Chinese and English Mathematics Language: The Relation Between Linguistic Clarity and Mathematics Performance

In Study 1, 48 judges rated the clarity of Chinese, English, and “Chinglish” (Chinese words translated into English) mathematical words-for example, the Chinglish version of the Chinese word for quadrilateral is “four-side-shape.” Native Chinese-speaking judges achieve greater agreement on the relative clarity of Chinese words than do native English-speaking judges on the relative clarity of English words. More Chinese words are rated clear than are English. Chinglish mathematical words tend to be rated more clear than English. The inherent compound word structure of the Chinese language seems well suited to portray mathematical ideas.

In Study 2, we examined the relations among the clarity of Chinese mathematical terms, U.S. urban junior high school students' Chinese reading ability, and their mathematics performance. There is a strong correlation between Chinese reading ability and performance on test items with mathematics words rated clear by Chinese judges. The relative clarity of mathematical terms in the Chinese language may contribute to Chinese-speaking students' understanding of mathematics and to superior mathematics performance.