英语习语与语篇衔接

摘要: 传统的英语习语研究主要是习语的静态研究。本文运用真实的书面语料对篇章中的习语进行了分析,认为英语习语在语篇中能够作为词汇衔接,从而对语篇的衔接作出贡献。

关键词: 英语习语语篇衔接词汇衔接

1.引言

英语习语是英语词汇中不可或缺的重要组成部分。正因为此,这几年国内学者对英语习语进行了大量的研究。这些研究主要集中在习语的典故、习语的翻译、英汉习语对比、习语的语义结构等静态方面。但对于英语习语的动态研究,即习语在正常的交际中的功能探讨的不多。陶岳炼(2002)对于英语习语在语篇中的连接功能进行了研究,认为习语是语篇的一部分,在语篇中可以起到连接功能。常晨光(2003)强调无论是在口语交际还是书面交际中,习语都起着重要作用。本文在前人的研究基础上,利用真实的书面语料,分析英语习语在语篇中的衔接作用。

澳大利亚学者费南多(C.Fernando)在《习语与习语特征》(Idioms and Idiomaticity)中,将习语按不同的语言功能划分成概念性习语(ideational idioms)、人际互动性习语(interpersonal idioms)和连接性习语(relational idioms)。这种分类与韩礼德的语言三大元功能是一致的。这表明某些习语具有连接功能。陶岳炼(2002)也对此作了阐述。英语习语作为英语词汇中的重要组成部分,除了连接性习语外,其他两类习语在语篇中也可以作为词汇衔接手段,促进语篇的连贯,并起到特殊的修辞效果。

2.词汇衔接

Halliday和Hasan将衔接划分为语法衔接和词汇衔接。词汇衔接指通过词的重复、同义、反义、上下义、互补、同现等词汇间的语义关系使语篇连贯。词汇衔接是通过词汇的选择而达到连贯效果。英语的词汇衔接关系可分为两大类:复现关系(reiteration)和同现关系(collocation)(黄国文,1988:122-126)。Hoey认为词汇衔接是谋篇机制的主要手段,语篇中句子之间通过语义关系相互联系,使得对语篇的解读除了句法手段外,还必须依赖于同一语篇中其他词项的语义关系。

2.1复现关系

词汇的复现关系(reiteration)指的是通过某一词以原词、同义词、近义词、上义词、下义词、概括词或其他形式重复出现在语篇中,语篇中的句子通过这种复现关系达到了相互衔接的目的。

习语在语篇中作为词汇衔接一般可以分为两种情况。第一种就是一个习语与和它意义相近的习语在同一语篇中形成衔接,例(1)就是一例:

You’ve heard the BAKER’s DOZEN.

Well,TESCO Didn’t Just Stop There.

Many bakers would have called it a day after coming up with all our white and brown breads:crusty,uncut,sliced,wheat germ,bran and whole meal.

Most would certainly have rested on their laurels after baking all of our buns(burger,bath,fruit,iced,Belgian,Chelsea),all of our rolls(snack,finger,bran and muesli).

But at TESCO we then went on(and on)to include crumpets,muffins,fruited batch,floured baps,sultana scones,syrup pancakes,pitta bread and croissants.

In all we’re introduced well over sixty different bakery lines,and we’re not at the end of the line yet.

Why not give some a try?

Though we feel we should warn you,once you’ve started you’ll probably find it very difficult to stop.

We couldn’t

Today’s

TESCO.

(Sunday Times Magazines of 25 September,1983,cited in Cowie:124-5)

习语“called it a day”,“rested on their laurels”,“at the end of the line”在这则广告中形成了同义词,充分反映了这家面包房对产品的种类和品质锲而不舍的追求。

第二种情况就是,有时作者为达到上下文的词汇衔接,会对某一习语作一下改动,例(2)就是一例。这是一则NPI保险公司的广告。

The Foneses kept up with each other until they retired.

(The accompanying illustration shows two different couples at different garden gates with different facial expressions:No.50 dejected vs.No.52 amused and happy.)

Numerical data:￡2,732 p.a.state pension vs.￡8,320 p.a.NPI pension.

The text reads:

They were earning the same salaries,with identical houses,comparable car,and matching life-styles.But the similarities stopped when they stopped work.

Mr. and Mrs. Fones at number 50 found themselves struggling to scrape by.

While the Foneses at number 52 carried on as before,living happier ever after.

Not surprisingly,the difference between a retirement dream and a pensioner’s nightmare is:

Money.

Or,more accurately,the lack of it...

Ask your broker,bank manager or other adviser about NIP.

Or clip the coupon.

After all,which of the foneses would you rather keep up with?

这则广告对习语“keep up with the Joneses”作了改动,其中对“foneses”和习语的部分“keep up with”都进行了重复,有效地使整个篇章衔接一体。

2.2同现关系

同现关系(collocation)指的是词汇共同出现的倾向性,词汇的同现关系包括反义关系、互补关系等。它不仅指一个词组或一个句子内部的词与词的横向组合关系,而且包括了跨句或跨段落的词项的习惯性共现,所涉及的词项之间可能存在的若干不同的共现模式和语义关系。一般来说,当一个语篇中出现了某个词(如patient)时,读者就会期待在该语篇的另一个地方找到与之搭配的另一个词(如doctor),当所期待的词项在语篇中果真出现时,彼此搭配的词项便把两个甚至更多的不同的句子从语义上前后衔接起来,从而实现语篇的连贯。

例(3)The lenders would find themselves badly gored on the horns of a property dilemma.On the one hand they will have a large number of borrowers simply unable to pay any more,on the other,a property which is falling in value all the time.(Oxford Hector Pilot Corpus,cited in Moon,1998:286)

例(3)中的“dilemma”预示着下文中有可能会讲到这个dilemma到底是什么。接着下文用了“on the one hand”,“on the other”两个习语与上文中的dilemma组成搭配,从而使语篇从词汇上形成衔接。

2.3复现和同现相结合

语篇中的词汇衔接是比较复杂的。要组成一个连贯的语篇并不是单纯地复现或同现的词汇衔接所能完成的任务,语篇中的复现和同现通常是互相结合的。习语用来作词汇衔接也是如此。下面就是一个鲜明的例子:

例(4)Out of Sight,But much in Mind

Two years ago the problems of South Africa were problems for all the world:because the world could see them daily,in their mounting violence,on television screens.Then came the State of Emergecy.The pictures vanished.News copy was censored.Newspapers in South Africa were muffled,or banned.And some 30,000 blacks were locked away.Problems over?In one way,for a time,it almost seemed so.Out of sight was out of mind.Pressure for sanctions abated.Mrs.Thatcher was seen to smile triumphantly.

Appearances,however,were always deceptive.Behind the pall of censorship the town ships were still simmering in revolt.And yesterday,for any doubters,actions again spoke louder than words.Mr P.W.Botha renewed his State of Emergency just two days after the end of a strike by black trades unions which had brought much of the country to a halt.The problem of South Africa hasn’t gone away,and two years of television remission have done nothing to ease or address it.

(The Guardian,11 June,1988,cited in Moon)

这是一篇社论的开头部分。首先,标题“Out of Sight,But Much in Mind”与第一段中的“out of sight was out of mind”既是重复又是反义关系。习语中的“sight”与第一段开始对两年前的情景描述中的“see”和“television screens”有词汇衔接关系;而“out of sight”则与实行“紧急状态”后的局势(pictures vanished,news copy was censored,newspapers...were muffled,or banned,blacks were locked away)有同义关系。于是“out of sight”就似乎等于problems over。

第二段中的谚语“appearances were always deceptive”与“out of sight was out of mind”呈反义关系,说明后者只是一个虚假的等式,现实并非如此,南非的问题事实上并没有结束。其中的“appearances”一词与第一段中“it almost seemed so”中的“seemed”和第二段第二句中的“pall”构成同义衔接。谚语所蕴含的现象和现实(appearances reality)之间的对立在另一个谚语“actions speak louder than words”中通过另一对立(actions,words)得到重复。其中“actions”和“words”又分别与“renewed”(State of Emergency)和第一段中的“pictures”,“news copy”及“newspapers”大致形成上下义关系。这种交错复杂的词汇衔接关系显然增加了语篇的趣味性和吸引力,对加强语篇的文体效果有一定的作用。

2.4习语与上下文中词汇衔接的不一致性

2.4.1隐喻性习语

很多英语习语在语义上是不可分割的整体,而不是组成习语的单词字面意义的简单累加,并且具有隐喻性特征。因此,从字面意义上看,习语常打断语篇中的词汇衔接。

例(5)They build on the introduction of general management into the MHS five years ago,which has seen all managers from region down to hospital move on rolling contracts and performance-related pay.That has undoubtedly improved the management of the service.But it has also reduced the managers’willingness to rock the boat in public―over resources,for example―however hard they may argue in private.(Oxford Hector Pilot Corpus,cited in Moon,R.1998:283)

显然,例(5)中习语“rock the boat”中的单词的字面意义与上下文中的词汇是缺乏衔接的。但就习语“rock the boat”的整体意义而言并没有影响衔接。习语中的限定词the预示着所给信息是旧信息,一定可以根据这个习语的整体意义在语篇的上下文语境中找到这个旧信息。

当然作者有时也会通过添加修饰成分等手段以增加隐喻性习语在语篇中与上下文的衔接效果,如上文提到的例(3)在习语“on the horns of a dilemma”中添加了“property”,“property”与前文的“lenders”和下文的“borrower”,“property”都形成了词汇衔接关系,从而使得“on the horns of a property dilemma”整个习语与上下文更衔接。

2.4.2幽默和双关

幽默的产生已经有许多学者从多个角度进行了研究。有些幽默的产生正是由于习语之间的衔接和双关造成的。

例(6)The days of the graffiti are numbered―the writing is on the wall.

(7)“Someone’s bound to smell a rat,”as the diner said when he found a mouse in his stew.(Nash 1985:53,cited in Moon,1998:289)

在例(6)中习语“someone’s days are numbered”和“the writing is on the wall”基本是同义关系,而插入“graffiti”更是加强了它们之间的联系,第一个习语与第二个习语不仅形成了词汇衔接而且有意义衔接,第二个习语是对第一个习语的解释。幽默的产生正是由于这两个习语的并置。

例(7)则是由于习语“smell a rat”的字面意义和当时的语境之间的搭配,才产生了幽默。说话者是利用了“rat”和“mouse”的同下义词关系,smell和语境中的食物之间的搭配,使习语“smell a rat”和下文形成了衔接。

3.结语

本文通过真实语料对习语在语篇中的作为一种衔接手段进行了分析。本文分析了习语与一般词汇作为词汇衔接所共有的特点和它作为词汇衔接的独特的表现方式,以及由此产生的文体效果。这说明英语习语不只是作为英语词汇的静态的一部分,而且是语篇中的一种有效的词汇连接手段,我们今后应该加强对习语的动态研究。

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