Using Contrastive Terminology Analysis in Teaching a Foreign Language

Abstract

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.