英语歧义的交际功能研究
Introduction
As a universal linguistic phenomenon, ambiguity exists in every language and on every linguistic level. Of course there is no exception to English. It has received worldwide attention, and has been studied for many years on the level of phonology, lexis, syntax and in the field of pragmatics as well. Different linguistic schools explained ambiguity from their own particular perspectives, which have produced many achievements.
The generative grammar about deep structure and surface structure by Chomsky (1965) gave a forceful explanation for ambiguous structure. But it has no way to deal with ambiguity whose deep structure is the same with surface one. Leech defined ambiguity from the perspective of semantics, “Ambiguity is a sentence with two or more propositions.”. for centuries, most linguists considered that ambiguity was negative and should be avoided in communication. Ancient Greek Aristotle thought that ambiguity was a kind of fallacious reasoning in the aspect of philosophy. While English linguist Empson considered it as enemies which we must be on guard of. Modern American linguist H. P Grice concentrated on avoiding ambiguity in his “cooperative principle”. Although there were many experts believed that ambiguity was a positive phenomenon. For example, ancient Rome linguist Quintilian thought ambiguity as a powerful weapon in the argument in the court. Modern linguist Jespersen considered ambiguity was a feature of human natural language, and people could not magnify its obstacle to their communication. In most cases, people could not judge a clear meaning of a word or a sentence even with a certain context. So nowadays, ambiguity should be avoided properly.
From the above, researchers find the discussion about ambiguity is only regarded as a means to illustrate a certain linguistic theory. With the development of pragmatics, the study of ambiguity on pragmatic level also becomes very important, because researcher’s purpose of studying is to use it well and to make communication go smoothly. So this thesis focuses on pragmatic ambiguity and attempts to make a more systematic study of ambiguity.
Firstly, this paper will deal with the definition and classification of English ambiguity from four linguistic levels: phonologic, lexis, syntactic and pragmatic. Then in the second part of this paper will be the positive function of English
ambiguity. The researcher will state four aspects of ambiguity’s application in daily communication, they are: ambiguity in advertising, the use of ambiguity in political propaganda and appeal, ambiguity in producing humor and ambiguity in avoiding conflicts. Although there are also some negative effects which can be caused be ambiguity, researchers still believe that ambiguity can be a great source of English. People should take full advantages of it to make their communication more fluently and effectively. Meanwhile, the negative effects of English ambiguity should be avoided properly as well, for it will lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and arguments. Everything existing in this world is rational. So does English ambiguity.
1 Ambiguity and its Classification
In order to have an overall understanding of ambiguity, in this section, researcher will definite ambiguity and then explain four types of it on linguistic level, focusing on pragmatic ambiguity
1.1 Definition of Ambiguity
Ambiguity is a universal linguistic phenomenon, ambiguity exist in every language and on every linguistic level. Qian Gechuan(1980:55) has pointed out that “English is a kind of ambiguous language.”. What is ambiguity? Ambiguity is defined as expressions, which has more than one meaning. In other words, an expression is ambiguous if it can be interpreted in different ways, and the interpretations are not paraphrase of each other. (David 2003:464). Take Chomsky’s (1977) famous sentence for example:
Flying planes can be dangerous.
(1)Planes that are flying can be dangerous.
(2)The act of flying planes can be dangerous.
The sentence is ambiguous, since its explanations (1) and (2) are not paraphrases of each other. The same is true of following word bank. Bank 1 means the bank of a river, while bank 2 means the financial. Bank 1 and bank 2 are homonyms, and they are unrelated semantically. So it is also ambiguous. But this ambiguity can be eliminated by context, e.g. “He is walking along the bank”. We all know here bank refers to the bank of a river.
1.2 Classification of Ambiguity
The ambiguity can be divided into four types from the angle of linguistics. They are phonological ambiguity, lexical ambiguity, syntactic ambiguity and pragmatic ambiguity.
1.2.1 Phonological Ambiguity
Phonological ambiguity can be caused by intonation, homonymy, and stress. Each of them should be analysized separately.
1.2.1.1 Ambiguity Caused by Intonation
Generally speaking, a falling tone implies certainty, definiteness and completion; rising tone implies uncertainty, incompletion and subordination. When a sentence can be read both in falling tone or rising tone, ambiguity may occur.
(1)A: His daughter is very clever.
B: Isn’t she? ↘ (I agree)
(2)A: His daughter is very clever.
B: Isn’t she? ↗(I don’t agree)
In situation (1), the falling tone is used, which stands for agreement. In situation (2), the rising tone is used, which stands for disagreement. So the main communicative function in the dialogue is to show people’s attitude.
1.2.1.2 Ambiguity Caused by Homonymy
For example:
What I had to eat was only fruit
(1)A: Did you have many foods to eat?
B: What I had to eat is only fruit.
(2)I was on diet then. What I had to eat is only fruit.
In this sentence, the word had, which is the past form of have, has two meanings. In the situation (1), have is a transitive verb and has its own object (what); in situation (2), have to is an auxiliary verb and has similar meaning with must. Therefore the sentence may have two ambiguous meanings.
1.2.1.3 Ambiguity Caused by Stress
A sentence stress is very important to semantic and grammar information.
For example:
Must I stick the stamp on myself?
(1)A: Must I stick the stamp on myself?
B: No, dear. It’s much better to stick it on the paper.
(2)A: Must I stick the stamp on myself?
B: Yes, dear.
In situation (1), stick is a simple verb. On works as a preposition and has no stress. On me is used as a preposition phrase to be a place adverbial. So this dialogue sounds ridiculous. In situation (2), sticks on works as a verb phrase and on has its stress as an adverb. So stress should be paid attention to in utterance in order to avoid ambiguity.
1.2.2 Lexical Ambiguity
General speaking, lexical ambiguity falls into two major types: polysemy ambiguity and homonymy ambiguity. Homonymy is a term used to refer to two or more words which have the same form or sound but different in meaning, while polysemy refer to a lexeme that is interpreted as having multiple senses that are not entirely distinct.
Looking at the following examples:
(1)At last she arrived.
(2)He went to the bank.
(3)The boy looked backward.
(4)She is cold.
Sentence (1) is ambiguous because there is polysemous verb arrive which can mean either reach a place or gain success. Thus, the sentence has the following two meanings:
（1a）At last, she got to the destination.
(1b) At last, she succeeded.
Obviously, the ambiguity in sentence (2) results from the homonym bank which may be river bank or money bank. It can be ambiguated by adding words. So, (2a) He went to the riverbank for fishing,
(2b) He went to the bank for money.
The two possible meanings of sentence (3) are:
(3a)The boy seems to be backward.
(3b)The boy glances backward.
The ambiguity results from look and backward. When backwards functioning as a subject compliment, as shown by the first interpretation, look is a ling verb. While backward functioning as a direction adjunct, look is a notional verb.
Cold as an adjective in sentence (4) may mean either the temperature is low or a kind of personality, which be indifferent or hard-hearted to others. Thus we may decode ambiguity by substituting words as follows:
(4a)She feels cold.
(4b)She is indifferent.
All such lexical factors may cause confusion, uncertainty, and misunderstanding to spoil languages in communications. But for languages constructed for literary and pragmatic effects, it is an effective instrument to express varied of emotions. It is
deliberately arranged on the part of literary men for stylistic purposes, i.e. to achieve a variety of stylistic effects such as humor, irony, emphasis and contrast, etc. (Zhang Yunfei, 1986. P191-193) which will be discussed in later part. Hence, it is effective to differentiate such ambiguity by accumulating these words one by one in our daily English learning.
1.2.3 Sytactic Ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity is a kind of common yet complicated ambiguity. It is called “grammatical ambiguity” by traditional grammarians and “structural ambiguity” by generative grammarians and most modern grammarians. It can falls into two groups: unclear modifying relationship, unidentified part of a sentence and indefinite coordination.
1.2.4 Pragmatic Ambiguity
The above three types of ambiguity are caused by language structure. But sometimes ambiguity can be eliminated in proper context. Therefore in spite of the form of structure, language inevitably has a very important level, which is pragmatics.
Semantics concentrates on the meaning that comes from linguistic knowledge, while pragmatics concentrates on those aspects of meaning that can’t be predi cted by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account our knowledge about the physical and social world.(Peccei:2000) For example:
He is like a fish.
This difference may have different analysis on different level. At phonological level, its characteristics of phonology such as stress and intonation can be discussed. At semantic level, its meaning of word in the sentence can be discussed. At syntactic level, the sentence structure can be discussed. But the sentence is just analyzed as an abstract sentence, so it has no definite meaning. As soon as the sentence is uttered by a speaker in a concrete context, it becomes an utterance. If the speaker is speaking in a swimming pool, it means: He is good at swimming. If the speaker is speaking in a party, it mea ns: He can drink much. If the speaker is talking about someone’s temperament, it means: He is indifferent to people. This is what we call pragmatic analysis is of the sentence. The focus of pragmatic analysis is on the meaning of words or sentences as speakers use them in contexts.
The following chapter will focus on the communicative function of ambiguity in English. As what we argued above, if ambiguity is employed properly and
appropriately, it will produce a magical effect. The positive communicative functions of ambiguity are showed in the following 4 aspects: advertising, political propaganda and appeal, producing the effect of humor and avoiding conflict.
2. The Positive Communicative Functions of Ambiguity
Indeed, the existence of ambiguity in language has been offered as evidence that the key structures and properties of language have not evolved for purposes of communication use:
The natural approach has always been: Is it well designed for use, understood typically as use for communication? I think that is the wrong question. The use of language for communication might turn out to be a kind of epiphenomenon.... If you want to make sure that we never misunderstand each other, for that purpose language is not well designed, because you have such properties as ambiguity. If we want to have the property that the things that we usually would like to say come out short and simple, well, it probably doesn’t have that property. (Chomsky, 2002)
Here, researcher argues that this perspective on ambiguity is exactly backwards. The fact that ambiguity occurs on so many linguistic levels indicates that a
far-reaching principle is needed to explain its origins and diachronic persistence. Contrary to the Chomsky view, researcher argues that ambiguity is in fact a desirable property of a communication system, precisely because it allows for a communication system which is short and simple. Ambiguity occurs at many linguistic levels because of a pervasive pressure for efficient communication.
Therefore, these following points will indicate the positive parts of ambiguity one by one.
It is well known that there are so many types of communication, such as: dialogue, advertisement, appeal, and so on. It will be hard for anyone who tries to discuss all of the communicative functions of English ambiguity. So, researcher chooses only several points to support this paper’s argument.
2.1 The Use of Ambiguity in Advertising
Though ambiguity has some negative influence on language and it also causes misunderstanding in communication, people should not deny its positive effects in advertising. For ambiguity, especially the lexical ambiguity, phonetic ambiguity and grammatical ambiguity are often used in advertising language to make a pun.
These kinds of puns will make the advertisements much more persuadable and influenced, and gain the wonderful propagandizing results. For example:
(1) There is nothing above the roof.
It is an advertisement of Roof hotel. Here, the “roof”, on the one hand, is the name of this hotel; on the other hand, it means the structure covering or forming the top of building, and the implication of this advertisement is that the Roof hotel is the first-class hotel, and no one is better than it.
(2)Try our sweet corn. You will smile from ear to ear.
As for this advertisement, “ear”, a polysemy, can be interpreted as double meaning. The first one is that you will be very happy and smile to ear if you eat the corn. Here, the “ear” refers to the organ of hearing. The second explanation is that if you taste one of the sweet corn, you will continue to eat them putting on the satisfied smile. On your face, and now “ear” means the seed-bearing part of a corn.
(3) Seven days without 7-up make one weak.
The advertisement makes use of “weak”, a homonymy which has the same
p ronunciation with “week”, to create a special advertising effect. The first impression of the advertisement leaves on people is “seven days make up a week”. However, after the second thoughts, the hidden meaning, anyone who does not drink 7-up will feel sick, will be presented obviously. Besides phonetic ambiguity and lexical ambiguity, grammatical ambiguity is also frequently used in advertising, look at the following example:
(4) Coke refreshes you like no other can.
It is the advertisement of coke-cola c ompany, and the word “can” can be seen as modal verb, an elliptical clause, means coke can refresh you like no other can do. However, the “can” can also be regarded as a tin bottle drinks, which means coke refresh you like no other tin. By using the grammatical ambiguity to interpret the word “can” in different aspects, the advertisement leaves a deep impression on customers. Besides the examples above, there are many other ones which show the effects of ambiguity in English by pun. As the pun, a kind of figures of speech, whose essence lies in ambiguity, is widely used in advertisement and deeply loved by people. If pun is used properly, it can produce a very important artistic effect and rhetorical function in advertisement.
2.2 The Use of Ambiguity in Political Propaganda and Appeal
Ambiguity can enhance the effect of propaganda and obtain a special result.
There are two examples to explain it in detail:
(1) We must all hang together; or we shall all hang separately!
In this sentence, “hang together” and “hang” is a pair of puns. As “hang together” means people supporting or helping each other, but “hang” refers to kill somebody by hanging from a rope around the neck, especially as the capital punishment. The whole meaning of the sentence is that we must be unified and help each other, or we will be killed one by one. The famous saying is said by Benjamin Franklin who called on the public to be together to protect the interests of the country, and however, for the use of ambiguity, a special propaganda effect is obtained.
(2) She’s deaf. And almost every one she meets is blind. Deafness is an appealing disability. Yet it is made even worse by the public’s lack of concern. The public is blind to the terrible isolation deaf people must suffer.... Here, the adjective “blind” has two meanings, one is somebody is unable to see, and the other is that somebody is unable or unwilling to understand or notice something; oblivious to something or somebody.
This advertisement, which was printed in a famous magazine of American, carrying with much sympathy, introduces human the miserable condition of the blind. Meanwhile, it also criticized the public who do not care about blind people. Besides, its real purpose is to appeal the public to contribute money to the blind and to change their miserable condition. The use of ambiguity here makes the appeal earnest and sincere, and gets a marvelous result.
2.3 Ambiguity Can Produce the Effect of Humor
We can make use of ambiguity to achieve the magical effect of humor, euphemism, striking and mocking.
Besides, the use of the ambiguous sentence can show the artistic value and rhetorical function of ambiguity. The following examples are to show the effect of humor using ambiguity.
(1) Customer: Do you serve crabs here?
Waiter: Sure, sit down. We serve everyone here.
One meaning of crab is the fresh of 10-legged shellfish, and the purpose of this customer is to ask if this kind of fresh was sold here. But now, the waiter made a joke with the customer, and interpreted “crabs” for anothe r meaning (someone who easily becomes annoyed about unimportant things) on purpose. Even though the customer was laughed by the waiter, he/she had nothing to do with the waiter but for admiring
the waiter’s marvelous answer. However, sometimes waiters also meet some similar things as this, such as:
(3)A: “Waiter!”
B: “Yes, sir.”
A: “What’s this?”
B: “It’s bean soup, sir”
A: “No matter what it’s been, what is it now?”
“Bean” and “been” are homophones, which is the root of the humor of the joke, as “bean” is a kind of plant, but “been” is the past form of “be”. It seemed that the customer made a joke with the waiter, but his/her real meaning was to complain the unfreshness of the soup and showed his/her unsatisfication.
(3) Ben Battle was a soldier bold,
And used to war’s alarms;
But a cannonball took off his legs,
So he laid down his arms.
In this sentence, “arms” is a pun. On the one hand, it refers to the parts of human’s body between the shoulders and hands; on the other hand, it refers to “weapons”. Besides, “arms” is contrasted with “legs”. “Laid down his arms” is also a pun, for his legs were took off and he had to use his arms to support himself and his arms laid down. “Laid down his arms” also means “laid down his weapons” which are contrasted with “Ben Battle was a soldier bold” who never gave in. The use of ambiguity here let the text gain the especial artistic effect.
2. 4 Ambiguity Avoiding Conflicts
In the above study, it is investigated that the positive functions of ambiguity can be shown in the aspects of advertisement, propaganda, appeal and humor. In addition, ambiguity has another prominent positive function—avoiding conflict, which can be shown in the following example.
A: My wife doesn’t appreciate me, does yours?
B: I wouldn’t know, I’ve never heard her mention your name.
In oral English, many components of the sentences omitted to make the expression concise and clear.
However, sometimes, the ambiguity is produced that makes others misunderstanding or gain special effects. In the above conversation, “does yours” is an elliptical sentence, which is without predicate and object, and the original purpose
of A is “Does your wife appreciate you?” However, B misinterpreted A’s meaning deliberately and answered “I’ve never heard her mention your name” to respond A’s question in order to avoid the embarrassed situation and conflict, however, at the same time; it also produces an effect of humor.
In a word, a better understanding of positive effect of ambiguities contributes to the good use and resolution of ambiguities.
We have discussed some useful communicative effects that ambiguity can have on our communication. But we can also neglect those negative effects which can be brought by ambiguity. And those negative effects are always caused by unintentional ambiguity.
3. Negative Effects Caused by English Ambiguity
The negative effects caused by ambiguity can also be classified into three groups. They caused by phonological structure, sentence structure and lexis.
3.1 Unintentional Ambiguity Caused by Phonological Structure
In oral communication, continuous discourse unit is the respiratory group and not a word, it is composed of two different words in the same breath voice homophonic group, there may be shaped phenomenon. Such as:
Where’re those stool s?
Where’re those tools?
What’re these sticks?
What’re these ticks?
Different words group has the same breath voice homophonic group, so this phenomenon caused unintentional ambiguity. So this kind of phonological ambiguity will definitely set negative eff ects on people’s communication. So if people want to avoid it, they must give a short pause between two words:
Where’re those stools for me to stand on?
Where’re those left-handed tools?
3.2 Unintentional Ambiguity Caused by S entence’s Structure
American linguist Robert pointed out that the ambiguity caused by the improper use of syntactic rules is due to people’s ignoring the use of syntactic code which can
identify the sentence’s structure.
Noun. + Verb.
Our club demands change.
Both demand and change can be a noun. or a verb. So the sentence may be understood as:
1）Our club demands to have some change.
2) The demands of our club are not the same as before.
Adj. + Noun.
English teacher.
This phrase can be translated into:
1) A teacher who is from Britain.
2) A teacher who teaches English.
Verb. Phrase +Object (Noun.)
The doctor looked over my head.
If look over is viewed as a unit, the phrase can be examine quickly. But if over is a preposition, the sentence can be paraphrased into: The doctor looked my head above.
Noun. + Modifier + Modifier
If a sentence has two modifiers, then the second one can modify the noun. or the first one. So the ambiguity can be caused easily:
I visited the woman with the kid who was sick.
The first modifier is with the kid, and the second one is who was sick. So it can be understood as the woman was sick or the kid was sick.
Another situation is that a modifier with two noun.
Young women and men
This phrase can be realized as both women and men are young, or the young women and men.
So, when people communicate with others they must pay much attention on the use of words and phrases in order to avoid such negative effects which can be brought by ambiguity.
3.3 Unintentional Ambiguity Caused by Lexis
This kind of ambiguity can be divided into two groups: 1) a word with different meanings 2) different words sharing one spell. Although most of the time we put words in context, due to the ambiguous meanings of those words they can also cause
ambiguity sometimes.
For example:
She can’t bear children so she never talks about them.
It can be paraphrased into:
1 She doesn’t have the ability to give birth to a baby so she never talks about
them.
2 She cannot endure children so she never talks about them.
There are so many examples, so there only can show just several of them:
Look out! There comes the train!
(Watch out！The train is coming/Look outside! The train is coming!)
They passed the notice in the dark.
(They passed the notice secretly. / They passed the notice in the night.)
He turned out a wounded soldier.
(He let go a wounded soldier. / In fact, he is a wounded soldier.)
Those examples are belonging to the group of words (phrases) having different meanings with same pronunciations and forms.
But sometimes, a word or a phrase can turn into having other meanings.
Such as:
We saw the light.
(We saw the light. / We understand.)
He is well-known for his long face.
(He is famous for his long face. /He is famous for his always being unhappy.)
We were standing by the moment he lay low.
(When he bent his body, we were standing beside him. / We were standing by the moment he was buried.)
Actually there are some words and phrases’ affirmative form and negative form have different understandings, for example:
a dress that is much worn.(a very popular dress/a very out-of-date dress) but：
I want a cloth that will wear.
I want a cloth that won’t wear.
The two sentences have the same meaning, that is：I want a kind of durable dress. The reason why the word wear’s meaning varies so such is that it has both the
meaning of “old and out-of-date”and “durable”.
Similarly, there are many words which have many different meanings, such as outlook and so on.
While sometimes some words may have positive and negative meanings at the same time: pride, proud; envy, envious; ambition, ambitious, etc.
Now, set ambition as an example:
1）Her ambition was to be a famous singer.
Her dream is to become a well-known singer.
2）Hitler’s ambition was to conquer the whole Europe.
He wanted to conquer the whole Europe aggressively.
In daily communication, words and their meanings can greatly cause big ambiguities which may set influence on fluently communication.
In a word, in order to possess a good communication, we also need to create some methods to avoid such unintentional ambiguities.
Conclusion
Through above introduction, the definition of English ambiguity and some causes of ambiguity are stated clearly. Maybe there are still some different understandings and statements, here, the researcher will not discuss one by one. And through the latter part of this paper, the positive communicative effects of English ambiguity are stated by giving some concrete examples. The researcher thinks that it can express the main idea more clearly and lively. Then the negative effects are stated by giving causes and examples. In a word, it can be concluded that the nature of ambiguity in languages has the negative effects and positive ones. For the former, sometimes researchers should try their best to find out proper ways to help avoiding using ambiguous words, phrases, even sentences. Maybe giving a proper context can be a good method of solving this problem. So, it really needs people’s attention. But for the positive parts, we should make full use of them. Even though ambiguity influences the communication and understanding with each other in some cases, we should not neglect its positive functions in some areas, such as: advertising, literal works, rhetorical effect, for which is an important part of language art. The English ambiguity should be transformed into advantages for people to express themselves better and create other artful forms.
In conclusion, ambiguity is a very common phenomenon existing all the time in language. During the process of learning English, people often encounter the phenomenon of ambiguity, or encounter problems caused by ambiguity. Studying ambiguity and its causes in English can not only help people to avoid ambiguity so that people can have a more profound understanding on the English language itself, but also can make full use of ambiguity for people to service people, create unexpected effects. Unintentional ambiguity may cause obstacle in communication, therefore, it should be avoided and eliminated. However the skillful application of intentional ambiguity can give fantastic effects on communicative activity. Ambiguity provides great deal of language material to language learners. It can help people to acquire language in different aspects and get to know the structure and formation of language vividly. It can also make communication more humorous and effective. The researcher thinks that there is still quite a lot about ambiguity waiting for being studied and made use of. And it is quite essential and meaningful for people to further their exploration on English ambiguity and its communicative function.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. I gratefully acknowledge the help of my supervisor, Ding Baokuang, who has offered me valuable suggestions in the academic studies. In the preparation of the thesis，he has spent much time reading through each draft and provided me with inspiring advice. Without his patient instruction, insightful criticism and expert guidance, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible.
I also owe a special debt of gratitude to all the professors in our English department, from whose devoted teaching and enlightening lectures I have benefited a lot and academically prepared for the thesis. I should finally like to express my gratitude to my beloved parents who have always been helping me out of difficulties and supporting without a word of complaint.
句法学的角度英语中的歧义现象
句法学的角度英语中的歧义现象 【摘要】本文针对英语词汇丰富、同义词众多、句法复杂、表达方式多样等导致在交际过程中产生歧义的现象，从词汇歧义和句法歧义两大类分析英语歧义现象。 【关键词】英语歧义句法学词汇歧义句法歧义 歧义（A m b i g u i t y，又有译为“含混”）是指未定义或定义不清楚而没有明确含义的单词、术语（term）、注释或观念。如果一个单词、短语或句子，在意义上有两种或多种理解，从结构上可作两种或多种分析，就是歧义的。歧义存在于多种语种中，是一种常见的语言现象。而由于英语词汇丰富、同义词众多、句法复杂、表达方式多样等特点，导致在交际过程中产生歧义的现象就更为明显。“英语中的歧义现象涉及许多因素，但简单说来，主要源于两个方面：词汇和句法结构”。下面主要从词汇歧义和句法歧义两大方面进行分析。 一、词汇歧义（Lexical Ambiguity） 词汇歧义就是人们对句子中的某个词或词组产生的不同理解而引起的歧义。主要有以下几种： （一）一词多义引起的歧义。英语中一词多义的现象很多，在特定的语境中，一个多义词不会引起歧义，但如果一个多义词的几种含义在同一句子中都成立，就会产生歧义。比如：Jack is running after Mary．T h e C E O t u r n e d o u t a c a p a b l edepartment manager． 前一句中的词组“running after”可理解成“追求”（Jack正在追求Mary），也可解释为“追赶、追逐”（J a c k正在追赶Mar y）。后一句中turn out有“原来是……、撵走、赶出”等多种含义，因此第二句可理解为：CEO原来是一名能干的部门经理，还可理解为：CEO把一名能干的部门经理赶走了。
对英语语调功能的归纳
摘要：语调在英语中所起的作用越来越受到英语学习者和研究者的重视。为了对英语语调的功能有一个更为全面的认识，本文在前人研究的基础上，归纳出英语语调的四大功能：语法功能、情感/态度功能、区别新旧信息功能和社会语言学功能。 关键词：英语语法功能情感/态度功能区别新旧信息功能社会语言学功能 1.前言 Roger Kingdon曾经说过，“语调是语言的灵魂”。世界上的语言分为两种：一种是声调语言（tone language），如汉语、法语；另一种是语调语言（intonation language）（1958）。英语就是典型的语调语言。语调是连贯言语里声音音调变化所产生的旋律模式。语调是英语语言的重要组成部分。语调的缺失会使英语表达失去其内在的多样性和丰富性，语调的误用会导致交际的失败甚至使得交际无法进行。语调是语言的灵魂，更是英语语言的灵魂。因此，对英语语调的功能进行较为全面的归纳和深入的研究是非常必要的。 2.语调的功能 2.1语法功能 2.1.1表明句子类型 语调的语法功能之一就是提示句子类型。比如在通常情况下，英语的陈述句和特殊疑问句用降调，而一般疑问句用升调。 2.1.2消除句子歧义 在书面语中经常可以看到一些在语义和句法上有歧义的句子，要正确理解这些句子，除根据上下文语境作出判断外，另一个重要的依据就是说话者在说话时所用的语调。通常情况下，语调主要是通过断句的方式来消除句子歧义的。断句又表现为两种形式：一种是有无语调边界，另一种是语调边界的不同位置。如： （1）a.He washed and brushed his hair. （he washed「his hair」and he brushed his hair） b.He washed//and brushed his hair. （he washed and he brushed his hair）（Halliday，1967a：36） （1）a与（1）b是一组在词汇和语法上均无区别的句子。能区别这两个句子的唯一途径就是通过断句在（1）b的washed后插入一个语调边界。也就是说有无语调边界是区别这两个句子的唯一手段。又如： （2）a.Those who sold quickly//made a profit. （a profit was made by those who sold quickly） b.Those who sold//quickly made a profit. （a profit was quickly made by those who sold）（Roach，2000：174） （2）a与（2）b同样是一组在词汇和语法上均无区别的句子。虽然两个句子中都有语调边界，但由于语调边界的位置不同导致两个句子的意思截然不同。 2.1.3提示句法结构 语调中的调群和句法结构有着密切的关系。一般说来，调群边界的位置和语法单位的边界是一致的。例如： （3）I won’t have any tea//I don’t like it. 英语本族语者在说话时是将上句在tea处断开，通过这种方式来暗示语调边界前后是两个独立的语法成分。下面是一个更为复杂的例子： （4）In France//where farms tend to be smaller//the subsidies are more important.（Roach，2000：174） 在上例中，通过语调的断句手段听者能较为容易地判断出该句的句法结构，从而更好地理解句义。 2.2情感/态度功能 Couper-kuhlen认为，语调在表达情感和态度方面的重要作用是毋庸置疑的（1986）。事实上，我们在日常交际中能够深刻感受到语调在传达文字本身不能传达的那些微妙的情感和态度时所起的重大作用。同一句话用不同的语调说出来就会表达不同的情感和态度。如一句简单的“Thank you.（谢谢你）”，分别用升调或降调来说，它所表达的说话者的态度就会大相径庭。该句若用升调，它体现的是说话者轻松愉快的心情及对对方真心的感激。该句若用低降调，说话者所表达的则又绝非是一种单纯的谢意，而是不满、愤怒甚至是威胁等一系列的消极情绪了。这一现象体现了日常会话中语调表义的复杂性。语调可以表达多种或是明显或是微妙的情感态度变化。比如通过语调的变化来表现中立的、感兴趣的、厌倦的、有礼貌的、无礼的、胆小的、自信的、权威的、顺从的、惊奇的、恳求等的态度和情感，例如： （5）RUDE（fall）%%%%%%POLITE（low-rise） Hel坨lo.%%%%%%%%%Hel坭lo. Nice of you to坨call.%%%%Nice of you to坭call. 坭Friday?坨Right.%%%%%坭Friday?坭Right. See you at坨six，then.%%%%See you at坭six，then. Bye for坨now.%%%%%%%Bye for坭now. 又如： What a beautiful/day!（一般的感叹语气） What a/beautiful/day!（生动活泼） 2.3区别新旧信息功能 Halliday认为，每个语调短语中总有一个成分是最凸显的，他把这个最凸显的成分叫做信息焦点（1967）。信息焦点是一个语调单位中承载信息量最大的部分。信息又可分为新信息和旧信息。旧信息指交际双方都知道的，或根据上下文可以推测出来的信息。新信息指说话者想要传递给听话者的那些不能通过语境推断出的信息，在自然交际中，说话者可以通过改变信息焦点的位置来强调他想要表达的重点，例如：（6）a.Lily told Lucy all the secrets. （是全部，不是部分）。 b.Lily told Lucy all the secrets. （告诉的是Lucy而不是其他人） c.Lily told Lucy all the secrets. （是告诉的，而不是暗示或留言等方式） d.Lily told Lucy all the secrets. （是Lily告诉的，而不是其他人） 同时说话者也可通过调节音高来暗示听者哪些是他想要传递的新信息，哪些是不需要听者过多关注的旧信息。一般来说，新信息是一个调群中最凸显的部分。例如： （7）—— —How many TIMES have you been to Beijing? —— —THREE times. 2.4社会语言学功能 语调的社会语言学功能是指说话者说话时所用的语调能够表明他的社会地位、身份、职业等。例如老师在课堂上讲课 对英语语调功能的归纳 （天水师范学院，甘肃天水741000） 杨晓春王桂芳 141
探讨英语歧义句
1 英语歧义的类型 在生活中，人们主要通过语音，语调，语气，词汇，以及特定的语法结构（structure）等语言的不同层面来表达。因此，人们在语言的实际使用中，常常会在这些方面产生歧义现象。 英语中大家比较熟悉的歧义类型主要有五种： （1）一词多义： I went to the bank. （银行/河岸）； （2）词类不同： Please make her dress fast. （名词/动词）； （3）层次不同：［beautiful （girl’s dress）］/ ［（beautiful girl’s （dress）］； （4）语法关系不同： Flying planes can be dangerous. （定语—中心语/述语—宾语）； （5）语义关系不同： the shooting of the hunters （the hunters为shooting的施事/受事）。 歧义类型中的一词多义和不同的语义关系属于语义范畴，本文不作详论。这里，我们主要讨论：词类不同、层次不同、语法关系不同这三种歧义类型。 2 英语歧义的句法分析 2.1 词类不同的歧义类型 一个词兼属不同的词类叫兼类词。句子里有兼类词，句子就兼属不同的句式。这是引起这种类型歧义的主要原因。例如： （1）They were relieved. 本例中relieved 可以理解为两种词性：形容词“感到宽慰的”和被动形式的动词“被救济”。因此，句子就兼属不同的句式。翻译为：①“他们感到宽慰。”②“他们被救济。” （2）John was offended. 同样，本例中offended可以理解为两种词性：形容词“感到生气的”和被动形式的动词“被冒犯”。因此，句子就兼属不同的句式。翻译为：①“约翰感到生气。”②“约翰被冒犯了。” 这种类型歧义比较容易理解和辨认，只要留意一个词在词类上的不同而引起的意义上的差异就可以。 2.2 层次不同的歧义类型 结构层次不同就是直接成分（immediate constituents）的划分不同。这类歧义在英语中最典型的主要有两种：偏正型和并列偏正型。借助树形图，识别这种歧义就不是很困难。 （1）偏正型。 偏正型主要是多个修饰成分与中心语的不同划分而引起。
英语中的歧义现象
英语中的歧义现象 语言是一种约定俗成的社会现象,而不是人们根据科学规律创造出来的。因此, 语句和语义之间没有必然的联系,往往不同的词句可以表达同一的思想,而同一语句却可以表达不同的意义。后者便是语言中的歧义现象。随着跨文化交际的不断深入和发展,歧义现象正越来越引起人们的关注。20 世纪70 年代,英语语言学家们(Parlmer ,1976 ; Ruth.M. Kempson ,1977 ; etc. ) 就对英语中的歧义结构进行了广泛的研究。他们从描写语言学的角度对这一现象进行了充分的论证和揭示, 从而总结出一些带普遍性的规律和辨别真假歧义的一些方法;美国描写语言学家引为自豪的成就之一,就是由L.Bloomfield 开创的直接成分分析法,解释了传统语言学所不能解释的因结构层次不同而产生的歧义现象; 还有的语言学家(Zwicky&Sadock ,1975 ; Kempson ,1980) 从英语的语音、语法和语义等方面对歧义现象进行了较为系统的研究。这些研究成果对语言的学习和交流无疑起到了极大的促进作用。 任何一种语言都存在歧义现象。有限的音素,错综交叉组合,构成丰富多彩、有声有色的语流,同音词、同音词组势必大量存在;有限的书写符号,组合搭配拼写出众多的字词,一词多义、一义多词现象比比皆是;更为有限的语法规则、结构框架,以众对寡, 序列搭配,呈现出种种短语、句子的结构关系,一语二解、模棱两可的现象在所难免。 歧义问题之所以具有重要理论意义,是因为它面对的是语言的形式和意义的矛盾这一普遍事实。研究歧义问题,就是考察同一形式表达多种内容的可能性,考察表面看来相同的形式究竟有什么样的差别。这样的研究会不断深化人们对语言现象的认识,同时也促使人们不断改进研究的理论和方法。 一、从语言层次看歧义现象的范围、分布和性质 人们交际是为了传递信息、交流思想,而信息的基本单位是概念,在语言中主要表现为词汇部分。但单个的概念并不足以表达人们的思想,必须通过概念的组合来进行。同时,思想的复杂性需要概念组合的条理性和规则性,这就要求有组织概念的规则和方法,在语言中集中体现为句法部分。词汇和句法的关系是内容和形式的关系,两者共同构成语言的第一层次,它们是同一层次内的不同组成部分。这一层次是语言的基础材料平面,因而完全是静态的。 词汇和句法的结合开始了语言的生成,词汇和句法模式结合生成了语义句法结构体。语义句法结构是语言的第二个层次,动静皆具,是由静而动的生成过程平面。语义句法结构体一旦进入具体的交际环境,就要受上下文和情景语境的制约,成为话语或话语的组成部分,其性质也同时发生了变化,由半静半动变为完全动态。这样,话语就构成了语言的第三个层次。由于话语是语言的终极单位,它是语言生成的目的所在,这一层次即为产品(话语) 形成平面。 法国语言学家马丁内提出了语言的经济性原则,它要求语言能用有限的材料和模式传达无限的意义和关系。根据这一原则,语言发展的结果必然是词汇的多义性和句法模式的多义性,即多层次性和多关系性。就语言的层次划分而言,第一层两个组成部分显然是多义的。而在语言生成时,多义的词汇和多义的句法模式相结合,其生成物也必然是多功能的,能够表示多种意义和多种层次关系。多功能性符合语言的经济性原则,不仅可以大大简化语言体系,还可以表达丰富的内容。但多功能的形式会因语境制约因素不强而使多义无法单义化,最终导致歧义产生。可见歧义涉及的是语言的动态因素。 就语言的生成过程来看,词汇和句法都是静态的,几乎没有任何语境因素制约, 因而多义性最强。语义句法结构体是生成过程中的东西,它一方面具有动态成分,其结构中语义和句法的相互制约使原来两部分中的多义得到部分单义化,避免了一些歧义的产生。但由于短语、句子在很大程度上是静态的,结构体内部的语义、句法限制微不足道,根本不能使多义全部单义化,所以歧义终因不可避免而普遍存在。而当进入话语层以后,由于话语层是完全动态的,
英语歧义的语用分析
语言学论文 Title: Pragmatic Analysis of English Ambiguity 题目：英语歧义的语用分析 学生姓名：闫丽娟 专业：英语 班级：070913 任课老师：石立林 二零一O年十二月
Abstract Ambiguity is one of the fundamental Properties of languages. It is a common phenomenon in many languages. Ambiguity is a special relationship between a linguistic structural form and its meaning. A structural form which conveys more than one meaning is ambiguous. It is the uniqueness—the indeterminacy of meaning—that makes ambiguity be of great vitality in language practice. In many linguistic situations，ambiguity is intentionally employed to achieve certain special pragmatic purposes. This thesis mainly analyses the expression of ambiguity from the perspective of pragmatics, discussing the classifications, features, and pragmatic functions of ambiguity, and the way to achieve effective communication. Key words：Ambiguity; classifications; features; pragmatic functions
英语语调的功能及使用
英语语调的功能及使用 本单元学习的重点是英语语调的功能及使用。语音学家将英语语音语调的功能概括为以下几点： 一、强调功能 -- Did you say a lighter shade? -- No, a brighter shade. 调核一般位于最后一个实义词上，但在以上的回答中，调核位于brighter而非shade，目的在于突出信息中心。 二、语法功能 Those who sold quickly made a profit.
这个句子根据调核位置的不同，可能有两个不同的意思。假定这句话含两个调核：前者为降升调，后者为降调。 如果降升调的调核位置在单词sold前面: Those who sold quickly made a profit. 意思是：只要出售了便能迅速取得利润。 若降升调调核的位置落在单词sold后面: Those who sold quickly made a profit. 意思则为：销售得快才能获取利润。 此外，语调的语法功能还表现在可以将一个陈述句变成疑问句，例如： They 're going to have a picnic. 如果用升调说出来，句子就成了问句:
They're going to have a picnic? 用升调说出这一句子时,含义可能有两个：一是作为普通的一般疑问句（多见于非正规的使用场合）二是作为重复问句，用于以下场合： -- They 're going to have a picnic. -- They're going to have a picnic? But, it's raining outside. 另外，我们知道反意疑问句既可用降调亦可用升调，只是含义有所不同： a.They're coming to morrow, aren't they? (说话人的把握较大，通常用于需要证实的时 候) b.T hey're coming to morrow, aren't they? (说话人把握不大，通常用于需要了解情况的 时候)
常见歧义句类型大汇总
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英语史上有最多歧义的句子 英语虽是当今的世界语，但依然充斥着歧义句，含糊不清，往往一句两解，不太明确。 英国近代两位文法大师Jocobs与Rosendbaum合著的English Transformational Grammar为我们提供了“一句六解”的例句，可说是当代歧义句子之中的最高纪录。 请大家细读这句有史以来最多解法的话： The Seniors were told to stop demonstrating on campus. 暂时不要往下看，动一动脑筋，看看能列出多少个解法。 自我挑战，学思并重，也是提高中英语文水平的诀窍！ 语文巨擘Jocobs与Rosenbaum说：非英语国家的学生能揣摩出三解就已很棒了！你试一试，可能也会觉得趣味盎然。 这个句子的第1解： (1)The seniors were demonstrating and were asked, on campus, to desist. (高年级的学生在示威，校方在校园要求他们停止示威。) 第2个解法： (2)The seniors were demonstrating and were asked to desist on campus (although they could demonstrate elsewhere). (高年级学生在示威，校方要求他们停止在校园中示威但可在其他地方示威)。 第3个解法是： The seniors were demonstrating on campus and were asked to desist. (高年级的学生在校园示威，校方叫他们停止示威。)
试析英语中的歧义现象
摘要：歧义是一种普遍的语言现象，存在于一切的自然语言中。它是指在日常语言运用中句子的一种特征，即一个句子可以有多于一个的解释，而其中并不包括足够的线索，以确定其具体和其它含义。英语中的歧义现象主要是语音歧义、词汇歧义和语法歧义。 关键词：歧义；语音歧义；词汇歧义；语法歧义 许多语言学家都曾经对歧义下过定义。荷兰语言学家gooij在其1971年出版的《自然语言中的歧义》一书中指出：“歧义是指句子的特征，即一个句子有多个释义，而句子又没有提供足够的信息，以确定其含义。” 当然，歧义不仅存在于句子中，在日常生活中，只要你仔细观察一段句子或一首诗文，你将会在句子或段落中发现歧义。当然，我们可以把歧义理解为一个段落或句群中有多个涵义。歧义之所以易发生的原因是有很多因素都可以弓l起歧义。例如，英语词汇量大而且在不同语言环境下含义不同，人们对英语语言认识的能力有限，以及人们在英语运用中的粗心，这些都会导致歧义。歧义存在于一切应用的语言中，我们大致可以把它分为三类：1)语音歧义，是由于不同的形式而具有相同的发音的语言单位引起的。2)词汇歧义，指一个句子中有一个或多个有多个含义的词，而通过句子中的其它词又无法确定这些词的意思而导致的歧义。3)语法歧义，是指一句话有多个语句分析的可能性而引起的歧义。 下面从语音、词汇、语法三个方面具体分析一下歧义现象。 l 语音歧义 1．1 同音词引起的歧义 在英语口语中，同音词经常引起歧义，例如： No t她aloud／No talking allowed． 如果不是在特定的语言环境中，对听者是很难分开说话人想表达“不许大声喧哗”还是“不许说话”。在某种程度上，同音词可以影响人们的交流。有一个真实的例子：一个外国教师，问他的学生：“Where to buy flour?”这个学生以为他的外教想买支花给他的朋友，于是学生带着这个外教到了一个花店，但是最后这个学生才知道老师是想买面粉(flour)而不是花(flower)。 1．2 词的连续和词之间界限不清引起的歧义 ／一、rc一／and／一v#cv一／，“v”是元音(vo-r．e1)，“C”是辅音“~meonalR”，“撑”是指词之间的界限，(一)指其它的音素，当说话快的时候，上面两种语音形式通常会变为一种／一v 一／，这就引起了歧义。例如： (1)grade A一／fie／’dei，一grey day (2)great ape一，’’印，一grey tape 1．3 重音的变化可能引起歧义 一些词，尤其是合成词的重音变换容易引起歧义。例如： (1)a~ afldner—a killer that is a ghmt． (2)an English／teacher一一个英国籍的教师an，D sh teacl~r一一个教英语的教师 1．4 音调和停顿变化引起的歧义 音调和停顿变化可以改变句子的结构，所以可能引起歧义。例如： Your friends are ill teIerlgpe．你的朋友使人感到有趣。 Your friends are／interesting people．你的朋友是个有趣的人。 2 词汇歧义 2．1 多义词和同义词引起的歧义 在现代英语中，有许多多义词和同义词，虽然它们有多个意思，但只要你把它们放到具体的英语语境中去，歧义就不容易产生，因为你可以根据语境把不符合语境的词舍去，只有一个
英语句法歧义句的认知模型
第26卷第5期2008年9月泉州师范学院学报(社会科学) Journal of Quanzhou Nor mal U niversity(Social Science)Vol.26 No.5Sep.2008 英语句法歧义句的认知模型 黄怀飞1,2,李荣宝2 (1.泉州师范学院外国语学院,福建泉州 362000;2.福建师范大学外国语学院,福建福州 350007) 摘 要:英语句法歧义句是一种既常见又复杂的语言现象。了解和熟悉建构在认知心理学中两大语言认知模型基础上的花园路径模型、基于制约模型和参照支持模型,将有助于更好地解读英语句法歧义句。 关键词:句法歧义;花园路径模型;基于制约模型;参照支持模型中图分类号:H 314.3 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1009-8224(2008)05-0133)04 收稿日期:2008-03-22 作者简介:黄怀飞(1966- ),男,福建南安人,副教授,博士生; 李荣宝(1957- ),男,福建武平人,教授,博士生导师。 一、引言 歧义是自然语言的本质属性。自然语言符号与意义并非一一对应,这必然导致在语音、词汇、句法、语义、语用等语言的各个层面产生歧义现象。正因为在语言交际和语言表达中歧义现象的频繁出现,人们在描述歧义造成理解障碍时,经常引用William Empson 的话/A mbiguity is the enemy we have to watch 0。 由于句子的各组成部分可以根据不同的句法关系进行多种组合,传达多种意思,得到句法上可以接受的不同的解释,因而产生了句法歧义。比如,句1是一个典型的英语句法歧义句,在缺乏语境的情况下,听众将会产生完全不同的理解,如图1所示: 1.Put the apple on the plate in the box. 图1 句法歧义树形图 遵照指令,则可能出现两种演示结果:有人把盘子上的苹果放进箱子里;有人把苹果放进箱子里的盘子上。英语的这种句子决非个例,不同的构成 结构、不同的句法功能、否定范围含糊、修饰关系不明,甚至省略、并列都可能导致出现句法歧义现象。在对句法歧义的各类研究中,语言哲学试图从语义内容与语言形式之间的矛盾解释句法歧义产生的根本原因;关于句法歧义的消除,结构主义语言学和转换)生成语言学提出/直接成分分析法0和/树形图解法0来消除句法歧义中的表层结构歧 义和深层结构歧义;认知心理学研究句法歧义句的理解过程,认为这触及到认知模型问题。本文主要考察和对比句法歧义句的三种认知模型,讨论三种 模型对英语句法歧义句的加工理解过程的不同解释,探讨英语句法歧义句的有效解歧方法。 二、英语句法歧义句的认知模型 认知心理学对语言的认知存在两类基本模型:/自主模块模型0(the autonomous modular model)和/相互作用模型0(the inter active model)。Fodor
浅析英语中的歧义现象在广告中的应用
浅析英语中的歧义现象在广告中的应用 [论文作者：张孜婷] [摘要] 本篇论文从语音词汇语用的角度分析歧义的形成原因以及其在广告中的使用和作用，以达到使观众能够更好的理解广告的用意。列举了三种类型的歧义现象：语音歧义，词汇歧义和语用歧义，并且用现实中的广告实例对每种现象进行诠释。本文对英语中歧义现象的剖析不仅使人们加深对广告的认识和理解，而且能使歧义更好的使用于书面广告中。[关键词] 歧义广告语语音歧义词汇歧义语用歧义 一、引言 英语中随时随地都存在着歧义，虽然歧义现象在语言使用中有着消极的一面，但是不可否认在诸如广告等特殊的语言环境中还有其积极的一面。由于歧义词，尤其是同形异义词具有两种甚至多种解释，故我们可将其充分、恰当地应用到广告语言中去，做到一语双关。这种双关风趣、幽默和俏皮，可谓语言上的巧夺天工，无疑会增强广告的说服力和感染力，从而达到奇妙的宣传效果。 二、语音歧义 1.同音异义词 现代英语包含了大量的同音词，因此同音词的语音歧义现象非常普遍。例如，“rain”和“reign”，以及“sighs”和“size”。这两组词的发音完全一样，但拼写和意思是不同的。广告制作人将类似这样的词语运用到英语广告中，达到不错的效果。例如：（1）All is well that ends well. 这条广告实际上是一条英语习语，中文意思为“结局好，全都好”。在这条香烟广告里，“end”有两个意思，作动词讲是“结束”的意思，作名词讲是“香烟蒂”的意思。这条广告灵活运用现成的英语习语，赋予了此习语新的意思，即“烟蒂好，烟就好”，让消费者感觉耳目一新。 （2）Trust us. Over 5000 ears of experience. 这是一则助听器推销广告。从字面看，它说明该产品已经接受了广大消费者的考验，但单词“ears”和单词“years”发音是一样的，此条广告可译为“相信我们吧。历经5000多只耳朵的检验，有着5000多年的经验，充分说明了该助听器悠久的历史以及久经考验的上乘质量。 （3）More sun and air for your son and heir. 该广告可译为“这里有充足的阳光，清新的空气，一切为了您的子孙后代”。在这则海滨浴场的宣传广告中，制作者巧妙运用了“sun”和“son”，“air”和“heir”这两对同音词。该广告构思精妙，具有很强的说服力和相当高的语言艺术，因为它能唤起父母对子女的关爱，让计划带儿孙旅游的消费者为之心动。 2.同音异义的词组和短语 同音词组指的是两个不同的词组发相同的音，甚至有的同音词组中的每个单词都发一样的音，但词组的意思相差甚远。同音词组的现象没同音词的现象普通，但在英语广告中也大量存在。 （1）It always runs fast because it is never two-tyred. 这是一条汽车广告，在此条广告中，词组“two-tyred”和“too tired”的发音是一样的。这个歧义现象突出了该汽车的两个特点，一个是它有不止两个轮子，另一个是它的耐力很好可以跑很长时间并且保持很快的速度，不仅幽默而且形象。 （2）A deal with us means a good deal to you. 这是一条大型百货商场的广告，它的妙处在于短语“a good deal”的运用，一般来说“a