基于语料库对be+being+adj.结构的研究——兼谈语料库在外语教学中的应用

A Corpus-based Study of be + being + adj.——On the Application of Corpora in Foreign Language Teaching

本文基于COCA和COHA语料库对be+being+adj.结构进行了研究,并为外语教学提出了建议。研究发现,这一结构在19世纪初开始出现,但直到20世纪中期才得到广泛使用;倾向于使用在口语等非正式文体中,很少用于学术领域。这一结构所在的句子大多使用人称主语,所用的形容词属于动态形容词,表示人的内在特征。主要的三层语义特征是特定情况、主观意志和隐含语义,其中使用褒贬中性形容词的句子各自有不同的语义侧重以及语用功能。外语教学中采用语料库辅助教学,可以使学习者对语言的认识更为深刻,语言使用更为准确。

Based on the corpora of COCA and COHA, this paper carries out a study on the structure of be ＋ being ＋ adj. and tries to give some advice to foreign language teaching. It is found that although the structure appears in the early 19th cen- tury, it is not until the mid-20th century that it is widely used. It tends to be used in the informal language rather than academ- ics. Personal subjects and dynamic adjectives are used in the structure to describe someone＇ s character. The three main se- mantic features are specific condition, personal intention and an implication that the common situation is different. Sentences with positive adj., pejorative adj. and neutral adj. have different semantic and pragmatic features. It is advisable that the re- search method of corpora should be employed in foreign language teaching to enhance the accuracy of language usage.