论文部分内容阅读
摘要: 过渡衔接词语在篇章的连贯性上扮演了重要的作用。本文旨在对英语写作中的过渡衔接词语的定义、范畴、意义做一研究,并对此重新分类。
关键词: 过渡衔接词语 篇章连贯性 英语写作
一、引言
要想过一条河,方法很多,可以游过去,可以乘船过去,还可以架桥过去,至于选择哪种方法最合适,要根据河面的宽度、河水的深度而定。同样,文章的句与句、段与段之间也有大大小小的“河”,其过渡方式也多种多样,若能恰到好处地选择,文章就能前后一贯、逻辑严密、结构紧凑。过渡一般有三种方式:过渡段、过渡句和过渡词。三种过渡的形式虽有不同,但所起的作用和所表示的逻辑关系却是一样的。中国学生在英语写作中往往不会或不太注意使用过渡连接词语。他们写出的英语文章往往会因行文的不连贯而给人以行文不顺的感觉,或是因为条理不清而使读者感到费解。本文就对过渡连接词语这种能使上下文连接自然、紧凑的途径作一浅析。
二、过渡连接词语的定义和范畴
既然英语过渡连接词语对文章的结构表达如此重要,我们就有必要先明确一下到底什么是英语中的过渡连接词语。“From Sentence to Paragraph”一书的编者说Transitions are words that join one idea to another idea. Transitions add coherence to writing by joining ideas together.(过渡连接词语是把一个意思和另一个意思连接起来的词语,它连接文章的意思以增加文章的连贯性。)我国知名语言学家章振邦教授在他的《新编英语语法》中给出这样的定义:当句子进入语段、语段进入语篇时,往往要用一些连接手段把句子和句子、语段与语段,有时甚至是段落与段落连接起来,使它们之间建立起各种各样的语义关系,并使整个语篇在意义上具有连贯性(coherence)。这些连句成篇的手段我们称之为过渡连接词语(章振邦1989:1530)。
过渡连接词语的英语是transitional word or transition,对此国内著述中有多种译法:(1) 转换词语;(2)过渡词语;(3)连接词语;(4)过渡词。从写作角度看,笔者认为译成“过渡连接词语”会更有利于准确理解该词的内涵。
另外,在国外著述中,由于不同的研究出发点和侧重面,许多语言学家和研究者们给下列这些词或短语but,and,consequently,in a word等赋予了不同的名称,如小品词(particles)(Stubbs,1983)、话语联系语(discourse markers)(Schiffrin,1987)、话语连接语(discourse connectives)(Blackmore,1992)、语用连接词(pragmatic connectives) (Van. Dijk,1979)等等。不过大家基本上达到一些共识,认为过渡连接词语不仅对语篇的局部连贯有作用,而且对整体连贯也产生影响。如:
Life in a new country can be confusing. For example,one day I wanted to go to the consulate to renew my student visa. So my aunt gave me the consulate’s address. But when I arrived at downtown,I got lost. First,I went to a bank. A lady there told me to walk three blocks south. I walked three blocks north,instead,however. Then I asked a policeman for help. As a result,he drove me right to the door of the consulate. From my story,you can see that I had a hard time doing one errand.
(Robert G. Brand:From Sentence to Paragraphs)
这段文章中的斜体字部分都是过渡性词语,它们的运用是使文章前后连贯,意思层层深入。使段落内部各句环环相扣。其中for example连接第一个句子和后面整个一段文章的意思。别的过渡词语都分别连接前后两句的意思。
过渡词语不仅是一个过渡信号,而且读者能通过它的预示来识别其后的信息。过渡词语还能帮助读者预料下一段或下一句会如何影响他们刚刚读过的内容的意义。因此,过渡词语对文章的连贯性起着重要作用。如:
On Georgia 155,I crossed Troublesome Creek,then went through groves of pecan trees aligned one with the next like fenceposts. The pastures grew a green almostblue,and syrupy water the color of a dusty sunset filled the ponds.Around the farmhouses,From wires strung high above the ground,swayed gourds hollowed out for purple martins.
The land rose again on the other side of the Chattahoochee River,and Highway 34 went to the ridgetops where long views over the hills opened.
In alldirections. Here was the tail of the Appalachian backbone,its gradual descent to the Gulf. Near the Alabama stateline stood a couple of LAST.
CHANCE ! bars... .
(Willian Least Heat Moon,Blue Highways)
上段引文斜体字过渡性词语“again on the other side”标示了上下两端的连贯和衔接。
由于过渡词连接段落内部句子之间的意思或者段落之间的意思,而且英语注重“形合”,不像汉语注重“意合”,所以英语中的过渡性词语要比汉语的多。而且,英语有多种形式的词和词组都能充当过渡性词语。主要有:
形容词:first, second等。
副词:certainly, clearly, similarly, finally, instead, indeed, still, also, then等。
介词短语:in a word,in spite of, in fact, for example, in addition, after all, at first, at last, above all等。
不定式短语:to begin with,to be honest, to begin with, to be more exact等。
代词:next, this, that, it, he, she, they等。
介词:like, unlike等。
名词短语:one, thing, one, more thing等。
此外,同义词语,英语词的重复等都可以起到过渡词语的作用。总之,较好地掌握这些过渡连接词语的用法,把它们恰当而灵活地运用在英语的写作中,无疑会使思维表达清楚,文章通顺而有条理。
三、过渡连接词语的功能和总结
英语过渡连接词语较多,分类的方式也不少,如章振邦(1989:1531)将英语连接词语分为3大类:逻辑纽带(logical connector)、语法纽带(grammatical connector)和词汇纽带(lexical connector)。夸克(R·Quirk)等人则将其分为13大类:(1) 列举类;(2) 强势类;(3) 对等类;(4) 转折类;(5) 总结类;(6) 同位类;(7) 结果类;(8) 推论类;(9) 重述类;(10) 替换类;(11) 对立类;(12) 让步类;(13) 时间转换类。笔者主要按过渡连接词语在连接句子、段落的功能上对此进行分类,以便我们在写作中掌握过渡连接词语,从而使文章启、转、承、合,融会贯通,成为一体。
1. 时间、顺序的过渡词语
later,meanwhile,afterwards,at first,after that,since then,for the first time,as soon as,at the same time,from then on,the next moment,at that time,after a while,so far,first of all,in the first place,to begin with,finally,in the end,at last等。
如:1)She hates him. But at the same time,she pities him.
2)In the first place,he is a man of character.
2. 方位过渡词
on the right/left,on the right/left side of,at the foot/top/end of,in the middle/center of,at the side of等。
1)She is standing under the tree,on the right side of her is Lucy.
3. 因果过渡词
so,thus,therefore,because,because of,thanks to,due to,owing to,for this reason,so that,in this way,as a result of等。
1) Thus,the tape recorder should be put to good use.
2) As a result,the girl took their advice.
4. 转折过渡词
but,otherwise,however,instead,though,nevertheless,after all,even though,on the contrary,or else,except for,in that case,in spite of等。
1) It may rain,nevertheless,I will go.
2) Except for his hot temper,he is a good man.
5. 列举、举例的过渡词
like,such as,and so on,for example,for instance,take...for example,for one thing...,for another ...,as follows等。
1)Though she is five years old,she knows five languages,such as Chinese,English,French, Japanese,and German.
2)Some words are differently pronounced between British English and American English. For example,English people say not[n?蘅t],Americans say [na:t].
6. 递进过渡词
besides,as well,in addition,what’s more,worse still,what’s worse,above all,not only...but also...等。
1)I don’t care for it,besides,it’s too expensive.
2)The rent is reasonable,and moreover,the location is perfect.
7. 总结、归纳的过渡词
in brief,in a word,in short,to sum up,on the whole,in conclusion,generally speaking等。
1)He is always ready to help others,and he is getting on well with his studies.In short,he is a good student.
2)To conclude,all great men achieve success through diligence,devotion,and perseverance.
8. 解释过渡词
in fact,as a matter of fact,to tell the truth,that is,that is to say,in other words等。
1)China is a developing country,that is,she is behind the developed countries in some fields.
9. 表示让步、对比、比较的过渡连接词语
此类词语多出现在段落的开头或句子之间,表示段落和句子间的各种关系。
1)表示让步的过渡词语though,although,in spite of,despite (of),nevertheless,nonetheless等。如:
It may rain,nevertheless,I will go.
2)表示对比的过渡词语:in contrast,on the contrary,unlike,on the other hand,whereas,instead,still,as a matter of fact,in fact 等。如:
She thought he was a criminal,on the contrary,he was a policeman.
3)表示比较的过渡词语similarly,rather than,on(the) one hand...on the other (hand),in the same way 等。如:
In the same way,she put her signature there.
10. 表示强调、条件过渡词
Above all,indeed,really,especially,particularly,specially....
if,unless,on this condition,so/as long as 如:
He is a good student. Above all,he is good at English .
You will succeed if you work hard.
四、结束语
虽然过渡连接词语的使用并不是使文章连贯的惟一手段,但确实是一种十分重要的手段。在实际写作中,书面表达应根据立意需要,把段落与整篇文章的意思有机地联系起来,明确各段落意思之间的相互关系,使文章按照主题的立意和作者的思路发展下去。这就更需要我们去求助于过渡词把它们的相互关系表达清楚。掌握这种连接手段的用法,英语写作水平无疑会在原有基础上提高一步,段落的主题思想也会因此更加清晰明了。
参考文献:
[1]Van Dijk,T. A. Pragmatic Connectives[J]. Journal of Pragmatics,1979,3:447-56.
[2]Celia Millward,Handbook f or Writers,CBS COLL EGE PUB2.L ISING and The Dryden Press Saunders College Publishing,Second Edition,1993.
[3]章振邦.新编英语语法[M].上海外语教育出版社,1989.
[4]王益民.湖州师专学报(哲学社会科学),1999,第21卷第2期.
[5]朱莲芬.绍兴文理学院学报,2003,第23卷第2期.
(作者系河南大学外语学院07级研究生)
关键词: 过渡衔接词语 篇章连贯性 英语写作
一、引言
要想过一条河,方法很多,可以游过去,可以乘船过去,还可以架桥过去,至于选择哪种方法最合适,要根据河面的宽度、河水的深度而定。同样,文章的句与句、段与段之间也有大大小小的“河”,其过渡方式也多种多样,若能恰到好处地选择,文章就能前后一贯、逻辑严密、结构紧凑。过渡一般有三种方式:过渡段、过渡句和过渡词。三种过渡的形式虽有不同,但所起的作用和所表示的逻辑关系却是一样的。中国学生在英语写作中往往不会或不太注意使用过渡连接词语。他们写出的英语文章往往会因行文的不连贯而给人以行文不顺的感觉,或是因为条理不清而使读者感到费解。本文就对过渡连接词语这种能使上下文连接自然、紧凑的途径作一浅析。
二、过渡连接词语的定义和范畴
既然英语过渡连接词语对文章的结构表达如此重要,我们就有必要先明确一下到底什么是英语中的过渡连接词语。“From Sentence to Paragraph”一书的编者说Transitions are words that join one idea to another idea. Transitions add coherence to writing by joining ideas together.(过渡连接词语是把一个意思和另一个意思连接起来的词语,它连接文章的意思以增加文章的连贯性。)我国知名语言学家章振邦教授在他的《新编英语语法》中给出这样的定义:当句子进入语段、语段进入语篇时,往往要用一些连接手段把句子和句子、语段与语段,有时甚至是段落与段落连接起来,使它们之间建立起各种各样的语义关系,并使整个语篇在意义上具有连贯性(coherence)。这些连句成篇的手段我们称之为过渡连接词语(章振邦1989:1530)。
过渡连接词语的英语是transitional word or transition,对此国内著述中有多种译法:(1) 转换词语;(2)过渡词语;(3)连接词语;(4)过渡词。从写作角度看,笔者认为译成“过渡连接词语”会更有利于准确理解该词的内涵。
另外,在国外著述中,由于不同的研究出发点和侧重面,许多语言学家和研究者们给下列这些词或短语but,and,consequently,in a word等赋予了不同的名称,如小品词(particles)(Stubbs,1983)、话语联系语(discourse markers)(Schiffrin,1987)、话语连接语(discourse connectives)(Blackmore,1992)、语用连接词(pragmatic connectives) (Van. Dijk,1979)等等。不过大家基本上达到一些共识,认为过渡连接词语不仅对语篇的局部连贯有作用,而且对整体连贯也产生影响。如:
Life in a new country can be confusing. For example,one day I wanted to go to the consulate to renew my student visa. So my aunt gave me the consulate’s address. But when I arrived at downtown,I got lost. First,I went to a bank. A lady there told me to walk three blocks south. I walked three blocks north,instead,however. Then I asked a policeman for help. As a result,he drove me right to the door of the consulate. From my story,you can see that I had a hard time doing one errand.
(Robert G. Brand:From Sentence to Paragraphs)
这段文章中的斜体字部分都是过渡性词语,它们的运用是使文章前后连贯,意思层层深入。使段落内部各句环环相扣。其中for example连接第一个句子和后面整个一段文章的意思。别的过渡词语都分别连接前后两句的意思。
过渡词语不仅是一个过渡信号,而且读者能通过它的预示来识别其后的信息。过渡词语还能帮助读者预料下一段或下一句会如何影响他们刚刚读过的内容的意义。因此,过渡词语对文章的连贯性起着重要作用。如:
On Georgia 155,I crossed Troublesome Creek,then went through groves of pecan trees aligned one with the next like fenceposts. The pastures grew a green almostblue,and syrupy water the color of a dusty sunset filled the ponds.Around the farmhouses,From wires strung high above the ground,swayed gourds hollowed out for purple martins.
The land rose again on the other side of the Chattahoochee River,and Highway 34 went to the ridgetops where long views over the hills opened.
In alldirections. Here was the tail of the Appalachian backbone,its gradual descent to the Gulf. Near the Alabama stateline stood a couple of LAST.
CHANCE ! bars... .
(Willian Least Heat Moon,Blue Highways)
上段引文斜体字过渡性词语“again on the other side”标示了上下两端的连贯和衔接。
由于过渡词连接段落内部句子之间的意思或者段落之间的意思,而且英语注重“形合”,不像汉语注重“意合”,所以英语中的过渡性词语要比汉语的多。而且,英语有多种形式的词和词组都能充当过渡性词语。主要有:
形容词:first, second等。
副词:certainly, clearly, similarly, finally, instead, indeed, still, also, then等。
介词短语:in a word,in spite of, in fact, for example, in addition, after all, at first, at last, above all等。
不定式短语:to begin with,to be honest, to begin with, to be more exact等。
代词:next, this, that, it, he, she, they等。
介词:like, unlike等。
名词短语:one, thing, one, more thing等。
此外,同义词语,英语词的重复等都可以起到过渡词语的作用。总之,较好地掌握这些过渡连接词语的用法,把它们恰当而灵活地运用在英语的写作中,无疑会使思维表达清楚,文章通顺而有条理。
三、过渡连接词语的功能和总结
英语过渡连接词语较多,分类的方式也不少,如章振邦(1989:1531)将英语连接词语分为3大类:逻辑纽带(logical connector)、语法纽带(grammatical connector)和词汇纽带(lexical connector)。夸克(R·Quirk)等人则将其分为13大类:(1) 列举类;(2) 强势类;(3) 对等类;(4) 转折类;(5) 总结类;(6) 同位类;(7) 结果类;(8) 推论类;(9) 重述类;(10) 替换类;(11) 对立类;(12) 让步类;(13) 时间转换类。笔者主要按过渡连接词语在连接句子、段落的功能上对此进行分类,以便我们在写作中掌握过渡连接词语,从而使文章启、转、承、合,融会贯通,成为一体。
1. 时间、顺序的过渡词语
later,meanwhile,afterwards,at first,after that,since then,for the first time,as soon as,at the same time,from then on,the next moment,at that time,after a while,so far,first of all,in the first place,to begin with,finally,in the end,at last等。
如:1)She hates him. But at the same time,she pities him.
2)In the first place,he is a man of character.
2. 方位过渡词
on the right/left,on the right/left side of,at the foot/top/end of,in the middle/center of,at the side of等。
1)She is standing under the tree,on the right side of her is Lucy.
3. 因果过渡词
so,thus,therefore,because,because of,thanks to,due to,owing to,for this reason,so that,in this way,as a result of等。
1) Thus,the tape recorder should be put to good use.
2) As a result,the girl took their advice.
4. 转折过渡词
but,otherwise,however,instead,though,nevertheless,after all,even though,on the contrary,or else,except for,in that case,in spite of等。
1) It may rain,nevertheless,I will go.
2) Except for his hot temper,he is a good man.
5. 列举、举例的过渡词
like,such as,and so on,for example,for instance,take...for example,for one thing...,for another ...,as follows等。
1)Though she is five years old,she knows five languages,such as Chinese,English,French, Japanese,and German.
2)Some words are differently pronounced between British English and American English. For example,English people say not[n?蘅t],Americans say [na:t].
6. 递进过渡词
besides,as well,in addition,what’s more,worse still,what’s worse,above all,not only...but also...等。
1)I don’t care for it,besides,it’s too expensive.
2)The rent is reasonable,and moreover,the location is perfect.
7. 总结、归纳的过渡词
in brief,in a word,in short,to sum up,on the whole,in conclusion,generally speaking等。
1)He is always ready to help others,and he is getting on well with his studies.In short,he is a good student.
2)To conclude,all great men achieve success through diligence,devotion,and perseverance.
8. 解释过渡词
in fact,as a matter of fact,to tell the truth,that is,that is to say,in other words等。
1)China is a developing country,that is,she is behind the developed countries in some fields.
9. 表示让步、对比、比较的过渡连接词语
此类词语多出现在段落的开头或句子之间,表示段落和句子间的各种关系。
1)表示让步的过渡词语though,although,in spite of,despite (of),nevertheless,nonetheless等。如:
It may rain,nevertheless,I will go.
2)表示对比的过渡词语:in contrast,on the contrary,unlike,on the other hand,whereas,instead,still,as a matter of fact,in fact 等。如:
She thought he was a criminal,on the contrary,he was a policeman.
3)表示比较的过渡词语similarly,rather than,on(the) one hand...on the other (hand),in the same way 等。如:
In the same way,she put her signature there.
10. 表示强调、条件过渡词
Above all,indeed,really,especially,particularly,specially....
if,unless,on this condition,so/as long as 如:
He is a good student. Above all,he is good at English .
You will succeed if you work hard.
四、结束语
虽然过渡连接词语的使用并不是使文章连贯的惟一手段,但确实是一种十分重要的手段。在实际写作中,书面表达应根据立意需要,把段落与整篇文章的意思有机地联系起来,明确各段落意思之间的相互关系,使文章按照主题的立意和作者的思路发展下去。这就更需要我们去求助于过渡词把它们的相互关系表达清楚。掌握这种连接手段的用法,英语写作水平无疑会在原有基础上提高一步,段落的主题思想也会因此更加清晰明了。
参考文献:
[1]Van Dijk,T. A. Pragmatic Connectives[J]. Journal of Pragmatics,1979,3:447-56.
[2]Celia Millward,Handbook f or Writers,CBS COLL EGE PUB2.L ISING and The Dryden Press Saunders College Publishing,Second Edition,1993.
[3]章振邦.新编英语语法[M].上海外语教育出版社,1989.
[4]王益民.湖州师专学报(哲学社会科学),1999,第21卷第2期.
[5]朱莲芬.绍兴文理学院学报,2003,第23卷第2期.
(作者系河南大学外语学院07级研究生)