Title: Cultural Motivations of the Conceptual Differences between Chinese and English Double Object Constructions

Abstract: Inspired by Humboldt’s famous thesis that language contains national spirit, this paper takes the national spirit as a starting point to explore the cultural motivations behind the conceptual differences between Chinese and English double object constructions. The “giving-getting isomorphism” in Chinese double object construction is caused by the dialectical thinking of “Willing Spirit” and the thinking mode of “combining two into one” of the Han nationality. The “giving-getting separation” in English double object construction is caused by the analytical tradition and the thinking mode of “one splitting into two.”

Keywords:: double object constructions, giving-getting isomorphism, giving-getting separation, national spirit; thinking mode

Author: Xiaoyang Shen, Lecturer, College of Foreign Languages, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China.