社会语言学四十年

A critical survey of sociolinguistics and its development

本文综述和分析了社会语言学四十年的发展历程 ,着重研讨社会语言学作为一门交叉性、应用型边缘学科在学科界定、学术传统、研究范围、理论构建、研究方法 ,以及研究意义六个方面的特点。社会语言学同人类学和社会学研究一脉相承 ,体现了一种以功能为主的跨学科研究范式 ,在学科界定、理论建设、研究方法方面 ,社会语言学还存在不少问题 ,有待于改进。作者认为 ,社会语言学应逐步建立完善的理论范式 ,其内部应当建立可同其他相关学科参比的学科评判标准 ,提高学术声望度 ;社会语言学还应继续加强应用性研究 ,顺应新时期语言学研究格物致用的要求 ;不拘一格、兼涵并包的学术传统 ,是促进社会语言学理论发展与具体研究百花齐放的必要条件 ,应当继续坚持。

The present study attempts to provide a critical review of the development of sociolinguistics over the past decades as a legitmate enterprise in the linguistic world. The paper consists of seven parts, each of which focuses on a thorough analysis of currently hot issues such as the nature of sociolinguistics beginning as an interdisciplinary subject, its academic heritage and tradition to other relevant sciences, the scope and characteristics of its study, its development in theory and methodology, and finally, the social contributions of this type of linguistic research. The major conclusions thus obtained include that as an inter_ or multi_disciplinary study of language use, sociolinguistics has enjoyed a long and scholastic influence from anothropology and sociology, that as an antagonism to the dominant structuralism, it has provided a social and functional paradigm in linguistic research, and that in spite of the 'fractious energy' it possesses, there seems still a long way to go before sociolinguistics can successfully come out as an autonomous, eclectical, and prestigious school of linguistic study.