A Comparison of Transitivity System in English and Chinese

Transitivity system is an important concept of Systematic Functional Grammar (SFG) as well as a useful tool for discourse analysis. Based on Halliday’s theoretical framework, this paper compares the similarities and distinctions between English and Chinese on the transitivity system, hoping to deepen the understanding toward the two languages from a new aspect and throw light on E-C translation. The research indicates that the six processes on the transitivity system in English and Chinese is semantically the same and can remain unchanged in E-C translation, while in certain circumstances process transfer is necessary. Key words: Comparison; Transitivity system; English and Chinese translation implication