论证中的话语混杂:外语测试的社会分析

Heteroglossia in Argumentation: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Language Testing

本文运用Bakhtin杂语概念和Toulmin的论证理论,分析了世界上最大的考试机构——ETS发出的一封有关中国学生GRE成绩可信度的公开信的语言结构。分析表明该信的论证结构中混杂了多种特定领域的话语,即以社会支配为目的的规范话语、统计数字为事实的技术操纵和受政治、经济利益支持的法律逻辑。这一结构代表了TOEFL和GRE之类的考试话语的社会条件,是它们存在、并对中国外语教育产生变态破坏影响的根本原因。因此,要解决由考试带来的问题不能只在考试技术本身上寻找答案,而是要对产生这种话语的政治、经济和社会机制进行批判式的认识。本文还出于批判话语研究本身的兴趣对论证这一体裁的内在结构与话语混杂之间的关系展开讨论。

This paper uses Bakhtins notion of heteroglossia and Toulmins theory of argumentation to analyze the rhetoric of a letter regarding credibility of GRE scores in China, issued by ETS, the worlds largest testing organization. It is revealed that the complexity of the argument involves discursive formation of (i) regulative discourse for social domination, (ii) technical manipulation of statistical facts providing ground, and (iii) legal warrants which are backed by political and commercial interests. It is understood that this argumentation structure in general represents the social condition under which discourse of language testing such as TOEFL and GRE, obtains its social reason for existence, and has exerted pathological impact on Chinese language education. To solve its problems requires an explanatory critique of all related discourse devices, political and economic, rather than merely searching for technical solutions. The analysis explicates the relationship of the internal structure of an argument and the hybridity of discourse, which might be of interests to the discourse analysts.