposite side, and Chinese is distinctive to rely on semantic or logical comprehension rather than connectives in the juxtaposition of syntactic units. But as a matter of linguistic development or influence by Western syntax as some may say, the increasing usage of grammatical markers and connectives in the linking or combination of phrases, clauses and sentences has indicated a certain hypotactic quality in modern Chinese. This article gives a summative review on the studies of parataxis and hypotaxis in Chinese in the past decades. It also describes variations in the two concepts, and disusses on certain considerations in defining the nature, functions and interrelationship of parataxis and hypotaxis in the Chinese language.