语境理论的简要分析

摘 要：为了帮助读者更好的利用语境理论来提高阅读能力，许多学者对语境理论的准确含义做了大量的研究。语境是理解篇章的一种重要的阅读策略。如果学生能够很好的使用语境理论，就能更深地理解作者的主要思想，从而提升他们的阅读能力。

关键词：语境理论；分析；阅读能力

Abstract： In order to help readers use context more correctly to develop their reading ability， a lot of researchers did many studies on context to give context a more exact understanding. Context is a significant reading strategy for the understanding of a passage. If students could make good use of context theory， the main idea of the writer will be understood deeply by them and their reading ability will be improved greatly.

Key Words： analysis； context theory； reading ability

The Brief Analysis of Context Theory

According to A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics， 1985， context is a general term used in linguistics and phonetics to refer to specific components of a passage near or adjacent to a unit which is the emphasis of attention. It is the features of the non-linguistic world in relation to which linguistic units are systematically used. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation， 3rd edition， 1984， Context means what comes before and after a statement， word， phrase helping to convey the meaning； or circumstances in which an event occurs.

We all know that different people have different opinions on context and it is a complex concept. We could find that context means all the factors from the above linguistic and non-linguistic definitions that affecting communication here.

There are three typical kinds of context： according to Pragmatics and Discourse （Joan Cutting， 2002）： （1） Situational context： what speakers know about what they can see around them， the situation where the interaction is taking place at the moment of speaking and the immediate physical co-presence. （2） Background knowledge context： what they know about the world and each other. It includes cultural general knowledge that most people carry with them， about areas of life， specific and private knowledge about the history of the speakers themselves and interpersonal knowledge. （3） Co-text context， what they know about what they have been saying， i.e.， the context of the passage itself.

Linguistic context is internalized context which constrains co-textual context which allows learners to refer through the passage itself. （1） Grammatical context constrains either lexical or syntactic， and rhetorical context. （2） Phonological context constrains pause， intonation， stress which is used to express different meanings. （3） Lexical context is a given word combined with lexical items. Lexical context contributes to the co-locative meaning of a phrase.

In the early 19th， American philosopher Peicre first pointed out the notion about context. But the pioneer of context theory is Malniowks， a polish scholar. He first raised the notion of context. In 1923， he pointed out the problem of situational context. He insisted that "The utterance is closely related with environment and the environment of utterance is necessary for comprehending linguistics. He classified context into "situational context" and "cultural context". Situational context refers to the happened matters when speaking， that is， the environment of utterance. Cultural context refers to the rules of people's idea and action in a certain nation. We can see from his categories that he is more focused on the micro-context beside the utterance.

Overseas scholars researches experience from the physical environment to the inner world of participants， from static context to dynamic context. At the same time， Chinese researches are also studying the contexts in various fields. Chen Wangdao defined "Theme contextual" theory in 1932 .He insisted that "rhetoric should first adjust to the theme". The theme refers to "the theme of utterance"， it refers to the environment of the work， including the main idea of the works， real purpose of the writer， writing style and so on. Context means why， what， who， when， where， and how. "Why" is the purpose of writing， "what" is the context of utterance， "who" is the hero of speaking， "when" is the time of utterance， "where" is the place of speaking and the environment of place. These words basically generalized the content of context and made a basis for the context. Chen's theory became the guided idea of context theory.

Chinese scholar Zhang Gong pointed out in his Modern Chinese Rhetoric that "Context includes social context， environment and the whole text." It includes the situation when speaking， time and place， nature and scene， relationship between the speaker and audience， the situation of audience and the relationship in the context. Zhang Zhigong pointed out in his Modern Chinese that context directly influences the meaning of utterance .It is the real utterance environment .In addition， culture and education， knowledge level， life experience， language style and dialect are also utterance environment .They are equal to the realistic environment.

If students could make good use of context theory， the main idea of the writer will be understood deeply by them and their reading ability will be improved greatly. Students can pick up more useful information. Students who are instructed with contextual awareness get higher scores in answering questions， so the context theory is an effective reading strategy. The students of vocational school who are trained by the theory and learning strategy of context could do better in reading comprehension， so students' reading ability can be improved greatly with the help of the context theory.

Bibliography

[1] Lyons， J .Semantics， Vol 2， Cambridge University Press，1977.

[2] Mcwhorter， K.T. College Reading and Study Skills [M]. New York： Courier Corp.， 2001.

[3] Nunan， D.1991. Language Teaching Methodology. Prentice Hall.

[4] Ogden， CK. and Richards， IA， The Meaning of Meaning. London： Routledge.

作者简介：徐亚楠（1984-），女，河南郑州人，郑州工业贸易学校讲师，主要从事英语教育研究。