英汉低调陈述修辞比较

A Comparative Study of Understatement in English and Chinese

本文先以英汉语言构造上的形合与意合的对立为观照，比较了英汉低调陈述构成方法上的差异；其次，描述了英汉低调陈述的五大修辞特色；含蓄性、委婉性、幽默性、讽刺性和礼貌性；最后，作者通过对英汉修辞和美学起源的解读，剖析了汉语修辞美学“重领悟，讲含蓄”的思想方法，从而，论证了汉语低调陈述修辞的历史更源远流长。

With enlightenment drawn from the differences between the linguistic structures, this paper compares English understatement with Chinese understatement in their ways of formation. Then it describes their five rhetorical functions:implicit, tactful,humorous, satirical, courteous.From the perspectives of origins of rhetoric and aesthetics, the paper argues for the longer history of Chinese understatement than that of English understatement.