三个世界

Physical world,mental world,and linguistic world

本文通过对一个语篇引入话题时两个句式选用情况的考察,说明确实存在三个并行的世界:物理世界,心理世界,语言世界。语言世界不是直接对应于物理世界,而是有一个心理世界作为中介。通过对复句内两个分句之间语义关系的分析,说明语言世界内部也存在相应的三个世界——行域、知域、言域。三域之间不仅有并行关系,还有引申关系。行域义是最基本的,由此引申出虚化的知域义,再进一步虚化得出言域义。语言世界内部之所以也有一个言语世界,归根到底是由于语言具备的两个特性。一是语言可以用来指称或陈述语言自身,这是语言的"自反性"(reflexivity)。二是语言的力量,即提问、请求、许诺等所谓"语力"(illocutionary force)可以出于语言说出来这一行为本身。

The principle governing the choice between two sentence patterns in introducing different topics into a text is based on a correspondence among three worlds — the physical world,the mental world,and the linguistic world. More exactly,the correspondence between the physical world and the world of language is not direct but mediated by the mental world. And in the linguistic world there also exists a correspondence among three similar domains — the domain of acts,the domain of knowledge,and the domain of speech — as reflected in the meanings of conjunctions in compound sentences. In addition to correspondence the three domains are also connected by extension. The basic domain of acts becomes the domain of knowledge by extension,and further extends and becomes the domain of speech. Language has two characteristics which make the linguistic world contein a domain of speech within itself. One is the reflexivity of language by which language can be used to describe or refer to itself,and the other is the illocutionary force of language like questioning,demanding,and promising,which can be produced just by uttering the relevant expressions.