英语辅句的动因及其在语篇中的评价功能

The Motivation and Evaluative Functions of Minor Clauses in Discourse

本文从认知语言学和语篇语义学的角度探讨英语语篇中辅句的动因及其评价功能。根据当前语篇空间和注意框架的理论,辅句可视为体现零框架,适应负框架更新当前语篇空间的需要,并获得最大程度的凸显。这是辅句产生的动因,但有两个制约因素。语料分析显示:辅句对前句或句段作说明或评价。在这过程中,叙事人从记录者的角色转变为解释者和评价者。结合语篇可以对辅句提供的说明和解释进行评价维度的分析。辅句作解释时,评价维度的顺序是规范性、可取性、有理性,其中规范性是主要维度。辅句用作评价时,评价维度是有理性,在转义的情况下,如反语,否定有理性可与有理性重叠,也可以是可取性。这一切都说明辅句是英语语篇的一个评价手段,一种评价资源。

This paper aims to study the motivation and evaluative functions of minor clauses in English text in the light of cognitive linguistics and discourse semantics. A minor clause can be understood as the realization of a zeroframe, which meets the expectation of the minus-frame to update the Current Discourse Space and thus achieves maximal salience. This is what motivates the use of minor clauses in discourse. Our analysis shows that minor clauses serve to elaborate or evaluate the preceding clause or chunk of discourse as the narrator changes his role from recorder to explainer or evaluator. As a minor clause is closely related to the preceding clause with its element mapping onto its counterpart, it is feasible to study the evaluative dimensions of the elaboration and evaluation that minor clauses provide as implied proposition. When a minor clause provides elaboration, the evaluative dimensions are normativity, desirability and warrantability, with normativity as the main dimension. When a minor clause serves as evaluation, the dimension is warrantability, and in case of metaphoric use of words, negative warrantability conflates with warrantibihy, with the possible alternative of desirability. All this testifies to the fact that minor clauses constitute an evaluative resource in discourse.